Introduction
In a world of constant development humans are trying to achieve perfection in every field of knowledge. Scientists are working non-stop on newest inventions which are meant to help us people with getting through our day. One of the most common filed constantly being developed and is used around the world by almost everyone, is of course transport industry. Let us focus mainly on Cars which we use daily. Autonomous driving is no longer a science fiction dream of far future. We differentiate 5 levels of Autonomous Driving AI System.
Classification of autonomous driving development stages.
This classifications comes from Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). It describes the inequalities between every stage and states which level is an entry to autonomous driving. The levels of autonomous driving range from 0 with no assistance systems at all to Level 5, which describes fully autonomous driving.
What are the different autonomous driving levels all about?
Level 0 Autonomous Driving – Manual Driving
Anyone who obtained their driving license before the 1990s probably still learned to drive still learned to drive a completely manual vehicle – without ESP, parking assistance, or any other kind of assistance system. According to the classification of the SAE, these vehicles belong to level 0 autonomous driving.
Level 1 Autonomous Driving – driver assistance
New vehicles without any assistance systems are hardly to be found today; the majority of cars are equipped with assistance functions that correspond to Level 1. Examples include cruise control, lane departure warning, and emergency brake assistance. They support the driver, increase safety and driving convenience, but in no way replace his or her skills. The driver still steers the vehicle completely independently, has to be alert at all times and keep a constant eye on the traffic.
Cruse control
Line departure warning
Emergency braking assistance
Level 2 Autonomous Driving- partial automation
Level 2, as expected, goes one step further. Here, several assistance systems are often combined with one another so that the vehicle can independently perform individual driving maneuvers, such as parking or navigating stop-and-go traffic. The driver can hand over control of the vehicle during these maneuvers, but must remain alert and be able to intervene at any time if something does not work as intended. The same applies to assistance functions such as lane departure warning or distance warning. Level 1 and 2, when combined, form the current ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) technology.
Current vehicle models are often categorized as Level 2, and even if the functions are sometimes very impressive, it must be made clear that these are by no means actual self-driving functions that allow drivers to divert their attention from the road.
Level 3 Autonomous Driving – conditional automation
With the step from Level 2 to Level 3, things begin to get more exciting: While Level 2 autonomous driving is all about assistance systems, in Level 3 the car actually drives autonomously under certain conditions. Drivers may temporarily turn their attention towards other activities and even take their hands off the wheel. With Level 3, you enter the world of highly automated driving!
The added value of automating certain scenarios can be seen particularly clearly in highway driving. For instance, driving straight ahead for long periods is boring and relatively straightforward compared with navigating city traffic. Accordingly, a possible development towards Level 3 could be that vehicles on highways drive independently and drivers can devote themselves to other tasks during this time. When the highway exit is approaching or some complicated scenarios pop-up, such as road work or diversions, the vehicle hands control back to the driver.
However, this handover poses a number of challenges. Which activities may the driver perform while the car is steering itself? How long in advance must the vehicle alert about the change of control? These questions need to be clarified, as does the technological assurance that the vehicle will correctly recognize when a traffic situation exceeds its capabilities.
Level 4 Autonomous Driving – high automation
The next step after the initial automation of certain driving situations is the automation of all driving situations, i.e. fully automated driving on Level 4, where the vehicle controls complete journeys on the highway as well as in city traffic predominantly independently. Drivers can also devote themselves to other activities for longer periods of time, such as working, keeping the children in the back seat busy, or even sleeping.
Those who see their own driving pleasure endangered by autonomous driving functions do not need to worry: At Level 4 the driver can always take back control of the vehicle at any time. In some cases the vehicle may even hand over control to the driver if the system is no longer able to guarantee complete safety. If the driver does not react in this situation, the vehicle will come to a safe stop.
Level 5 Autonomous Driving – full automation
With Level 5 we have arrived at fully autonomous driving: Unlike the previous levels of autonomous driving, neither driving ability nor a driving license are required to use the vehicle.
The driver becomes a pure passenger.
This is why prototypes of fully autonomous vehicles have neither a steering wheel nor pedals, since they are capable of driving completely independently and require no human input. The user merely determines the pick-up location and the destination.
This opens up completely new possibilities for low-cost individual transport, because robo-taxi fleets consisting of fully automated vehicles can be operated very economically and efficiently. In addition, they generate enormous advantages for people without a driving license or their own vehicle, such as children or senior citizens, and offer great added value, especially in rural areas. Thus, autonomous vehicles will not only change the functional spectrum of the car in general, but also the concept of mobility itself from the ground up.
Is it possible for Autonomous Driving in not so far future?
Considering how fast modern world is changing it is very possible for Fully Autonomous Driving(level 5) to appear in a future. It is largely determined by the development of perception technology an sensor technology. Automated driving functions from Level 3 upwards are only possible if vehicles are able to reliably detect their entire environment and derive instructions for action accordingly. Such vehicles will make use of a wide range of sensors, such as ultrasonic sensors, radar, and cameras, with the LiDAR sensor at the center, thanks to its high resolution and reliable 3D measurement capabilities. We only can wait and see what future holds.
Links:
https://www.thewindscreenco.co.uk/adas-guide/autonomous-emergency-braking-aeb/ ,
https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/autonomous-vehicles-undergo-reality-check ,
While autonomous vehicles are coming future in my opinion also, autonomous trains being already huge advantage and fully self – driving technology from our friends in Japan.
Check out Yurikamome Train Line, Tokyo.