SAE Publishes Terminology Standard for Automated Driving Systems

January 23, 2014

Patrick Ponticel

Ford on Jan. 22 announced it will team with MIT and Stanford University to do research on automated driving technologies. Shown is a Ford Fusion Hybrid automated research vehicle.

As evidenced on the show floor of the 2014 North American Auto Show in Detroit last week, new car models increasingly include features such as lane-departure-warning, adaptive-cruise-control, and parking-assist systems. Technology advances are leading inexorably toward increased used of automation. With the goal of providing the global engineering community with a common "autonomous vehicle" terminology platform, the SAE International On-Road Automated Vehicle Standards Committee recently published a new SAE Information Report: J3016, "Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to On-Road Motor Vehicle Automated Driving Systems." Said Jack Pokrzywa, Manager, Ground Vehicle Standards, SAE International: "Today's technological advancements in the automotive industry come at a high pace. This requires engineering standards to be applied much more quickly. SAE International’s technical standards committees are doing a tremendous job in ensuring that a consensus-based process helps to apply new technology in vehicles worldwide." The Information Report provides a taxonomy describing the full range of levels of automation in on-road motor vehicles, and it includes operational definitions for advanced levels of automation and related terms. Click here for more information or to purchase the document .