SAE J3106™ Level 5

SAE Level 5 - Full Driving Automation

Level 5 represents the highest level of driving automation defined by SAE J3016. At this level, the automated driving system (ADS) can perform all driving tasks, under all conditions that a human driver could reasonably be expected to encounter.

Key Capabilities of Level 5 Systems

• Can operate the vehicle with full self-driving capabilities on any road, under any conditions
• No geographic, environmental, speed, or other operational design domain restrictions
• No expectation for a human driver to ever request control of the vehicle

Level 5 vehicles have full end-to-end autonomous driving capabilities equal to a human driver. They can navigate to any destination, follow traffic rules, respond to events, re-route as needed, and drive from entrance to exit without any human intervention.

Vehicle Design for Level 5

Since Level 5 does not require a human driver, these vehicles may not have manual driving controls like steering wheels or pedals. The interior can be designed solely around passenger comfort and amenities.However, some Level 5 vehicles could retain manual driving options to allow human operation if desired. But the key distinction is that Level 5 vehicles can drive themselves without any human monitoring or input required.

Challenges and Roadblocks

Achieving reliable Level 5 automation is an immense technical challenge that has proven extremely difficult. Vehicles must be able to safely respond to an infinite number of scenarios, road conditions, weather events, unexpected obstacles, and more.Sensor performance, functional safety, cybersecurity, and machine learning capabilities all need to advance significantly. Additionally, regulations, liability, and public acceptance remain hurdles for widespread Level 5 deployment.While research is rapidly progressing, most experts believe Level 5 is still years or decades away from large-scale commercial reality. In the meantime, automakers are focusing on more achievable Level 2+ and Level 4 capabilities for the near-term future of self-driving vehicles.