The world is continuously evolving, and technology is improving day by day. The present day developments have made it possible for us to look forwards to electric connected vehicles. With Internet of Things in play, these cars have an extensive local built-in internet channel, with more than 50 microcomputers containing 100 million lines of code networked with each other and dozens of sensors and actuators. These systems of connected car technology together help in controlling the engine, brakes and monitor the tire pressure and exhaust gas composition, amongst other things.
When it comes to autonomous driving, it was a massive leap of faith when Tesla came out with it’s first Autopilot feature which could park on its own and was semi-autonomous since then they have launched numerous version of the same and is now fully autonomous.
Connected car services is an intricate network of sensors, antennas, embedded software, and communication technologies to navigate in our complex little world. It has to ensure that it makes timely decisions with accuracy, speed, and consistency. But everything comes up with challenges and opportunities attached to it, so does this.
There are a lot of opportunities associated with secure connected vehicles. Most automotive and technology experts believe that when it comes to IoT and cars, it’s nearly impossible to be truly hack-proof. Though others, like David Pogue, a tech correspondent for CBS News, have argued that cars are not that hackable. But, by continually monitoring and taking measures in the realm of security, automakers will be better able to limit any mishaps. If one is discovered, implementing Over-the-Air (OTA) updates will help them to apply software updates and patches to connected vehicles on a broader spectrum. Moreover, Manufacturers needs to make sure that cars will only install approved, legitimate updates and that they cannot be tampered with before they are even introduced.
However, the technology comes with some challenges to be overcomed. As complication increases in cars, especially connected car vehicles, the amount of data available is mind-boggling. Recently, BMW stated that any single vehicle on their autonomous platform creates 16–40 Terabytes of data per day!
For example, 1 Terabyte of data equates to 250 million pages printed both sides, over 10 miles high! Engineers must now determine how much of that data is critical (needing to be available on board the vehicle) and how much of it can be offloaded to the cloud.
So in conclusion, automotive manufacturers should find an IoT vendor that can figure out any threat. This will establish help with any risk, how dangerous it is and then create a plan of action.
Once it becomes a regular practice for automakers and other industry players to put the proper, secure IoT technologies in place, the connected cars of the future will not only be enjoyable but safer, and a lot less worrisome. Connected car service provider like HARMAN are working together to create a safer, smarter, and more mobile future through innovations in artificial intelligence (AI), machine vision, autonomous mobility, high-performance computing and connectivity, automotive-grade safety, and security – all within an open architecture framework.
