SAE Revises Levels of Vehicle Automation

WARRENDALE, PA—SAE International, in collaboration with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), has updated the auto industry’s most-cited reference for driving automation capabilities: SAE J3016 Recommended Practice: Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor Vehicles, commonly referenced as the SAE Levels of Driving Automation.

SAE J3016 provides supporting terms and definitions for the six levels of driving automation. The levels range from no driving automation at Level 0 to full driving automation at Level 5, in the context of motor vehicles and their operation on roadways.

The update refines the previous version of the Recommended Practice with the addition of several new terms, substantial refinement and clarification of misinterpreted concepts, and restructuring of certain definitions into more logical groupings.

Notable changes to this version of the Recommended Practice include:

*Further clarity on the differences between SAE Level 3 and Level 4, including the role of the fallback-ready user, the possibility of some automated fallback at SAE Level 3, and the possibility of some alerts to in-vehicle users at SAE Level 4.

*Additional terms and definitions for two distinct remote support functions: remote assistance and remote driving, as well as the users who perform functions such as remote assistant and remote driver.

*SAE Level 1 and Level 2 driving automation systems have been given the name “Driver Support Systems” as a counterpart to the term “Automated Driving Systems” used for SAE Levels 3-5.

“As the development of automated driving technologies continues on a global scale, SAE J3016: Levels of Driving Automation has evolved to align with the developing technologies and deployment strategies,” says Barbara Wendling, chairperson for the SAE J3016 Technical Standards Committee. “Our collaborative partnership with ISO allowed us to expand and refine the Recommended Practice to better equip international customers with clear, concise, and consistent language and definitions.

“The SAE J3016 Technical Standards Committee worked collaboratively with partners from ISO/TC 204 Intelligent Transport Systems—in a joint working group including representatives from nine countries—to carefully address common concerns with previous versions of the Recommended Practice,” adds Wendling. “The latest updates to SAE J3016 incorporate ISO’s international expertise to create a document that is more consist for use across the global mobility community.”

To download a copy of the latest version of the SAE J3016, click here.

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