ITS (UK) launches A-F scale for connected vehicles

ITS (UK) has developed a ‘Scale of connections for co-operation of connected vehicles’ to help people understand how connected their vehicles are. It mirrors the existing scale for automated vehicles, the SAE international standard, which goes from Level 1 (driver assistance required) to Level 5 (fully autonomous). The ITS (UK) scale, developed by the group’s Connected and Automated Vehicles (C/AV) Forum and supported by the Department for Transport and Highways England, uses letters instead. “Currently a
April 12, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

ITS (UK) has developed a ‘Scale of connections for co-operation of connected vehicles’ to help people understand how connected their vehicles are.

It mirrors the existing scale for automated vehicles, the 567 SAE international standard, which goes from Level 1 (driver assistance required) to Level 5 (fully autonomous). The ITS (UK) scale, developed by the group’s Connected and Automated Vehicles (C/AV) Forum and supported by the 1837 Department for Transport and 8101 Highways England, uses letters instead.

“Currently all vehicles are at Level A, and with a smartphone they can get to C,” explains Andy Graham, chair of the C/AV Forum.

“Level D would take the services many of us work on today in research and demonstrations and make them more widely available and used, as the first step “connected roads ready” allied to existing communications and vehicles,” he continues.

The scale has been designed to focus on what is possible – rather than on details of the technology. This means that a service is only designated at a particular level when it is widely available – for instance, when an app is published – rather than when it has been tested as part of a research project.

All new vehicles today with connections to head units would be level D, “but the roads and communications are not yet at the level”, Graham points out. “This reflects HD TV rollout when HD TVs became available before HD programmes. Level E vehicles are not yet available, but maybe soon.”

ITS (UK) says the scale will be reviewed ‘periodically’, as Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) plans develop.

Networking & Communication Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • BMW to switch to Here HD map for future self-driving vehicles
    February 22, 2018
    German-based BMW Group (BMW) has confirmed it will integrate Here’s HD Live Map into its self-driving cars from the beginning of the next decade to enable them to operate with level three and four automated capabilities. The project aims to enhance safety for drivers and passengers. The map is designed with the intention of providing a more precise solution than navigation systems and is said to be updated more rapidly, drawing on data from a growing list of partners across the automotive industry.
    Read More
  • New services and equipment helps cities tackle air quality issues
    September 19, 2017
    With poor urban air quality shortening lives and fines being imposed for breaching pollution limits, authorities are seeking ways to clean up their cities. Poor air quality is topping the agenda for city authorities across the globe. In the UK, for example, a report from the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Paediatrics and Child Health, concluded that poor outdoor air quality shortens the lives of around 40,000 people a year – principally by undermining the health of people with heart and/or lung prob
    Read More
  • Sorting myth from reality in vehicle automation
    June 2, 2016
    Bob Denaro looks beyond the hype surrounding autonomous vehicles to the challenges that still need to be overcome. Automated vehicles (AVs) may be the perfect storm – in a positive way - with the automobile manufacturers, the government and consumers all embracing the emergence of a transformational new technology and product.
    Read More
  • Daimler’s double take sees machine vision move in-vehicle
    December 13, 2013
    Jason Barnes looks at Daimler’s Intelligent Drive programme to consider how machine vision has advanced the state of the art of vision-based in-vehicle systems. Traditionally, radar was the in-vehicle Driver Assistance System (DAS) technology of choice, particularly for applications such as adaptive cruise control and pre-crash warning generation. Although vision-based technology has made greater inroads more recently, it is not a case of ‘one sensor wins’. Radar and vision are complementary and redundancy
    Read More

Highlighted Content