[…] Silicon Valley is the Mecca for entrepreneurs because everyone knows this is where the action is. Just as if you are an actor you move to Hollywood, if you are an entrepreneur you move to the Silicon Valley. This is true of the automotive industry. Companies like Ford are opening innovation and research centers dedicated to autonomous vehicles. It is no surprise to see self-driving cars roaming the Silicon Valley roads, as they are being tested.

Brian Solis published a slide show on the state of autonomous vehicles as of today, where he cites analyst predictions that by 2021 self-driving cars will be at stage 5. What does each stage actually mean?

Here are the five levels of self-driving cars:

Level 0
Zero Automation – Driving as Usual. A human driver is required to operate the vehicle safely at all times.

Level 1
Driver Assisted/Function-Specific – Intelligent features add layer of safety and comfort. A human driver is required for all critical functions. The car can alert the driver to conditions, environment and obstructions. It can also offer assisted/smart performance and driving capabilities.

Level 2
Partial Automation/Combined Autonomous Functions – Key automated capabilities become standard but driver still in control. At least two simultaneous autonomous tasks become are managed by the vehicle in specific scenarios.

Level 3
Conditional Automation/Limited Self-Driving – The car becomes a co-pilot. The vehicle manages most safety-critical driving functions in known (mapped) environmental conditions. A human driver is still present and expected to manage vehicle operation.

Level 4
High Automation – Capable of performing all safety-critical driving functions while monitoring environments/conditions in defined use cases. Per NHTSA, this is full self-driving automation. Per SAE, Self-driving is fully possible in most road conditions and environments without need of human intervention. A functional driver cockpit is still in place (steering wheel, brake/acceleration pedal, etc.)

Level 5
Fully Autonomous – Vehicle is completely driverless. There will not be level 5 according to NHTSA. But per SAE, full-time automated driving in all conditions without a human driver will exist. These vehicles will not feature driving equipment and will no longer look like the vehicles of the past.