Collective intelligence on the road
A car that knows when the next hill is coming and whether there is black ice behind a curve, or that points out a restaurant to the driver: What is a fantastic vision for some is a nightmare of total surveillance when driving for others.
How exactly do Connected Cars work? And how can all road users profit from the collected information? Even though the Connected Car is talked about a lot, different things are often meant. Connected Cars are cars that communicate with each other (Car-to-Car) or with devices such as sensors on the road (Car-to-X) over the Internet. This makes the car part of the Internet of Things (IoT). This technology has promising opportunities, but also bears risks.
Connected Vehicles can enhance the physical safety of the driver for example by analyzing weather data. After receiving notice from the car that there is an icy patch ahead, the driver can be more proactive, thus preventing accidents. In this case the car receives the data from weather services.
Cars can also exchange security-relevant information with each other. An example: A car manages to stop just in front of an obstruction on a country road with blind spots. Via the internet it can send a warning to any following cars. A symbol warning the driver of the upcoming danger area appears on the next car’s windshield. Thus, collective intelligence of machines saves peoples lives.
Has an accident already occurred, the car’s emergency-call-system eCall goes into action. This shortens the time the rescue service needs to get to the scene of the accident, and can save lives.
Connected Cars can even cut down times spent in traffic jams – something very tempting for any driver. Cars exchange relevant driving data with each other and can give the driver notice faster than any warning on the radio. Something Google is already using quite successfully – depending on the market – in Google Maps, where data not from cars but mainly from smartphone app users is being collected.
Last but not least the communication over the internet could make garage services more efficient. The car informs the repair shop in time if for example break pads need to be changed. An employee at the shop can then order the necessary replacement parts before the car is brought in for repair. Not only does the garage profit from this with more efficient operations, the client also gets his car back faster.
On the opposite side we have the risks the connection of cars can entail. Threats we already know from Cloud Computing also affect Connected Cars due to their connection to the internet. A car can get infected with malware and transfer it to other cars because of Car-to-Car Communication. If it additionally transmits data to a repair shop, which in turn communicates with numerous other cars, the malware can spread on in many ways.
Furthermore, hacker attacks pose a new threat for vehicles. Third parties can take control over the car, latch onto the car’s communication and tap into the driver’s private data. Doing this, it would even be possible for hackers to create motion or behavior profiles. Besides, that the fear someone could take over the car and cause an accident is growing. Consequently, there are huge needs for security and data protection.
At the same time, we are getting more and more convenient in our behavior. We are giving up our privacy to companies using our private data among others for personalized marketing measures. Therefore, appropriate software needs to protect the driver’s data from illicit access. For the acceptance of Connected Cars it is crucial, besides of legal conditions, that car manufactures integrate data security solutions into their cars from the beginning (security by design). Here European car manufacturers have more experience and know-how in this area as data protection plays a huge role here.
It is not a question if but more so when the intelligent car will be a standard on our roads, as it can solve a lot of issues. As soon as manufactures have found extensive solutions for the protection of data and the prevention of cyber-attacks, big road blocks are removed for the Connected Car.