6 Levels of Autonomy in Self Driving Cars: Explained

Self-driving cars are considered as a future of transport. Millions of dollars are being invested and the sharpest of the minds are being deployed into the research and development of self-driving cars which are also known as autonomous cars. There are debates and discussions happening online about whether self-driving cars are safe on the road or not.

But do we really know the meaning of the term ‘self-driving?

In reality, a Self-driving car doesn’t necessarily mean a car that drives all by itself.  The term is very broad.  Let’s try to figure out what that means.

For a long time, the automobile industry is trying to include one or the other features which help drivers drive better.

There are functionalities/ systems which provide some assistance and have some level of autonomy correlated to them.

Let’s take an example of the Automatic Lane Correction feature. The car monitors the lane with the help of sensors and tries to bring the car to the center of the lane automatically by using automated steering or automated brakes.

This example also comes into the gamut of self-driving cars. In fact, this scenario comes under the Level 2 of SAE International (Society of Automotive Engineers) autonomy levels for self-driving cars.

So What is meant by SAE levels? Let’s find out.

SAE International is basically a well-known and reputed international organization founded in the year 1905. One of the founders being Henry Ford. Now you get the idea right.

So according to them, there are six levels of autonomy in self-driving cars ranging from zero to five. Zero being the least autonomous and five being completely autonomous.