Latest techno and driverless cars

Listen to this article:

Technology has become critical to the way things are done and the future of technology and its development has come to the fore in recent months. Picture: SUPPLIED

Amid the economic and geopolitical changes, technology has become critical to the way things are done and the future of technology and its development has come to the fore in recent months.More than two thirds through 2020 and it has already proven to be a year of global changes with a pandemic that has affected almost everyone especially in the way we work, school or play.

Fiji could do well by combining the ICT and manufacturing sectors and develop cities, ICT parks or Tax free zones where large multinational technology companies can be encouraged to setup manufacturing plants or assembly lines for ICT components and products such as Smartphones.

The supply chains in these high tech areas especially for Apple and others have been severely disrupted and now may be the time to take advantage of this opportunity.

With our modestly open borders – both air and sea, it may be a good time to see what’s possible and we need to move quickly to capitalise on this.

We have a fairly educated, English speaking population and now with the tourism sector and its supporting industries including aviation leaving many experienced skilled personnel without employment, there is a ready pool of skilled workers available.

Personally, I would prefer my FNPF contributions be invested in the technology sector as it’s the way of the future and as experience has now shown, fairly resilient even in global crisis.

Follow the example of China in its long-term plans which include “Made in China 2025”, dominate in AI by 2030 and become the dominant technology country in the world by 2050.

It all started as science fiction, but the possibilities of driverless cars or autonomous cars — term which I prefer, just because the driver isn’t human doesn’t mean the car isn’t being driven — gracing our roads is getting closer to reality by the day.

Companies such as Uber and Tesla are already experimenting on cars that use computer operating systems to instruct their human drivers.

Google has also been working with driverless car technology and has several prototypes undergoing testing.

But how safe are driverless vehicles?

Being tech-operated and with both cyber and physical components, any discussion on their security must involve both cybersecurity and physical road safety. Many people are skeptical about driverless cars and their potential road safety boost.

However, there is no denying that the world desperately needs alternatives to human drivers.

People make many reckless errors which end up claiming thousands of lives on an annual basis.

Less seriously, poor decisions on the road regularly contribute to traffic jams.

 

  1. Driverless cars are the safest option for those who cannot drive

Whether due to disease, old age, or physical disability. I envisage it possibly developing to be like individual train carriages on roads rather than train tracks, software-driven (AI) with the aid of sensors, GPS and traffic control systems.

 

  1. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) aren’t subject to human limitations

Human drivers cause accidents due to a variety of reasons. Some are distracted by their phones while driving, others drive for long distances and get overly tired, some over-speed while in a hurry, and others just have total disregard for road safety rules especially younger less experienced drivers.

 

  1. AVs will minimise car collisions

Driverless cars will be using light-detecting and ranging sensors to read road signs, recognise the presence of other cars, and accurately estimate both the size and speed of oncoming cars.

Just like any other computer-enabled device, however, driverless cars are prone to cybercrimes.

Criminals might be motivated to hack into the vehicles’ operating systems and steal important passenger data, or else disrupt its operation and jeopardise the passenger’s safety.

They could also hack cars for ransom before allowing the user either in or out of the car.

This can happen when the car is parked or even driving.

Terrorists hijacking the network and taking control over a critical infrastructure transport system in a given area can also disrupt traffic, cause major accidents and general mayhem.

As with any other hacking scenario, hacking into an autonomous car could expose a great deal of your personal data—including your destinations.

With this information, someone could potentially track the user with an aim toward robbery or assault.

If hackers can gain access to the controls of the vehicle, it could also be possible to redirect the vehicle to a more convenient location for either of those scenarios.

As the technology evolves, driverless cars will be able to turn on any smart device in your home, be it the TV, heater, garage door, or front gate, and everything programmable in the home.

Hackers could use these features to gain access to your home or office.

The threats and benefits of autonomous cars will not be entirely clear until the technology is fully rolled out.

The good thing is that even with many probable cybersecurity threats, developers of AVs still have the chance of coming up with a good cybersecurity plan to keep both the vehicles and their passengers safe.

 

* Ilaitia B. Tuisawau is a private cybersecurity consultant. The views expressed in this article are his and not necessarily shared by this newspaper. Mr Tuisawau can be contacted on ilaitia@cyberbati.com

Array
(
    [post_type] => post
    [post_status] => publish
    [orderby] => date
    [order] => DESC
    [update_post_term_cache] => 
    [update_post_meta_cache] => 
    [cache_results] => 
    [category__in] => 1
    [posts_per_page] => 4
    [offset] => 0
    [no_found_rows] => 1
    [date_query] => Array
        (
            [0] => Array
                (
                    [after] => Array
                        (
                            [year] => 2023
                            [month] => 12
                            [day] => 29
                        )

                    [inclusive] => 1
                )

        )

)

No Posts found for specific category