While autonomous driving systems are making significant progress, we are still far from being able to rely solely on them to manage driving. The vast majority of systems currently offered as standard, known as SAE level 2, are designed for cooperative driving, where the driver remains constantly willing to take over the wheel. It is therefore necessary to keep your hands on the latter and your eyes riveted on the road.
However, SAE level 3 systems are emerging. Under certain conditions, they allow the driver to go about their business. However, the latter can always be called back to the controls when the autonomous driving system is not able to handle a situation. It is only from SAE level 4 that the systems no longer require driver intervention when in control.
This intermediate level therefore presents a risk of accident when the car asks the driver to take control again. “We believe that level 3 is dangerous, based on all the analyzes we have carried out, because it relies too much on attention recovery and driver intervention”explained to journalists during a conference call Adrian Hallmark, CEO of Bentley, who is preparing to join Aston Martin.
Bentley is therefore considering abandoning SAE level 3: “Level 4 is much safer”, argues the CEO. However, the English brand will continue to evolve its current level 2 system towards technologies of “level 2 plus more”. This name, which is not recognized by SAE International, describes autonomous driving functions that are more advanced than those of usual level 2 systems, but which still require driver supervision.
“Some of the standalone features we’re going to get are better than what we would have gotten.”, says Adrian Hallmark. We do not yet know what these functions will be, which will be released by Bentley’s first electric car in 2026, but they should at least include autonomous parking possibilities, particularly remotely.