Hopeful But Closer Scrutiny for SAE Level 4 Automation

The Autonomous initiative's flagship conference pinpoints safety and collaboration to advance high-level vehicle automation.

As the auto industry and its suppliers, along with technology developers and startups, recalibrate for what appears to be a new and more pragmatic phase of automated-driving expectations, industry conversation is turning to contextual applications and managing consumer perceptions. Concentration on SAE automated-driving Level 4 in particular is accelerating as developers embrace operational design domain (ODD) as an opportunity rather than a limitation - and SAE Level 3's driver “handoff” complications are muddying implementation and understanding of Level 3 advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS).

It was against this backdrop that Austria-based automated driving initiative The Autonomous conducted its Main Event conference in Vienna in late September with the stated theme of “Making safe autonomous mobility a reality.” Representatives of some 200 companies convened to discuss Level 4 aspects such as genuine first-use cases, the role of artificial intelligence and how to guarantee Level 4 system safety. Just prior to the event, speakers from the “Challenges for Level 4 Safe Automated Driving” panel participated in a virtual roundtable with international reporters, including SAE Media.