New SAE Standard for Automated-Driving Developers

Developed in less than a year, SAE's new J3216 standard will impact traffic management, operations and safety for automated mobility.

In May, amid quarantine and lockdowns for the Coronavirus pandemic, SAE International published SAE J3216 Standard: Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Cooperative Driving Automation for On-Road Motor Vehicles. The new standard provides clarity to support advancement of full automation.

SAE J3216 builds on 2016's SAE J3016 that defines six levels of driving automation, from SAE Level Zero (no automation) to SAE Level 5 (full vehicle autonomy). While J3016 aims to provide clarity and offer a foundation for advancing vehicle automation technologies, the newly-published J3216 does so with terms, definitions and taxonomy focused on Cooperative Driving Automation (CDA), a key building block that supports all levels of automation.