Translated with DeepL
Automated driving refers not only to fully automated vehicles, but also includes all intermediate stages of development. This development is described by the SAE stage model. It is still unclear when fully automated vehicles will be available. What is clear, however, is that the process is largely dependent on the technical and political framework conditions.
In order to make the development from non-automated vehicles to fully self-driving vehicles tangible, the American Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE ) has developed a stage model that differentiates between various levels of automation. This categorisation has become established worldwide and is used to describe more precisely what is meant by automated vehicles.
Some of today's cars have high-calibre assistance systems and can already do a lot. Manufacturers speak of semi-automated systems of SAE level 2.5 or 2+. Due to the marketing effect of such announcements, car manufacturers often announce vehicles with a higher degree of automation prematurely. They usually mean the availability of the first vehicles and not the series production of entire fleets. The fact that highly automated and fully automated SAE level 5 vehicles will one day become a reality is hardly in doubt today. This raises all the more questions about their introduction. Many studies and institutions have looked into possible steps for the introduction of passenger and goods transport vehicles and are trying to estimate how quickly automated vehicles can penetrate the market.
A differentiated picture is only possible if the scenarios are broken down into automation levels and areas of application. At the same time, a distinction must be made between the availability of the first vehicles and commercial fleet maturity, as there are years, if not decades, in between.
Even if the availability of automated vehicles is guaranteed soon, there are a number of arguments against rapid market penetration. The additional costs, for example, are still difficult to estimate. However, if equipped with highly reliable sensor technology, these could be considerable and amount to an estimated ten to twenty thousand Swiss francs per car. At present, the cost of sensor technology alone is in the range of a small to medium-sized car. As many of the advantages will only be realised when a high proportion of autonomous vehicles are on the road, supportive measures and framework conditions are needed to speed up their introduction. One possible measure to shorten the coexistence of vehicles with different levels of automation could be to create incentives for collectively rather than individually used autonomous passenger vehicles.
About the publication
The SATW publication "Autonomous driving. A driver of future mobility". Experts regard automated vehicles as the pinnacle of digitalisation, particularly due to their technical complexity. However, autonomous vehicles are not only of interest to the public for this reason, but also because mobility is of fundamental importance to modern society and therefore affects everyone. The publication creates a link between a general overview with answers to the most important questions about automated vehicles and in-depth individual contributions. This series of blog posts picks up on various topics that reflect the generic introduction of the publication.
