autonomous car
Enable an AI agent to recognise an autonomous car, assess whether its automated driving capability is usable in the current situation, and determine what operation or intervention is permitted.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
recalled by Codex without web access - no source was read
Researched by: Codex
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise an autonomous car, assess whether its automated driving capability is usable in the current situation, and determine what operation or intervention is permitted.
An autonomous car is a passenger road vehicle equipped with an automated driving system capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task within specified operating conditions, with human fallback requirements depending on its automation level.
It can be Check whether a proposed route and current conditions fit the car's supported operating domain.; Assess readiness and recommend enabling, restricting or withholding automated driving.; Identify the responsible human or system during a control transition.; Request a supported stop or fallback action through an authorised interface.; Assess whether a fault, repair or software change requires inspection or renewed validation.; Explain an operational decision using configuration, state and event evidence..
Distinguishing features
Determine whether an enabled driving feature performs the complete driving task within stated conditions, rather than only assisting steering or speed control.
Identify who must monitor the driving environment and respond when the feature cannot continue; automation claims alone do not establish driverless capability.
Establish whether driving decisions are executed onboard or require continuous control by a remote human driver.
Verify that the thing is a car intended for road travel, rather than a delivery robot, industrial mobile robot or simulated vehicle.
Distinguish an installed and operational automated driving capability from hardware marketed as capable of supporting a future capability.
Scope
+ Automated execution of the driving task and its dependence on human supervision
+ Operational design domain and present eligibility for automated driving
+ Onboard sensing, localisation, planning and vehicle control
+ Failure response, fallback, passenger interaction and remote assistance
+ Configuration, maintenance and validation evidence affecting autonomous operation
- General car construction and propulsion except where they constrain automated driving
- Fleet dispatch, pricing and transport service management
- Road infrastructure and traffic regulation as independent systems
- Development of general artificial intelligence or robotics algorithms
- Manufacturer organisations, product catalogues and individual vehicle identity records
Characteristics
- Driving automation responsibility
- Per feature: driving-task performer, environment-monitoring responsibility and fallback responsibility Separates autonomous operation from assistance and identifies required human participation.
- Operational design domain
- Permitted road types, geographic area, speed range, weather, lighting and infrastructure conditions Defines the conditions under which the capability is intended to operate.
- Current domain eligibility
- Inside domain, approaching boundary, outside domain or undetermined; with evidence timestamp Supports decisions about activation, continuation and exit.
- Driving control mode
- Unavailable, available, engaged, transition requested, fallback active or stopped; mapped to implementation-specific states Identifies who or what currently controls the car and which transitions are possible.
- Perception and localisation health
- Subsystem-specific health, uncertainty, degraded functions and timestamps Connects sensor and positioning limitations to remaining driving capability.
- Automated operating speed envelope
- Minimum and maximum speed in km/h for specified conditions Constrains activation, route suitability and manoeuvre planning.
- Fallback capability
- Supported fallback behaviours, triggering conditions and intended stopping or other risk-reducing outcomes Makes loss of normal autonomous operation assessable.
- Remote support dependency
- Required external service, advisory or control authority, connectivity conditions and loss-of-link behaviour Distinguishes assistance from remote driving and exposes operational dependencies.
- Validated configuration
- Linked hardware, software, calibration and map versions with applicable validation evidence Prevents capability evidence for one configuration being assumed valid for another.
- Operational permission
- Applicable jurisdiction, operating authorisation, conditions, validity period and supporting record Separates technical capability from permission to operate.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 28 questions.
Automation boundary The driving capability being claimed and the division of responsibility between vehicle and humans.
The term autonomous car does not by itself establish which driving tasks the car can perform or whether a human must remain ready.
Driving task coverage
The automated feature's coverage of vehicle motion and response to the road environment.
Complete driving capability
Record the supported driving tasks and the evidence separating automated driving from partial assistance.
- Which feature performs steering, speed control and response to objects and events during its intended operation? definition
- Which driving responsibilities remain with an occupant, and under what conditions? boundary
Human and remote roles
Required human availability and the authority of remote participants.
Supervision and intervention
Record occupant and remote roles without treating supervision, advice and direct driving as interchangeable.
- Must a person monitor the road, remain available for a takeover request or perform fallback? boundary
- Can remote personnel advise the car, authorise a manoeuvre or directly control its motion? action
Operating domain The conditions that bound automated operation and their evaluation during a journey.
A car may support autonomous driving only on certain roads or under particular environmental conditions.
Domain definition
Explicit road, geographic and environmental limits of each automated driving feature.
Permitted driving conditions
Record a feature-specific operating envelope, including combinations of conditions that exclude use.
- Which roads, locations, speeds, weather and lighting conditions are included or excluded? boundary
- Which versioned capability description or validation record establishes these limits? provenance
Domain monitoring
Assessment of current conditions and foreseeable exits from the supported envelope.
Journey eligibility
Record whether a route remains eligible and how uncertainty or a domain boundary affects operation.
- What observations establish that the current road segment and conditions are inside the domain? measurement
- What must happen before a planned or unexpected exit from the domain? action
Driving system The chain from observing the road to executing a manoeuvre.
Autonomous capability depends on how sensing, interpretation, planning and physical control function together.
Perception and positioning
Observation of relevant road actors and estimation of the car's location.
Environment estimate
Record installed sensing and positioning dependencies, their limitations and their current health.
- Which sensors, positioning services and maps are required, and what happens when one is obscured, unavailable or stale? boundary
- How are object-detection limitations and localisation uncertainty measured and exposed to the driving system? measurement
Planning and actuation
Selection and physical execution of driving actions within the available control envelope.
Manoeuvre feasibility
Record supported manoeuvres and how vehicle condition constrains their execution.
- Which manoeuvres can the system execute, and which require assistance or are excluded? boundary
- How do braking, steering, tyre condition, load and available power constrain the actions the planner may request? action
Fallback and interaction Control transitions, degraded operation and communication during abnormal situations.
Assessing an autonomous car requires knowing how it behaves when normal driving cannot continue and how people can intervene.
Degradation and fallback
Responses to faults, lost dependencies and conditions exceeding the driving capability.
Risk-reducing response
Record fault-specific fallback actions and the evidence supporting their intended outcomes.
- Which failures or domain violations trigger restricted driving, a takeover request or an automated fallback manoeuvre? action
- What stopping or other risk-reducing outcome is intended, and what conditions could prevent it? boundary
Occupant and responder interface
How people understand the current mode and request supported interventions.
Control transition interface
Record mode indications, takeover communication and intervention access for occupants and responders.
- How does the car communicate who controls driving and whether a takeover request has been acknowledged? definition
- How can an occupant or emergency responder request a stop, inhibit further movement or obtain assistance? action
Assurance and service Evidence, authorisation and upkeep needed to sustain an assessed automated driving capability.
A capability assessment can become invalid when the configuration, condition or operating permission changes.
Capability evidence and permission
Traceable support for capability claims and their applicability to a particular deployment.
Applicable assurance
Record validation scope, unresolved limitations and applicable operating permissions separately.
- Which test reports or assessments support the claimed capability for this configuration and operating domain? provenance
- Which issuing bodies, standards and operating authorisations apply, and what restrictions do their records impose? boundary
Configuration and maintenance
Changes and service conditions that affect readiness for automated driving.
Continued driving readiness
Record software, map, calibration and hardware changes together with required checks and diagnostic evidence.
- Which updates, sensor replacements, repairs or calibration changes require checks before automated operation resumes? action
- Which configuration records and time-aligned event logs establish the car's state when an operational decision or incident occurred? provenance
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Autonomous car is an informal term with inconsistent boundaries; confirm whether this registry includes conditional automation or reserves the term for driverless operation.
- Standards are recalled by identifier and scope; applicable editions, legal adoption, and approval requirements require verification.
- No universal dimensions, power source, speed range, or safety certification mark distinguishes autonomous cars; quantitative claims require a specified vehicle and operational design domain.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of autonomous car this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Conditionally automated cars requiring a fallback-ready user (SAE Level 3)
- Highly automated cars requiring no human driving fallback within their operational design domain (SAE Level 4)
- Fully automated cars intended to operate under all driver-manageable on-road conditions (SAE Level 5)
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of autonomous car this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Vehicle identification number (VIN) - 17-character identifier under widely used VIN systems - Identifies an individual vehicle, not its automation level, software version, or permitted operating conditions.
- SAE J3016 driving automation classification - Level 0 through Level 5 - Classifies driving automation features rather than uniquely identifying vehicles; Levels 3-5 involve automated driving systems.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of autonomous car this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- SAE International J3016: terminology and taxonomy for driving automation systems for on-road motor vehicles.
- ISO 26262, issued by the International Organization for Standardization: functional safety of road-vehicle electrical and electronic systems.
- ISO 21448, issued by the International Organization for Standardization: safety of the intended functionality.
- ISO/SAE 21434, jointly issued by ISO and SAE International: road-vehicle cybersecurity engineering.
- UN Regulation No. 157, developed through UNECE WP.29: approval requirements for Automated Lane Keeping Systems within its defined scope.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of autonomous car this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Driverless passenger transport within geographically and operationally restricted service areas.
- Conditional automation of driving on suitable roads under specified conditions.
- Automated valet parking within supported facilities.
- Research and validation of automated driving through instrumented road testing.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of autonomous car this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Missed or incorrect detection of road users, obstacles, signals, or markings because of occlusion, adverse weather, contamination, or perception limitations.
- Localization errors or outdated map information causing incorrect positioning or route interpretation.
- Prediction and planning errors around unusual situations or other road users' unexpected behavior.
- Sensor, computing, power, steering, or braking failures that prevent continued safe operation or a safe fallback.
- Unsafe transitions of control, including delayed human takeover in conditional automation and use outside the supported operational design domain.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of autonomous car this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Testing permissions, deployment authorization, and requirements for a safety driver differ between jurisdictions.
- Road markings, traffic conventions, signage, and driving behavior require locally appropriate validation.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of autonomous car this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- car - The broader vehicle kind does not require an automated driving system; autonomous cars add automated performance of the driving task.
- advanced driver-assistance system - Assistance features at SAE Levels 1-2 require the driver to supervise the driving environment and remain responsible for completing the driving task.
- automated driving system - The system is the hardware and software that performs the driving task; the autonomous car is the vehicle incorporating it.
- connected car - External data connectivity does not establish the ability to perform the driving task autonomously.
- remotely driven car - A remote human performs the driving task; remote assistance alone does not necessarily make an autonomous car remotely driven.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of autonomous car this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- What definition and automation taxonomy should anchor this registry entry, particularly for features that require a human to perform fallback?
- Does an existing Vercy car or world model already own any of this scope, and which capabilities should be represented through links?
- Which operating-domain descriptions and validation sources provide enough detail to assess combined environmental limits?
- Which jurisdiction-specific standards, approvals and remote-operation rules apply to the deployments the catalogue intends to represent?
- What evidence is sufficient to judge fallback effectiveness and continued readiness after software changes, repairs or sensor degradation?