Autonomous driving systems have Levels?

[glhs837]

I do keep an eye on the tech, but this slipped by me. Evidently, there are already specified levels of autonomy. In fact there are two proposed standards, one from the fine folks at the NHTSA, and one from the Society Of Automotive Engineers, the SAE in your oils viscosity rating.

NHTSA

Level 0: The driver completely controls the vehicle at all times.
Level 1: Individual vehicle controls are automated, such as electronic stability control or automatic braking.
Level 2: At least two controls can be automated in unison, such as adaptive cruise control in combination with lane keeping. Example: Tesla Model S[11]
Level 3: The driver can fully cede control of all safety-critical functions in certain conditions. The car senses when conditions require the driver to retake control and provides a "sufficiently comfortable transition time" for the driver to do so.
Level 4: The vehicle performs all safety-critical functions for the entire trip, with the driver not expected to control the vehicle at any time. As this vehicle would control all functions from start to stop, including all parking functions, it could include unoccupied cars.


SAE

the same except they have a level 5 that has no provisions for human control.

And how I learned this is the Audis head of self driving programs mocked Tesla's Autopilot mode as BS. Audi plans on releasing a level 4 machine by 2020.

 

[jrt_ms1995]

From my own observations, there have been very few instances of Level 0 in the past several decades!

 

[glhs837]

No kidding, I really think the rise of the machines will save tens of thousands of lives. Well, until they decide to kill us all, anyway. But I made damn sure both kids spent their first driving year in Level 0 vehicles. But I do get your point.

 

[Larry Gude]

The problem is this; car crashes are about a $1 trillion a year business. What about those people and their jobs? We're talking about the virtual elimination of that cost. It's like medicine; no one wants to cure anything. They wanna treat illness. No one wants us healthy. And it's because of how many people it will put out of work. We already don't have enough for people to do. We're going to add good jobs and careers to that?

 

[GURPS]

The problem is this; car crashes are about a $1 trillion a year business. What about those people and their jobs? We're talking about the virtual elimination of that cost. It's like medicine; no one wants to cure anything. They wanna treat illness. No one wants us healthy. And it's because of how many people it will put out of work. We already don't have enough for people to do. We're going to add good jobs and careers to that?

so you think the Insurance / Auto Body / Parts Suppliers are going to lobby against autonomous cars