Autonomous Self-Driving Vehicle Levels Explained

Self-driving cars are quickly becoming a reality on our roads. As autonomous features become more and more available to the public, it's important that you educate yourself of the different autonomous levels.
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Who do you think is the leader in self-driving technology? Tesla, Waymo, Cruise, Voyage? Either way, the future is looking promising!
0:00 - Intro
0:52 - Level 0
1:57 - Level 1
2:42 - Level 2
3:26 - Level 3
6:17 - Level 4
7:23 - Level 5
7:46 - Outro

[@luc8988]

if you keep uploading high quality videos like this one and the last one frequently, your channel will be off to 100k in no time

[@MegaLag]

Thanks Luc! I’ll do my best

[@James-dg1me]

@@MegaLag You will, I love these. Make more!

[@MegaLag]

@@James-dg1me Thanks James 🙏🏼

[@shalewhale]

It has reached from 0 to 50k in 2 months. This guy is doing great

[@omarbull47]

@@MegaLag did u advertise yr channel, because I thought u can't get subs fast without using ads these days

[@lofiplays_live]

Your Video production level is so high! I hope to see more interesting topics in the future! btw love your intro…

[@MegaLag]

Thanks man! Glad you enjoyed the topic and the intro :D

[@kiradotee]

@@MegaLag you must have been doing similar or other stuff before. 😃

[@stormcloud7818]

This is so interesting!

[@MegaLag]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@RK-lo2nw]

I'm shocked you don't get the attention you deserve. It's crazy, you've got damn good content.

[@MegaLag]

Thanks man, really appreciate the kind words!

[@elestea2024]

I never heard about those different levels, it's definitely going to be an important topic in the next years I guess. And absolutely great quality of your video, I'm impressed! Looking forward for more:)

[@sdakotagirl6847]

I love how your videos are educational and really clearly explained! I wish you had more videos.

[@benworoniuk1151]

Good job on responding / acknowledging all comments!

[@TISEMILYYY]

I hope you keep making videos! You have a great video presence. Love the air tag videos!

[@peterwortmann]

the quality of this videos is so high, that i assumed i had stumbled upon a huge channel with years in expertise. when i then realised, there were just three videos, i was shocked, but in a positive way. Can‘t wait for what‘s to come! greetings from a place around -300km- *170km* north of you!

[@MegaLag]

Thanks for the late lovely feedback! Looking forward to bringing you more content :D

[@michaeldiesel3688]

Excellent. Appreciate the succinct script, instead of the repetition found in most KZbin videos.

[@MegaLag]

Thanks Michael, glad you found the video informative :)

[@veniceviolet16]

this was very interesting! i would love a video showing each type of vehicle available at each level!

[@Isdale]

Great channel, (got here via airtag videos), looking forward to more, subscribed!

[@yusufeissa]

Just Subscribed , Great Content 👍and keep it up!

[@cyruswong3634]

Another amazing video lol!!! Keep up the good work bro!!!

[@MegaLag]

Thanks! Will do!

[@crypticiq2006]

Just discovered your channel... You literally made 3 to 4 videos and your channel reached 30k subs.. just amazing ✨... And besides starting videos of your channel... Best quality 🔥

[@stfn1491]

I just discovered your videos and your channel. I’m loving it, the airtag videos caught my attention. Still looking forward for the second part for your video, where you shipped 3/4 Airtags around the world. Let’s see what the Korean Movie Company is going to do with the Airtag 😂

[@MegaLag]

Yeah should be interesting! I hope they don't take it too offensively :D

[@bryanong8752]

Sick video mate! That intro and outro gets me every time, btw what’s that display you got behind you?

[@MegaLag]

Thanks Bryan! It's an LG OLED 55" - It's amazing!

[@AxionFrost]

Your channel should already have100k! Keep it up! Remember me

[@blitzy9979]

I love your videos! Keep uploading videos like this and you will hit 100k before you know it.

[@hassanlearning4086]

Informative and well presented.

[@Benhutchie22386]

Very cool my friend!

[@thomasandersr]

Saw your last video, extremely high quality so I thought I'd subscribe, and was very surprised to see you only had a few hundred! Look forward to seeing what sort of things you decide to put out in the future :)

[@MegaLag]

Thanks Thomas! Can't wait to upload more content :)

[@ne0tic]

Great informative video man!

[@MegaLag]

Glad you liked it!

[@richard69287]

My new favorite channel!

[@MegaLag]

Thanks man! Welcome!

[@HannibalTC]

Nice content so far, subscribed. Glad to support another fellow Düsseldorf citizen 😊.

[@MegaLag]

Hey man! Great to see a fellow resident of Dusseldorf here. Thanks for watching!!

[@Bartzii]

Für den Algo ;) amazing content! Highly underrated KZbinr!

[@joe_bigfoot1773]

Ja der algo

[@MegaLag]

Thanks man! Vielen dank!

[@SheikAshii]

This is cool. Thank you

[@thomasramsay]

Here before Million hope you get there soon!!

[@Vaticous]

Awesome video

[@animeshgupta2802]

Amazing video loved it vry much vry informative

[@MegaLag]

Thanks Animesh!

[@AbrahamYKiera]

Great videos!

[@MegaLag]

Thanks Abraham!

[@MrPilot_moon]

why are you so good 😂. you should make a video discussing how to be successful in youtube. i really want to be at your level at youtube

[@mazenyazan3748]

Your videos are so quality

[@techfahim6137]

I like your vids a lot

[@Albino.Monkey]

In your last video I felt really bad that you lost one of your airtags to im willing to gift you an air tag

[@MegaLag]

Thanks Albino Monkey! No need for charity AirTags haha. I’ll survive with the loss of one AirTag 😎

[@sandro1096]

Holy poop your generous lmao

[@Albino.Monkey]

@@sandro1096 Yes mam

[@RK-lo2nw]

Yeahhh don't sweat it he probably has extra AirTags anyway lol

[@nclsDesign]

Waymo is seen as level 4 since it does not require someone in the driver seat. But it is still limited to Phoenix, Arizona (not sure if it's available in SF now) and can not drive when it's raining or snowing. So basically it's a 3.5?

[@tapwaterz]

I didn’t know this haha, thank you

[@pablojp3498]

I have really enjoyed both of your videos. The production quality is amazing. However, I would recommend a shorter intro (0:42)

[@RamLaska]

11 seconds isn't too bad

[@desy0115]

Why don’t you fast forward? Lol

[@MegaLag]

Thanks Pablo. You’re right, It’s a bit lengthy, but I like breaking the rules 😎

[@ernestspartan1670]

level 4 clearly makes me remember why the tesla plaid model has a very minimalistic steer wheel and level 5 also explains why the concept cars from mecedes , rolls royce and a the public vans from amazon dont have steers and driver seats at all. welldone.

[@invalid5777]

Been here since day 1!!

[@laStar972chuck]

Ok but what's your keyboard, my G ? It looks kinda sick and very functional. 👌👌

[@danielnguyen4195]

Hi like your vids

[@gamezwithzack1460]

Bro your cracked how do you not have more subscribers

[@MegaLag]

Haha thanks man

[@RamLaska]

Subscribed! What's next?

[@MegaLag]

Probably something Airtag related

[@sajivanmlg]

Wow that Came on my recommendations i am the 27.2kth subscriber lol.

[@photelegy]

So Tesla's Beta FSD is theoretically capable of Level3 but is in Level2 because it's a Beta and the responsibility is 100% at the driver?

[@ezragolombek]

Hey great work! LVL 5 doesn't even allow to have the passenger intervene from what I've understood in the past.

[@MegaLag]

Hmmm not sure about that! I think Level 5 doesnt mean you absolutely cannot drive. If you wanted a Level 5 off-road vehicle for example, well, not even Level 5 could operate off-road I assume. Plus humans will always want some level of control. Even if it’s just for leisure driving.

[@samuvisser]

@@MegaLag correct. Level 5 requires the possibility of no pedals and steering wheel, it doesn’t mandate it

[@dawnsclim4382]

Some would like to stick to level 3 to have the feeling of responsibility of driving

[@TheGrizz485]

im here for the Walmart driverless stories everywhere. is it really level 4 as they claim. many people are saying there is a passenger in the truck but im not sure what's going on. a follow-up video to explain whats going on would be great

[@hesterclapp9717]

Is it possible to make vehicles more smart than level 5 e.g. recognising that another vehicle is going along a similar route to itself and coupling to/tailgating it to reduce air resistance?

[@Gok.]

Of course, but all of the other cars need to be autonomous and share data with each other. Also, roads and streets need to be smart and supply static sensory data to the cars in the grid.

[@firsfnamelastname8490]

+ it depends on the country!!

[@popcronmike4376]

Here before this channel blows up

[@AxionFrost]

Same!

[@duenben]

Its so strange that there is still not that big technical progress today although there was already a self driving level 6 vehicle in the 80s…

[@sarangtambe3585]

Oh really? Which one?

[@duenben]

@@sarangtambe3585 the black one with the red light strip in the front. It even had voice assistance

[@PopDasKorn]

How long do you think it will take us until we use mainly level 4 and up?

[@MegaLag]

Honestly, I think it's a while away before we get true level 4. It's just such a hard feat to pull off!

[@Kataru.]

Is there any level 5 vehicles for sale currently?

[@MegaLag]

Nope! None at all :) The best we have currently is Level 2

[@ernestspartan1670]

but i think from level 0 to 1, we should have considered the automatic gear transmission . that also has brought a lot of relief in driving. maybe call it level 0.5 or soemthing. hehe

[@MrConverse]

5:29, *Los Angeles

[@mark4j9f]

How do you do those animations? Can I hire you to do some for me?

[@MegaLag]

Sure, you can find my contact details in the channel description

[@TheMatthewDMerrill]

Level 4 would not be feasible. Imagine buying a car without steering or pedals and then it starts to rain so it has to pull over. Now you're on the side of the highway and in potential danger if someone is trying to break in.

[@cherubin7th]

But when I watch Tesla FSD videos, it seems decades away.

[@Dem-kv4lb]

How would a level 5 fully autonomous vehicle respond to volcanic ash, lava flows, or a collapsed bridge?

[@MegaLag]

The same way a human would (not very well) 🤣😭

[@Pg-mn6ru]

tesla sits on what level model s?

[@Gok.]

Somewhere between 2 and 3. It can do adaptive cruise control, lane change, highway exits, and environment averness (detect traffic signs, lights, pedestrains) but not currently navigate the final destination. FSD beta will be Level 4 when it will be released. It will contain all possible driving scenarios but it's too early to handsoff the wheel. For Level 5, all of the other cars needs to be autonomous as well, and the roads, streets also needs to provide data to the cars in the grid.

[@dilyan-2904]

Can level 4 operate in mountains off road..no lanes or any paint..just dirt .. or say in pakistan with poor quality dirty roads and lack of street signs

[@MegaLag]

That’s where the ODD comes into play. Level 4 vehicles can be incredibly dumb if the ODD only allow it to operate within a very confined set of rules.

[@SwimmingBear]

TechAltar music:)

[@austinharding9734]

Steering wheel optional is only at level 5

[@robertputneydrake]

As of now Tesla is Level 2

[@MegaLag]

That would be correct!

[@alexbolg6455]

Post more shipping AirTags but with ups or usps, and random shipper

[@holdenleeb2312]

If there is a human capable of driving in a Level 4 vehicle could it be set to handoff instead of pull over?

[@MegaLag]

Great question! I would say so yes. If you take Waymo for example, it's a Level 4 ride hailing service, so it would be set to only resorting to handoff. But once Level 4 vehicles become available to the public, they will likely have some sort of system in place for making sure that a capable driver can take over driving if needed / wanted.

[@Utshaw]

What's that keyboard?

[@GeorgeNicola]

I wonder, do you script your videos?

[@eglorious5292]

It's pog bro, I recently just found out your channel through your Airtag vid! It just seems that you have more than 100k But I was all wrong there -_- All I can say now is you should remove those cringe intro, you only need a hit outro

[@MegaLag]

Thanks for the kind words man. But I like my intro haha. Perhaps it will grow on you ;)

[@eglorious5292]

@@MegaLag e

[@eclipse6263]

@@MegaLag I love how your intro says “insert like to start”-very creative!

[@jblue2234]

*Los* Angeles

[@sadmoody]

Hey! What are you doing on my turf?! Great video, I love the aesthetic and the way you've presented this! I disagree with your explanation of Level 0. Cruise control is Level 1. I usually explain it as Level 1 = Hands off OR Feet off. Level 2 = Hands off AND Feet off BUT eyes on the road. Level 3 = Hands off AND feet off AND eyes off BUT butt in seat. Level 4 onwards is as you described. The drawback of the SAE standard is that the scope is never mentioned. So a vehicle that operates in a single carpark completely autonomously would be classed as Level 4, while a Level 2 vehicle that operates everywhere is still a Level 2 vehicle. It doesn't necessarily mean the Level 4 vehicle is more technically advanced. Also the assertion that Tesla is "by and large" the leader is pretty conditional! Is yaboy keyword stuffing? ;)

[@MegaLag]

Mahmood! Haha, seems we share a passion for autonomous vehicles! Thanks for the feedback, I really enjoyed watching some of your videos and even found it helpful making this one! In regards to your comments about cruise control at Level 0, from what I understand, this is true for Adaptive Cruise Control, but I was referring to regular cruise control, which only maintains a desired speed, cannot brake for you and doesn’t necessary allow you to go full feet off. This is at least this is what I read from several articles on the matter! About Tesla, I’m sure the keywords help haha. But I did so some research on other autonomous systems! In pretty much all simulations, Tesla’s autopilot required less intervention. There’s an argument for Waymo being more advanced, but since it’s Geofenced (is it to Arizona?) it’s really hard to gauge! Thanks again for watching! If I do another Autonomy related video, I’ll give your channel a shout out (if you don’t mind) 😎

[@sadmoody]

@@MegaLag the only difference between adaptive cruise control and regular cruise control is the ODD, really. Regular cruise control will do the same thing on an open road as adaptive cruise control. ACC will just allow you to do the same thing but in more congested situations. Yes, the technology and sensor requirements are vastly different, but, that's not the test for the SAE standards, the test is on the impact to the driver's responsibilities - which is the same for ACC and regular cruise control (they take over the longitudinal component of the driving task but leave the lateral control to the driver). The only "autonomous" features that you'll see in Level 0, technically, are active safety systems like emergency braking and pre-crash bracing. The actual standard is free to download from the SAE website and it spells it out pretty clearly. Sometimes it's worth just going to the source! You have to watch out with info that's out there about Tesla (video coming soon from me on that - and happy to talk more frankly if you want to connect) but the ODD for the autopilot system are highways. Highways have more vehicle miles between accidents naturally. So when you compare a Tesla's disengagements or accident rate or whatever on highways to the overall safety of the entire network, it's going to naturally skew a little bit safer. A Waymo vehicle works in a suburban/urban center including car parks. These are high-risk places with regards to accidents - so looking at disengagements or statistics from that deployment and comparing directly to Tesla loses a lot of detail and introduces all sorts of bias. Don't get so hung-up on the geofencing - it's a distraction. Take a look at the recent City Streets beta demo videos from Tesla and then tell me if you think it's more advanced and reliable than a Waymo. Feel free to reach out to me on twitter or whatever - I sent you a message on insta, but not sure if you check that. Would be good to keep in touch. I really liked your last video too! Wild that there's another Kiwi on here interested in and making videos about autonomous vehicles! We gotta stick together!

[@MegaLag]

@@sadmoody Hmm are we talking about the same cruise control? I've only ever driven one car with conventional cruise control and from memory it allowed me to set a speed to 100 km/h for example. It required my foot on the accelerator, and ensured my speed would not go over the set limit, but would go under the set limit if I reduced the gas. So in my experience - from a technology perspective, it's vastly different from ACC which actively monitors and reacts to external events. This is what I found on the SAE standard (which by the way was a nightmare: "Conventional cruise control does not provide sustained operation because it does not respond to external events. It is therefore also not classifiable (other than at Level 0) under the taxonomy". Let me know if I'm missing something! I only just found this standard now after you pointed it out. I was actually looking for something like this before I did this video. SAE do not make it easy to find! On the Tesla front - the simulations I had read about involved 4-5 cars (incl. the tesla) all driving the same route to keep it fair. So I don't think it was particularly biased, although Waymo was definitely not a part of that simulation. It was basically Tesla vs a bunch of other big name manufactures with Level 2 vehicles. You definitely make a good point about Waymo though, and it sure looks far more reliable than Tesla on city streets- no one can deny that. But I think the geofencing does play a vital role in the equation. Which is more advanced: a vehicle that provides great autonomy in one city, or a vehicle that provides average autonomy in many cities and in multiple countries.. By the time Waymo have mastered Arizona, how long will it take for them to master a different city (especially cities in other countries with a vastly different road system like the UK for example). But don't get me wrong! I'm not saying Tesla IS more advanced for this reason, but rather that I think Geofencing does play an important role if you're comparing which company is more advance in Autonomy as a whole. The whole topic is really exciting! Definitely looking forward to having more conversation with you on the topic Mahmood!

[@sadmoody]

​@@MegaLag good spotting! My car (2010 Toyota Sai) has cruise control, but it's not adaptive. It lets me set the speed, but will not brake if something gets in the way of it. My foot does not need to be on the accelerator at any point to engage, disengage, or operate it. If I go up or down a hill, the vehicle will change the throttle level to maintain the same speed. It came in really handy when we went on a road trip and I had to drive for a few hours and wanted to maintain good fuel efficiency. Maybe we have different definitions for conventional cruise control, because I see no difference between conventional cruise control and lane keep assist from a "responding to external events" perspective. A vehicle with lane-keep assist but not adaptive cruise control should be a level 1 vehicle, but that lane keep assist is going to respond to "external events" the same as a conventional cruise control system is. Conspiracy hat on, but sometimes there are political reasons for why exceptions or special conditions are put in to standards (I've sat in, consulted, and participated in these meetings before). This smells like a manufacturer with adaptive cruise control getting in to that meeting and wanting to advertise their vehicles as Level 1 compared to ones with conventional cruise control. The "external events" can be determined by the ODD - that note seems so out of place compared to the level descriptions. In the consumerreport evaluation of ADAS systems, the Cadillac Supercruise outperformed Tesla overall. But by Tesla's most recent admission, this is not "self driving" but "driver assistance" - a lot of the companies compared (including Cadillac) wouldn't describe their vehicles as self-driving, but they beat out Tesla overall. It's messy to directly compare companies. If you look at the SAE standard, the section "SIGNIFICANCE OF OPERATIONAL DESIGN DOMAIN" talks to it a bit. Tesla are undoubtedly leaders when it comes to consumer-available autonomy - if not THE leader. But Tesla have set themselves a goal of only providing driver assistance for the forseeable future. Waymo are out there right now driving around vehicles with nobody in them. The willingness and ability for a company to allow the vehicle to be driven without a human driver present is a huge thing. Highway driving as an easy problem. It's the city, suburbs, and country that trip you up. Elon has been talking about summoning a car in California from New York and having it arrive since 2015 (in 1 or 2 years AT MOST "from now") - there's a reason that hasn't happened yet and it's not regulators. The goals of the two companies are totally different. Tesla want to sell vehicles and the self-driving aspect is an aid to that. Waymo have largely set commercial wants aside and want to achieve self-driving for the sake of it. The workings, systems, and decision making of the systems are quite opaque, and comparing them in a black box sense is difficult when they're being made for two very different purposes and environments. I don't think you can responsibly do it in a single sentence!

[@omarbull47]

Levels are complicating definitions & have different spectrum, why don't we use just simple terms like, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, self driving but need to keep eye on road, full self driving but car will alert where it can't drive, fully autonomous in all conditions

[@tenyjohny8529]

What about K.I.T.T which levels is it ?

[@nclsDesign]

Obviously over 9000

[@wassollderscheiss33]

Very likeable to see that you seem to be having fun with your presentation. Even if this should be fake, I'm for you to keep it ;-)

[@MegaLag]

Thanks! I do really enjoy talking about EV’s / Autonomous Vehicles 😎

[@elonximperator892]

Where does tesla vehicle fall into? Reply

[@MegaLag]

Tesla's are Level 2 because they require a driver to pay attention to the road at all times. Once that changes, they will be classified as Level 3

[@avanix702]

Interesting, but actually I don’t want more than Level 2

[@memejeff]

epic

[@Capriilol]

#GetMegaLagTo100K

[@MegaLag]

Cheers Aberr, I look forward to the day I hit 100k :)

[@Capriilol]

@@MegaLag Won't take long if you keep up the good quality videos.

[@RK-lo2nw]

He's already at 60k+!! Let's GOOOOOO #GetMegaLagTo100K

[@abd1x7]

What is level 6

[@MegaLag]

A flying DeLorean!

[@RK-lo2nw]

@@MegaLag HELL YEAH MARTY MCFLY IS GONNA BE MCFLYIN'

[@abd1x7]

Upload more don’t stop because of the views

[@MegaLag]

Will of course keep uploading content as fast as I can. But they do require a lot of work!

[@travisminneapolis]

Vibes to the KZbin channel Veritasium.

[@EthanSeville]

[@Spicychanclas]

Remember me when your famous. (It will be soon so it will be easy)

[@Kevkin]

Ka pai bro.

[@MegaLag]

Cheers brother!

[@ash_Psyyyy]

why is all of his video are deleted

[@MegaLag]

Haha new channel my man ;)

[@ash_Psyyyy]

@@MegaLag thanks for letting me know becuase i was confused 😂 because im new

[@noerww]

Hope level 5 is out by 2030.

[@mraravind1111]

Why do you look like Sara Dietschy, the KZbinr? Are you guys related?

[@MegaLag]

Never heard of her :/ Sorry my man

[@mraravind1111]

@@MegaLag You need not be sorry for what's not in your control. Anyway, great content man, never have I seen anyone test the Air tags extensively.

[@MegaLag]

@@mraravind1111 glad you enjoyed it!

[@ezragolombek]

Create a discord server for the community!

[@MegaLag]

Eventually I will I guess!

[@RK-lo2nw]

It will be our underground MegaLair ;) *wink wink*

[@battery_wattage]

I think KZbin’s captions are broken.

[@MegaLag]

Why’s that?

[@battery_wattage]

It says Vietnamese (auto-generated). It barely matches up with what you said.🤣

[@MegaLag]

@@battery_wattage ahhh that’s a shame.. perhaps youtube isn’t too familiar with the New Zealand accent 😂

[@KabonkNo1]

I love your content, for the most time, but this hasn't aged well 2 years later. I still deny that fully autonomous vehicles are quickly becoming a reality on our steets.

[@thataakarsh790]

*Dave2D*

[@cadengabbett]

Did you actually just start a month ago?!?!

[@MegaLag]

The channel is a bit older than a month, but yeah I only started uploading a little over a month ago. Didn't expect this kind of response!

[@Everytwo_]

@@MegaLag congratiulations on 70k subscribers!

[@Everytwo_]

@@MegaLag congratiulations on 80k subscriber's!

[@MegaLag]

@@Everytwo_ thanks brother! Crazy times!

[@Everytwo_]

@@MegaLag btw. congratiulations on 100k!!!!!!!!

[@ClebyHerris]

My car is level 0 and I plan to buy a Tesla and that’s level 5. Haven’t watched the video fully yet Nvm it’s level 3 or 4

[@MegaLag]

Tesla is actually only level 2! Because a user is required to pay attention to the road at all time while the Autonomous features are active :D

[@ClebyHerris]

@@MegaLag no way? They want it to be fully

[@dz2106]

Biggest eye doctor, Doctor Eye Health, on KZbin (or one of the biggest) also pushed these products and used affiliate links. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKu8aJl5gr-mjJo I want to call this out from your other video because this is huge. I wish you caught this in your original report. Loved the journalism by the way!

[@wilmarabria8036]

5:30 Backwards😅

[@michaelrubio15]

Haha nice aummaty

[@johntaphouse5235]

if the cars dont need any driver input will it make insurance obsolete.. or only needing masybe fire and theft..also why were all you cgi cars driving in the fast lane..

[@kiradotee]

Vietnamese captions. 🤔

[@MegaLag]

I have no idea how that happened 😑 So confused haha

[@kiradotee]

@@MegaLag 😄

[@MegaLag]

@@kiradotee More like MegaNoob

[@KrnlCounselor7]

Tesla is an almost level 4 or 5

[@MegaLag]

Not at all! They are very much level 2. So long as you are required to always pay attention to the road and be ready to take over, the vehicle is considered Level 2