Semi-autonomous systems represent an intersection between human control and machine assistance. When contrasted against fully autonomous systems the differentiating factor is the level of direct human control in the system during operation. Semi-autonomous systems can leverage human judgement in unexpected situations whereas fully autonomous systems must rely on their programming to handle all scenarios.
flowchart LR
subgraph CCC ["` `"]
UE@{ shape: trap-t, label: "Unexpected event in unpredictable environment" }
UE --> DMSR
end
subgraph DMSR[Decision maker - system relationship]
H[Human operator]
M[Machine]
C[Automated]
D[Semi-Autonomous]
E[Autonomous]
H --> C
H --> D
M --> D
M --> E
end
classDef container fill:none,stroke:none,color:none;
classDef dmsr fill:none,stroke:black;
classDef human fill:#66050560,stroke:black,color:black;
classDef machine fill:#00336660,stroke:black,color:black;
classDef automated fill:#37373760,stroke:black,color:black;
classDef semiauto fill:#15711560,stroke:black,color:black;
classDef autonomous fill:#80500060,stroke:black,color:black;
classDef decison_maker fill:transparent,stroke: transparent;
class H human
class M machine
class C automated
class D semiauto
class E autonomous
class DM decison_maker
class DMSR dmsr
class UE ue
class CCC container
linkStyle 0 fill:none,stroke:none;
Semi-autonomous systems in the real world
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Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) enhance safety and driving ease but they donāt entirely replace the driver yet.
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Maritime vessels (MASS)
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Medical/assistive robots
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Robotic vehicles in defence / logistics
Semi-autonomous systems are more independent and agile than automated systems and less self-contained than fully autonomous systems. Note that even fully autonomous systems must have some kind of monitoring and direct human control in case of an emergency or if the system becomes rogue; the human user is typically not involved in an autonomous system unless it is actually necessary, unlike the shared system control between the computer and the human user in a semi-autonomous system.
There is some overlap here because a standard definition hasnāt been created, a standard set of terminology is sorely needed.