Autonomous vs. automated
Autonomous means self-governing. Many historical projects related to vehicle automation have been automated (made automatic) subject to a heavy reliance on artificial aids in their environment, such as magnetic strips. Autonomous control implies satisfactory performance under significant uncertainties in the environment and the ability to compensate for system failures without external intervention.
One approach is to implement communication networks both in the immediate vicinity (for collision avoidance) and farther away (for congestion management). Such outside influences in the decision process reduce an individual vehicle’s autonomy, while still not requiring human intervention.
Wood et al. (2012) wrote, “This Article generally uses the term ‘autonomous,’ instead of the term ‘automated.’ ” The term “autonomous” was chosen “because it is the term that is currently in more widespread use (and thus is more familiar to the general public). However, the latter term is arguably more accurate. ‘Automated’ connotes control or operation by a machine, while ‘autonomous’ connotes acting alone or independently. Most of the vehicle concepts (that we are currently aware of) have a person in the driverís seat, utilize a communication connection to the Cloud or other vehicles, and do not independently select either destinations or routes for reaching them. Thus, the term ‘automated’ would more accurately describe these vehicle concepts.” As of 2017, most commercial projects focused on automated vehicles that did not communicate with other vehicles or with an enveloping management regime.
Put in the words of one Nissan engineer, “A truly autonomous car would be one where you request it to take you to work and it decides to go to the beach instead.”
EuroNCAP defines autonomous in “Autonomous Emergency Braking” as: “the system acts independently of the driver to avoid or mitigate the accident.” which implies the autonomous system is not the driver.