Tesla said in October it would begin to build each of its vehicles with hardware needed for full self-driving capability. Alphabet spun off its Google car project, renamed it Waymo, and unveiled a fully self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan last month.
Pratt said that for now, Toyota and most other automakers will focus on what the SAE International, a global engineering society, calls Level 2 autonomy.
At this level, computers have some control over steering, braking and acceleration, with humans remaining in overall command.
Human Control
The percentage of driving decisions that computers make will grow over time, and by Level 3, the job of humans would be to remain poised to reassert control during an emergency. That’s a difficult task, Pratt said, since their attention will tend to wander during miles of apparently safe operation.
Pratt said he doesn’t know for sure or when, but that Toyota and other automakers may skip directly to so-called Level 4 autonomy. At this level, computers retain control of all driving decisions, but only on roadways specifically designed and approved for this purpose.
The best way for automakers to make money on Level 4 autonomy, Pratt said, may be to sell them to ride-sharing fleets that can control how they’re used.
At CES, Pratt helped introduce a design called Concept-i, a possible future vehicle that would use artificial intelligence to monitor the operator’s emotions and driving decisions, and then try to anticipate their future needs.
By John Lippert