Six Levels of Vehicle Automation: Fully Manual to Fully Autonomous

In 1908, Henry Ford revolutionized the car industry by starting the mass production of Model T. It was a big step forward, but nobody could have guessed that we have self-driving cars today. we’d make so much progress in such a short time. According to ABI research, it is predicted that by 2025, there will be around 8 million self-driving or partially self-driving cars on the streets.

A great quote by Steve Jobs “Some people say give the customers what they want, but that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, ‘If I’d asked customers what they wanted, they would’ve told me a faster horse.’”

I believe this quote is about the spirit of innovation that has driven the automotive industry forward and grow faster. It’s about thinking outside the box and coming up with solutions that go beyond what people expect and that meet the requirement for the future.

It’s amazing right? how far we’ve come in just over a century. A new generation of vehicles will soon be rolling on the production line that will change the way we think about driving and transportation. However, before this generation of vehicles become common on the streets, they needed to go through six stages of technology improvements to assist drivers or run by themselves on the road.

What are these six levels and where its come from?

In 2014, the Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE) published a taxonomy for automated and autonomous driving. SAE’s six levels (Level 0 (completely manual) to Level 5 (completely autonomous)) have become the gold standard for industry benchmarking and have also been adopted by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Level 0: No Automation

At Level 0, there is no driving automation. The driver is responsible for all aspects of driving, including steering, accelerating, braking, and parking. However, they might have some assistance features backup cameras, or collision warning systems but they have no control over the movement of the vehicle.

Level 1: Driver Automation

As we step into Level 1, the vehicle starts getting helpful features called driver assistance systems which can assist the driver with driving tasks. At this level, only one feature works at a time (either assist with steering, acceleration, and deceleration) and the driver is still responsible to control the vehicle because the system does not take full control over these functions.

For example, Level 1 systems can do things like adaptive cruise control, which adjusts the vehicle speed to keep a safe distance from the one in front. But remember, the driver is still responsible for steering and staying in the lane.

Level 2: Partial Automation

Level 2 is a big step up in automation. It could combination of 2 features of the Level 1 system means the vehicle can handle both steering and speed under certain conditions. But the driver needs to full attention and be ready to take over if needed

For example, it can keep itself in the lane and adaptive cruise control.

It is exciting to see how vehicles become much safer and ease to drive till now, but wait we have still 3 more levels remaining.

Level 3: Conditional Automation

At Level 3, things get more exciting. Now The vehicle becomes pretty smart and can handle most driving tasks by itself like it can steer, brake, accelerate, and navigate, but only in conditional situations.

For example navigating and controlling itself on highways, including overtaking slower vehicles, without requiring constant driver input (Highway Pilot feature), and driving in traffic where the driver does not need to actively control acceleration or braking (Traffic-Aware Cruise Control). So, in these situations, the driver can take their hands off the wheel and relax. But they must be ready to take control again when alerted.

Level 4: High Automation

Have you seen cars running on San Franciso and Phoenix streets where no driver is in the driving seat?

That is Level 4 Automation. At this level, vehicles can do most of the driving autonomously, not just in certain situations, but in various conditions like busy city streets, bad weather, driving at intersections, and taking care of pedestrians and some sweet pedestrians.

You might know that sometimes it becomes very hard for me to merge and exit the highway and changing change lanes, but for Level 4 it becomes easier.

They can handle most things without human help pretty smart ahh! but there could still be some limitations in certain areas like they might have difficulty navigating in unmapped areas, dealing with unusual scenarios or road conditions.

Level 5: Full Automation

Level 5 represents the highest point of development of autonomous driving something futuristic. At this stage, vehicles are fully self-driving and capable of handling all driving tasks without human intervention. You can sit back and relax. They are not limited to specific conditions or areas and can operate flawlessly in any environment where conventional human-driven vehicles can go. As the vehicle takes over and drives itself, the steering wheel and pedals are no longer needed.

what do you think is the future of transportation?