Vehicles will be introduced in step changes to their highest level of driver automation systems.
As vehicles are built and certified to operate at higher levels they will eventually reach driverless capability. However, it is key to understand that a vehicle could operate at any level at or below what it is capable of. Think of you phone as a comparison, it can run on 4G network or 3G and lower; but, it can't be both 4G and 3G
Levels 0 to 5
Human Driver Levels: 0 to 2
Level 0
Think of level 0 as being fully controlled by the driver. This is important to recognise as it will be several years, maybe decades, until these types of car are off the roads
Level 1
Level 1 is where the car has control of either acceleration/braking or turning, not both, during a driving task. Think of adaptive cruise control on the highway, the car maintains and adjusts your speed, but you still do the driving.
Level 2
This is when the car can control both the car's speed and turning to perform a driving task. For instance, in parking assist the car has control of all directions to complete the task, but it stops if an obstacle appears.
Automated Driving System Levels: 3 - 5
Level 3
Level 3 is classed in some legal jurisdictions as the first level of true autonmous vehicle capability. This is when the car can control all directions of motions and deal with unexpected object or event; however, the driver is on call as a fallback.
The car is usually needs drivier assistance going from one task to another, like transitioning from highway driving to residential
Level 4
In Level 4 the car becomes further responsible and becomes the fallback option in the event that a situation cannot be readily dealt with. This means the car's control systems are designed more robustly with additional fail safe systems.
This is the last level where the vehicle is still maintains some restriction where it operates or its ability to transition from driving tasks.
Level 5
In the highest level of automated driving discussed currently the car is able to perform all driving tasks in any road environment. We forsee this level recieving further refinement as Level 3 and 4 become a societal norm.
Introduction Timeline
While this timeline shows windows for new levels of automated driving systems to be implemented, Autoficial Intelligence is continually studying several scenarios relating to the introduction of new vehicles and technologies that could alter this.