A self-driving future: The road to level 5 automation

WRITTEN BY: MARCUS LAW

Since the introduction of what most would consider to be modern cruise control in the late 1940s, driving has become increasingly automated. Modern vehicles can slow and stop in reaction to other vehicles around them, stay in lane and even drive for short distances without a guiding hand on the steering wheel.

But, up to this point, true automation has eluded a market valued at approximately US$25bn last year, with the holy grail – level 5 automation – still seemingly in the distance.

SAE, the Society of Automotive Engineers, determines vehicles' intelligence level and automation capabilities, ranking from 0 to 5. The most widespread autonomous systems, such as Tesla’s autopilot software, fall into level 2 or 3.

While level 3 vehicles can make informed decisions for themselves such as overtaking slower-moving vehicles, they still require human override when the machine is unable to execute the task at hand or the system fails.

The key difference between level 3 and level 4 automation is that vehicles in the latter category are able to intervene themselves if things go wrong or there is a system failure. In this sense, these cars are left completely to their own devices without any human intervention in the vast majority of situations – although the option to manually override does remain in difficult or preferable circumstances.

This is where level 5 automation comes in. Level 5 autonomous vehicles (AVs) lack typical driving controls such as steering wheels or pedals, with the traditional role of the driver eliminated completely.

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The future of mobility

The self-driving revolution represents another potential change: the ways in which technology might completely alter the ‘how’ in terms of transportation. Is this the start of the robotaxi rise?

“Just as mobile phones slowly replaced digital cameras, the driverless vehicle is the next inevitable phase of transport,” says Stuart Parker, Head of Future Lab, Goodwood Group. “There are several wellknown companies within this space already, but others are following in their footsteps and creating new and more innovative ways to get people from A to B.”

According to a report by KPMG, AVs may cut travel time by up to 40%, recover up to 80 billion hours lost to commuting and congestion, and reduce fuel consumption by up to 40%. “These cost/time-saving benefits are expected to be worth about US$1.3tn in the country,” the report adds. “Other potential cost-saving domains include reduced manpower – drivers and law enforcers.”

Robotaxis are fully-automated vehicles to take passengers to their intended destinations, on demand. Whether that eventually comes true is yet to be seen; what is certain, however, is that robotaxis are already undergoing limited public trials across the world, from Arizona to China.

Last August, Baidu became the first robotaxi operator in China to obtain permits for selling rides with no human driver or staff member inside the vehicles.

The tech giant’s autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, is now authorised to