Towards a Standard Taxonomy for Levels of Automation in Heavy-Duty Mobile Machinery

Abstract

Automated and autonomous systems change the nature of human interactions and their respective role within the systems. To characterize such changes, several domain specific levels of automation (LOA) taxonomies have been proposed over the years. The SAE J3016 levels for driving automation have been adopted as the de-facto standard in the automotive industry and the broader society. However, the heavy-duty mobile machinery (HDMM) industry does not have a commonly accepted LOA taxonomy, thereby relying on organizational specific LOA taxonomies adapted from SAE J3016. Moreover, HDMM handle and transport external materials in addition to driving tasks. Thus, SAE J3016 inadequately captures the manipulation operations of HDMM. This paper proposes a new LOA taxonomy for HDMM, to accommodate both, the manipulation and driving operations of HDMM. Building on the SAE J3016 taxonomy, the LOA in this paper is proposed as a two-dimensional 6 x 6 matrix, with machine manipulation operations on one dimension, and driving operations on the other. Thus, the LOA matrix could be generalized for HDMM in different application areas. The proposed LOA matrix could also serve as a guide and starting point for future standardized and collaborative discourse in HDMM research, development, and subsequent deployments.