about

contribute

republish

AIhub resources

AIhub events

☰

Robohub.org

SAE defines six levels of driving automation

by Bryant Walker Smith

07 February 2014

share this:

Auto_cars_highway

Photo: Osvaldo Gago

SAE International‘s On-Road Automated Vehicle Standards Committee, on which I serve along with experts from industry and government, has released an information report defining key concepts related to the increasing automation of on-road vehicles.

Central to this 12-page report are six levels of driving automation: 0 (no automation), 1 (driver assistance), 2 (partial automation), 3 (conditional automation), 4 (high automation), and 5 (full automation). The table below (available here in PDF) summarizes these levels.

PNG image of levels of driving automation. Link to PDF document available above.

This article was originally posted on CIS Blog on 18/12/2013: SAE Levels of Driving Automation.

If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:

See all the latest robotics news on Robohub, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

tags: Automotive, Autonomous Cars, autonomous driving, driverless cars, semi-autonomous driving

Bryant Walker Smith is an expert on the legal aspects of autonomous driving and a fellow at Stanford Law School.

Bryant Walker Smith is an expert on the legal aspects of autonomous driving and a fellow at Stanford Law School.

AUAI is supported by:

Related posts :

What does it take for a robot to hold a conversation with a room, not just a person?

Umar Farooq and UK RAS STEPS 14 Aug 2026

Find out about a summer school held at Imperial College London.

Robotics roadmaps from around the world

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) 12 Aug 2026

We embark on a tour into some of the recent and prominent robotics roadmaps from around the world.

A ‘5-in-1’ seed-sized surgical robot

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 10 Aug 2026

Mini robot can move, cut tissue, release drugs, grip and store samples, and generate heat wirelessly

AI agents create virtual playgrounds to help robots get crucial training data

MIT News 07 Aug 2026

“SceneSmith” system uses collaborative AI agents to create realistic 3D environments of places like kitchens, hotels, and living rooms, where robots can simulate everyday chores.

Robots in society, business and culture: July 2026

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) 06 Aug 2026

A round up of robotics stories in a new monthly series from IEEE RAS.

Simulated zebrafish and a vision-equipped robotic fish reveal how the body shapes brain circuits

Xiangxiao Liu, Eva Aimable Naumann and Auke Ijspeert 03 Aug 2026

Researchers look to the fish brain to create a robotic zebrafish that can autonomously swim upstream.

Researchers develop modular nanorobot

University of Basel 31 Jul 2026

A team at the University of Basel has developed a versatile nanorobot with propulsion and payload modules.

Surviving the paper deluge: a one-year study in learning from demonstration

IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) 29 Jul 2026

With the explosion of robotics research, staying current in fields like Learning from Demonstration is a monumental challenge.

↑

AUAI is supported by:

post timeline

scicomm

Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence
©2026.05

scicomm

Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?

training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI

©2026.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence