There’s so much noise and confusion in here about SAEs levels it’s unbearable.
J3016 is a
taxonomy. It deals with the question:
To which degree is the human expected to perform the driving tasks? And it lets us assign a Level from 0-5. "0" meaning the human is absolutely necessary in all respects, "5" meaning the human is not expected to do anything, anytime, anywhere.
J3016, chapter 8.1:
J3016 is a convention based upon reasoned agreement, rather than a technical specification
As for mr. Lex Friedman, he said that J3016 is “the most widely accepted taxonomization of autonomy”. And that it’s useful for describing the system, for legal discussion and for policy making. Which, of course, is right.
But then Friedman goes on to say that he thinks/feels J3016 is not useful for “design and engineering” because he thinks/feels there are/should be only two “real” categories – one where the system “is not fully responsible”, and one where the system “is fully responsible”.
Which is where he messes up.
First of all, responsibility
is a legal matter - so it’s exactly what Friedman began saying J3016 is useful for describing.
Secondly, Friedman doesn’t seem to appreciate the fact that J3016 draws an unambiguous line between L0-L2 and L3-L5, where you are doing the driving in L0-L2, while you are not doing the driving in L3-L5. Because
your car manufacturer has designed the system such that you're not supposed to be driving.
Which is why your car manufacturer must take legal responsibility for the car's actions in L3-L5. The manufacturer can’t tell you that you’re not supposed to be monitoring the car’s surroundings, and at the same time say you’re liable because you failed to monitor the car’s surroundings.
So J3016 is as much about manufacturer intent than anything else. Chapter 8.2:
Levels ... reflect the design intent for the driving automation system feature as defined by its manufacturer.
The level assignment is typically based on the manufacturer’s knowledge of the feature’s/system’s design, development, and testing, which inform the level assignment.
So when Waymo publicly writes that their system is Level 4, it's because it's their design intent. It's what Waymo expects of it, and takes responsibility for.
Tesla on the other hand publicly makes it clear you must «keep your hands on the wheel at all times», that the car is not autonomous, and that YOU are responsible. So L2 is Tesla’s design intent with NoA, Auto Lane Change and Summon. They’re not intended to be, which is why they’re not, L3 features.
An ADS feature’s capabilities and limitations are expected to be communicated to prospective users through various means, such as in an owner’s manual, which explains the feature in more detail, such as how it should and should not be used, what limitations exist (if any), and what to do (if anything) in the event of a DDT performance-relevant system failure in the driving automation system or vehicle.
Get it? Good. Now wake me up when Tesla demonstrates anything L3.