An autonomous vehicle, also known as a self-driving car, driverless car, or robotic car, is a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment and operating without human involvement. A human passenger is not required to take control of the vehicle at any time, nor is a human passenger required to be present in the vehicle at all. Autonomous vehicles use technology to partially or entirely replace the human driver in navigating a vehicle from an origin to a destination while avoiding road obstacles. Some key terms and definitions related to autonomous vehicles include:
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Autonomous mode: The status of vehicle operation where autonomous technology performs the dynamic driving task, with or without a human actively supervising the autonomous technology’s performance of the dynamic driving task.
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Dynamic driving task: All of the real-time functions required to operate a vehicle in on-road traffic, excluding election of final and intermediate destinations. This includes, without limitation: vehicle acceleration, braking, and steering; lane-centering; object and event detection and response; and maneuvers such as parking, turning, and merging.
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Operator: The person who is seated in the driver’s seat of an autonomous vehicle. If there is no person in the driver’s seat, this causes the autonomous technology to engage.
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Manufacturer: A manufacturer of autonomous technology defined in Vehicle Code section 38750 (a) (5). This includes a vehicle manufacturer that produces an autonomous vehicle from raw materials or new basic components, and a person who modifies any vehicle by installing autonomous technology.
Autonomous vehicles use combinations of technologies and sensors to sense the roadway, other vehicles, and objects on and along the roadway. These technologies include cameras, radar, lidar, GPS, and computer vision. While autonomous vehicles have the potential to make driving more efficient and safer, there are also safety and legal issues that need to be addressed before they can be widely adopted.
