Autonomous versus automated driving: what is the difference?

Automation is rapidly advancing – on our roads, but especially in intralogistics. Reference is frequently made to both autonomous and automated operation/driving. The terms are often used as synonyms, but they are not entirely interchangeable.

We are in the midst of a digital revolution, and automation plays a pivotal part. While Germany has just introduced a law governing self-driving cars and the UK is about to present draft legislation, driverless vehicles have been common in intralogistics for many years. But are these automated guided vehicles (AGVs) autonomous or automated?

When the driver becomes the passenger

To provide guidance, the German Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) has developed a simplified model with three key terms: assisted, automated and autonomous modes. In assisted mode, the driver is supported by an intelligent system, but must continuously monitor the vehicle and be in a position to intervene. In automated mode, by contrast, the driver can relax much more. However, they must remain vigilant and capable of taking over at any time. In this instance, the technology supports, for example, steering, signaling, acceleration and braking. Autonomous mode is the most powerful. Occupants are simply passengers, and have no driving-related duties or tasks. The vehicle acts entirely independently, makes its own decisions and responds appropriately to unexpected situations – in a way that makes human intervention unnecessary. The international SAE J3016 standard from SAE International has more nuanced taxonomy, dividing driving functions into automation levels 0 to 5: from “no driving automation” to “full driving automation”.

Driverless is not necessarily autonomous

Naturally, the situation of a car on the road is not entirely comparable to AGVs in a warehouse. With AGVs, the use of the terms automated or autonomous depends primarily upon the form of navigation. AGVs are always automatically directed, i.e. automated: they reach their destination with the help of a visual or virtual track. They travel along defined routes, have predefined tasks and are not therefore necessarily autonomous. However, there are AGVs that are at least autonomous to a degree – for instance, capable of avoiding obstacles of their own accord without human intervention. Autonomous mobile robots (AMR), by contrast, are, as the name suggests, entirely autonomous, moving freely and flexibly throughout the warehouse.