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November 14, 2021
Tesla calls its driver assistance system Autopilot. The company is rolling out its latest iteration, dubbed Full Self Driving (FSD). General Motors calls its software Ultra Cruise. Ford’s effort is Co-Pilot 360.
Names can be misleading. None of these systems fit the engineering standards for what one would consider fully self driving. Standards which one expert says have been, “used and abused” by carmakers. Tesla is in a spat with Federal safety officials and regulators about its self-driving systems.
Tesla testing its Full Self Driving System in 2019. (Credit: Telsa)
AUTONOMY SAVES LIVES
The goal is to reach a fully autonomous vehicle. We are not very good drivers, pilots, or sea captains. Humans have a tendency to make mistakes. That’s why all new jetliners have automated systems. It’s why ships can be put on auto-helm. We want the same thing for cars to dramatically reduce or eliminate traffic deaths. More than 38,000 people were killed last year on the roads. The number was up nearly 20% the first part of this year.
Autonomy on roadways is a difficult challenge. We are not talking about open skies or oceans. Pedestrians, kids in crosswalks, other vehicles, and thousands of other unpredictable obstacles and events challenge the artificial intelligence of the car.
Automakers are making progress. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are in most new vehicles. This is not a fully autonomous system, but the car is doing a lot for the driver.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk discusses development of autonomous vehicles with Sandy Munro of "Munro Live." (Credit: Munro Live)
Safety experts and carmakers are really worried about this in-between time, the period between high-level ADAS and full autonomy. The worry is the humans driver may become complacent. Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is using the FSD name, is concerned. As he says, using a Star Trek term, “the prime directive” for an autonomous car is, “don’t crash.”
Musk explains the "prime directive" for Tesla's autonomous vehicles (Credit: Munro Live).
BUILDING BLOCKS
Explaining automobile autonomy can get wonky. But let’s break it down into the standards and the systems that are leading us to the self-driving world.
At its core, autonomy is several safety systems linked together. ADAS is part way to autonomy. The linked systems have been developed over the past few decades. You may not realize you have been using these systems in the evolution to autonomy.
Any modern car has an anti-lock braking system(ABS) to keep you from locking the brakes and possibly getting into an uncontrollable spin. Electronic stability control (ESC) came along to keep you from skidding. More recent automatic emergency braking systems (AEB) have helped avoid collisions and introduced cameras and/or radar to tell the computer something is getting too close. Add adaptive cruise control and lane departure programs and you are seeing some of the foundational systems that will lead to automobile autonomy.
SAE automation levels which are not law in the United States. (Credit: NHTSA)
THE LEVELS
What is the definition of an autonomous vehicle? That depends on who you ask. SAE International (which used to be known as The Society of Automotive Engineers) publishes standards for parts and automobiles. SAE came up with five levels of autonomy. The highest level of autonomous cars on our roads right now are Level-2, which is called, “partial automation,” The driver has to remain engaged even though the car is doing a lot of the driving. We don’t get to full autonomy until Level-4 and Level-5. Human intervention is not needed in those two high levels of autonomy.
So if no cars are above Level-2, which requires human intervention, why are carmakers allowed to tout their system as being auto-pilot or full self driving. It’s because these SAE standards are just definitions. While the standards have been “adopted almost universally,” according to Russ Martin of the Governors Highway Safety Association, they have not been turned into law in the US.
Interior of Tesla Model Y (Credit: Tesla)
The design and safety systems in your car are governed by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS). Even under those rules, automakers are allowed to self-certify that they meet those requirements.
DEFINITIONS VS. LAWS
Since the SAE autonomy levels are not part of FMVSS, automakers can say just about anything what they want about autonomy in their vehicles. The regulator, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, has sent a message to automakers, "Many companies today are testing advanced automated vehicles to ensure that they operate as intended, but a great deal of work remains to be done to ensure their safe operation before they are made publicly available."
Martin says there is talk in Congress about giving regulators the ability to make rules (possibly the SAE standards) describing and defining autonomy. Automakers would then be forced to follow the standards, their definition, and their language.
The road to such a law does not appear to be on autopilot.
Cover photo credit: Getty Images/SERGII IAREMENKO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY