IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2023 - 47

provided by using a nonrenewable energy source,
e.g., battery and power line); level 0: no motion abilities
(in this type of system, energy consumption is
zero); level 1: moves deliberately in one dimension
(this type of system can directly extract or apply
external energy if it exists); level 2: moves deliberately
in two dimensions (this type of system can
effectively extract, store, or use the external energy);
level 3: moves independently in three dimensions
(this type of system uses concentrated tactics to
extract, store, and effectively use external energy);
level 4: capable of dual-mode motion with tools,
vehicles, or application of specific design elements
(this type of system uses planned tactics to extract,
store, and effectively use external energy); and level
5: human (human being) [23].
Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, which has been
designing and developing robotic systems for the
military for many years, classified the autonomy
levels of Draper 3-D Intelligence Space. According
to this classification, level 1: no mobility control-robotic
process automation (RPA) only (situational
awareness is: without awareness, RPA only, or sensor
as a conduit); level 2: operator-assisted (in terms
of situational awareness, sensor processing is at a
low level); level 3: get to the waypoint and do one
feature-based command (in terms of situational
awareness, it is based on the single-sensor model
matching); and level 4: integrate multiple actions (in
terms of situational awareness, it is based on the integrated,
multisensor fusion) [23], [24].
Based on the first general classification of autonomous
control level (ACL), the 11 levels (0-10) of
Clough's autonomy control level framework are
as follows. A remotely piloted vehicle (using flight
control sensing and nose camera); a performance
with a preplanned mission (using preloaded mission
data, flight control sensing, and navigation sensing);
a changeable mission (using health/status sensors);
a robust response to real-time faults/events (using
health/status history and models); and fault/event
adaptive vehicle (deliberate awareness). The rest are
real-time multivehicle coordination (utilizing sensed
awareness/local sensors to detect others, fused with
off-board data); real-time multivehicle cooperation
(using ranged awareness/onboard sensing for longrange,
supplemented by offboard data); battle space
knowledge (short track awareness, limited inference
supplemented by offboard data); battle space
cognizance (proximity inference-intent of self and
March 2023
others, reduced dependence upon offboard); battle
space swarm cognizance (battle space inference-intent
of self and others, complex/intense environment-onboard
data); fully autonomous (cognizant
of all within battle space) [23].
The U.S. Army Science Board has classified the
level of autonomy differently. Level 0: manual
remote control (a remote-controlled toy); level 1:
simple automation; level 2: automated tasks and
functions (a hunter); level 3: scripted mission (a
shadow or predator UAV); level 4: semiautomated
missions with a simple decision making (a cruise
missile); level 5: complex mission-specific reasoning;
level 6: dynamically mission adaptable; level 7:
synergistic multimission logic; level 8: human-like
autonomy in a mixed team; level 9: autonomous
teams with unmanned leader or mission manager;
and level 10: autonomous conglomerate [25]. In
the aforementioned list, the complexity, capability,
flexibility, and adaptability enhance with increasing
levels [25].
According to various classifications discussed
above, in general, and for all systems, autonomy has
four levels. These levels are level 0: human operation,
level 1: automation, level 2: semiautonomous,
and level 3: autonomous. At level 0, one operator performs
the control of the system at all times. At level
1, an operator continues to control the system and
is responsible for operating the system safely. However,
at this level of autonomy, limited control over
a specific function is left to the system itself. Since
the system at level 2 is semiautonomous, it performs
some of the defined tasks without the intervention
of the operator. The operator carries out the rest of
the functions. Finally, at level 3, the system performs
all defined tasks without human interaction and is
responsible for the safety and critical activities.
Automated versus autonomous systems
Autonomy is either " the quality or state of being
self-governing " or " self-directing freedom and especially
moral independence. " Automatic is defined as
" having a self-acting or self-regulating mechanism. "
The different definitions of automation are " the
technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a
system operate automatically, " " the state of being
operated automatically, " and " automatically controlled
operation of an apparatus, process, or system
by mechanical or electronic devices that take the
place of human labor " [26], [27]. According to the
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