*Author: SAE
On April 30th, 2021, SAE International announced an important update. With the rapid development of automated driving, the updated version of the《SAE J3016™ Recommended Practice: Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to On-Road Motor Vehicle Automated Driving Systems》(commonly known as the “SAE Automated Driving Levels”) jointly developed by SAE International and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has been officially released.
SAE J3016 provides supportive terms and definitions for 6 levels of automated driving. The range of SAE Automated Driving Levels is from Level 0 (no automation) to Level 5 (full automation) for on-road motor vehicles.
The updated version of the SAE Automated Driving Levels further refines the previous version by adding new terms, substantially improving and clarifying misunderstood concepts, and reorganizing some definitions into more logical groups. The significant changes in this version of the SAE Automated Driving Levels include:
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Further clarification of the differences between SAE Level 3 and SAE Level 4, including the role of the fallback user, the possibility of SAE Level 3 automatic fallback, and the possibility of alerting vehicle occupants in SAE Level 4.
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Definition of two different remote support functions: remote assistance and remote driving, and the users who execute these functions: remote assistant and remote driver.
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Renaming SAE Level 1 and SAE Level 2 automated driving systems as Driver Support Systems, corresponding to the term Automated Driving Systems used for SAE Levels 3 to 5.
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Explaining how the classification of sustained driving automation applies to a wider environment of driver assistance and active safety features.
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Excluding the reasons for warning and instant driving intervention systems from the classification of automated driving levels.
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Grouping vehicle types into Conventional Vehicle, Dual-mode Vehicle, and Automated Driving System-dedicated Vehicle.
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Defining and clarifying the concept of fault mitigation strategies.
The Chairman of the SAE J3016 Technical Standards Committee, Barbara Wendling, stated: “As autonomous driving technology continues to develop globally, SAE J3016: Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation is constantly being updated to adapt to evolving technologies and deployment strategies.
Our partnership with ISO enables us to expand and improve the Recommended Practice to better provide clear, concise, and consistent language and definitions for our global customers.
Since the introduction of SAE Driving Automation Levels in 2014, it has been referenced by many official documents that require precise language, such as laws, regulations, guidance documents, and standards.”
The SAE J3016 Technical Standards Committee has teamed up with ISO/TC 204 Intelligent Transport Systems to form a joint working group made up of representatives from nine countries to carefully address common issues in early versions of the Recommended Practice. The updated version of SAE J3016, incorporating international expert recommendations from ISO, will be more applicable to the global mobility community.
Source: SAE International
Scan the QR code below to register and obtain the “SAE J3016™ Recommended Practice: Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation Systems for Road Vehicles,” as well as the comparison document between the 2021 and 2018 editions (the comparison document may require Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer).
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