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43 unmanned systems inside Spring 2014 GROUND The Road Ahead Full automation isn't the only option, and sev- eral organizations, including the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International and the U.S. National Highway Safety Or- ganization, recently proposed definitions for various scenarios from "partial automation" in which a human monitors the vehicle at all times, through "conditional automation," when the passenger/driver must be able to take over during an emergency, all the way to "full auto- mation" (vehicle drives by itself in all situations and can handle all emergencies). These deployment scenarios show the path toward automated passenger vehicles is a long- term evolution rather than a near-term revolu- tion. Scientists, engineers, businesses, regula- tors, and in the end consumers, will face many questions that, today, have no clear answers. Research still needs to determine whether automated vehicles will blend easily into the existing mix of human controlled vehicles, the infrastructure needed to enable a high level of vehicle automation, and if consumers will ever be able to trust automobiles that drive them- selves. And while it is not clear if mainstream consumers can afford these vehicles, the sales proposition also largely depends on how much additional mobility and convenience consum- ers can really enjoy in a "partially" or "highly" automated version The answers to these questions might prove that today's vision of self-driving cars could be very different from tomorrow's reality of auto- mated vehicles. But it seems certain that future vehicle technology will deliver on the promise of safer, more efficient traffic—it's just a matter of how and when we get there. AUTHOR Since 2008, Dr. Sven A. Beiker has served as the executive director of CARS, the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford, an interdisciplinary partnership between academia and industry to address the challenges of personal mobility in the 21st century. From 1998 to 2008, he held a series of engineering technology and innovation management positions with the BMW Group. He obtained his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and vehicle dynamics from the Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig, Germany. locate, communicate, accelerate • Multi-constellation support: GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS, SBAS • Concurrent tracking of any two GNSS systems • Available in u-blox' popular NEO, MAX and LEA form factors • Unmatched speed, accuracy, size and features; eCall compliant • Seamless operation with u-blox' 2G, 3G and 4G cellular modules u-blox M8 GNSS modules Scalable range of multi- GNSS positioning modules www.u-blox.com