Level 2+: Taking High-Value ADAS Mainstream

Enhanced SAE Level 2 automated driving systems avoid the cost, complexity - and uncertainty - of Level 3.

Soon after SAE International released its J3016 “Levels of Automated Driving” standard in January 2014, engineers and product planners working in automated-vehicle development were probing the space between Level 2 and Level 3. New sensing and processor capabilities were poised to alter the lines of demarcation between L2's focus on driver assist and the controversial (and tricky) driver alerts and “handback” required by L3.

There was room to expand the ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) frontier. Those doing the probing believed SAE Level 2 could be effectively built upon, with greater functionality and safety potential, as new innovations became available. The terms “enhanced L2” and “Level 2-point-something” coined by engineers gave way to a more market-friendly “Level 2+.” And as 2021 begins, Level 2+ is the dominant ADAS trend, engineers and analysts tell Autonomous Vehicle Engineering.