By the time BMW is ready to field a Level 5 fully autonomous vehicle, some older BMW enthusiasts might be very ready for a self-driving car, since they may be too old to pass the eye test—or, for a few very senior BMW fans, the "still breathing" test. That's because a fully autonomous BMW—Level 5, in the self-driving hierarchy—is at least ten years away, according to Dirk Wisselmann, a senior engineer for automated driving at BMW.

In an interview with Drive Mag, Wisselmann pointed out that there is a difference between safety systems and cars that can take over all driver functions completely.

“Safety systems will help, but not take over 100%. We've got at least ten years ahead of us of assisted driving in such situations, not autonomous driving,” explained Wisselmann.

Controlling the car is not the issue. The challenge lies in the vehicle's self-driving systems being able to make all the right decisions in all possible situations.

To understand what the developers of self-driving cars are up against, it might be helpful to review the six levels of driver intervention and attentiveness required to classify vehicles as autonomous. These classifications were published by SAE International in 2014. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) adopted these classes in September 2016:

Level 0: Automated system has no vehicle control, but may issue warnings.

Level 1: Driver must be ready to take control at any time. Automated system may include features such as Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Parking Assistance with automated steering, and Lane Keeping Assistance (LKA) Type II in any combination.

Level 2: The driver is obliged to detect objects and events and respond if the automated system fails to respond properly. The automated system executes accelerating, braking, and steering. The automated system can deactivate immediately upon takeover by the driver.

Level 3: Within known, limited environments (such as freeways), the driver can safely turn their attention away from driving tasks, but must still be prepared to take control when needed.

Level 4: The automated system can control the vehicle in all but a few environments such as severe weather. The driver must enable the automated system only when it is safe to do so. When enabled, driver attention is not required.

Level 5: Other than setting the destination and starting the system, no human intervention is required. The automatic system can drive to any location where it is legal to drive and make its own decisions.

As you can see, there is a big difference between Levels 4 and 5. Other car companies, such as Ford, are projecting a market-ready Level 4 vehicle by 2021. Last year during its centenary, BMW said it would have a self-driving car by 2021. In looking at the standards and after reading Herr Wisselmann's remarks, we can only conclude that a 2021 BMW autonomous vehicle would be Level 4 at the most as well.

Many of us have said that BMW has another consideration when it comes to self-driving vehicles: they must have a switch to turn self-driving off. We still consider the operative word in BMW's "Ultimate Driving Machine" slogan to be "driving." According to Wisselmann, BMW is thinking of that, too, and that the self-driving technology of the future will work seamlessly with the human-driving technology.

“You can switch it on when you need it, and off when you don’t need it. Autonomous driving just takes care of the most boring parts of driving and lets the driver enjoy his BMW when he wants. There's no fun to commute on a very busy highway. But in the countryside, or on winding roads, you'll still be able—and encouraged—to take matters into your own hands,” said Wisselmann.

Who knows what effect the combination of technology, consumer preference, government regulation, and economics will have on the cars of tomorrow? It's nice to know that with BMW, we probably have at least ten years before we're faced with a fully self-driving choice and even then, BMW will still give us the option of being drivers.—Scott Blazey

[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]