Progressively hands free

Think autonomous driving and most people have visions of a futuristic car, seamlessly transporting its occupants as they sit inside doing anything but actually driving. But autonomous driving exists in a number of different spheres, or to different degrees – some of which are a part of life already.

As the idea of cars driving themselves became a reality, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) determined a coding system to differentiate a system that assisted the driver, with other systems that increasingly relieved the driver of their driving duties.

So in 2014, the SAE agreed on a series of levels to differentiate the stages of autonomous driving, designed to assist legislators, engineers and the public in understanding at just what stage a vehicle was or was capable of operating.

The scale they decided on begins at Level Zero, which describes a car where the driver alone is in control. The remainder, explains Miklos Kiss, Head of Pre-Development Driver Assistance Systems at Audi AG, provide concrete stages by which various parties can measure their progress along a shared timeline.

From a vehicle completely controlled by the driver – level Zero – the levels describe increasing levels of ‘intervention’ on the part of the vehicle. Level one describes a situation where systems such as cruise control are present, but the driver is still piloting the vehicle.

For Level 2 systems, the car takes greater control, but the driver has to be alert at all times and must remain capable of taking over at a moments notice – think the current Traffic Jam assist available in the Audi Q7 for example.

The next step though is a real game changer. Level 3, will debut in the all-new Audi A8 – the first production car in the world to offer this capability, provided it’s permitted in the country of sale. “For the first time [in the A8] we have all the sensors gathered together in one computing unit, and we take one 360 degree picture of the world around us,” says Kiss. 

With Level 3, the driver is allowed to hand over responsibility to the car and do other unrelated things, but can’t for example ‘completely switch off’. Should they be required, the driver must be able to resume control in roughly 10 seconds, but allowing the car to literally drive and deal with other traffic in a real world situation is a reality, says Kiss. 

Move to Level 4 and Audi offers the driver even greater assistance as demonstrated by the Audi ElAIne. “Level 4 means that the driver is not needed in certain situations,” says Kiss. “So maybe for the highway pilot, on the highway mode, the driver can sit back and relax. Before the car gets off the highway, the driver can take over and go off the highway.”

Parking too is taken care of at Level 4, whether the driver is in the car or not, thanks to remote piloting through the use of a smartphone app.

Level 5 though takes things right out of the driver’s hands – literally.

“At Level 5, the driver is not needed in any case in any street on Earth,” says Kiss. The Audi AIcon demonstrates this perfectly, providing a sumptuous environment for the occupants to sit back and relax while the vehicle literally takes care of everything.

No need for a steering wheel, pedals, or controls. The vehicle is in control and in constant contact with its environment, from the traffic through the swarm, to plotting the fastest and most economical route.

This technology is here – now. The only limitations are the various markets around the world, their infrastructure and obviously their respective legal systems. 

The future is here – sit back and enjoy the ride.