Autonomous Vehicle Signal Verification via Remote Intermediary
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles remain vulnerable to cyberattacks and tampering due to discrepancies in environmental sensing signals, which can lead to unsafe operations.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that compares signals from sensors on an autonomous vehicle with corresponding signals from a remote computing system, generating restriction commands to prevent unsafe operations if discrepancies are detected, including restricting travel or disabling functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If autonomous vehicles use detection schemes and anomaly behavior analysis to improve safety, then safety control is enhanced, but the vehicles remain vulnerable to cyberattacks and malware tampering
Solution Approach 1:
A remote computing system acts as an intermediary between autonomous vehicles and the central controller, verifying environmental signals before they reach the vehicle's control system. This mediator checks signals for tampering and validates environmental perceptions independently, preventing cyberattacks from directly compromising vehicle safety controls.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary verification of environmental signals at the remote computing system before signals are processed by autonomous vehicles. By checking for tampering and validating signals in advance, the system prevents compromised signals from reaching the vehicle's detection and control systems, addressing security vulnerabilities before they can affect safety.
2Reliability
If autonomous vehicles are connected to central controllers and each other to form connected autonomous vehicles, then coordination and safety monitoring are improved, but the system becomes more susceptible to network-based cyberattacks
Solution Approach 1:
The remote computing system serves as a security intermediary in the connected vehicle network, validating signals from other vehicles and the central controller before they are processed. This layered verification approach maintains network connectivity and coordination benefits while adding protection against network-based cyberattacks through independent signal validation.
3Measurement precision
If the system compares environmental signals between autonomous vehicles and remote computing systems to detect discrepancies, then detection of tampering is improved, but system complexity and communication requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The remote computing system creates an independent copy of the environmental signal verification process, receiving the same environmental data from sensors and independently processing it to generate verification signals. This copying approach enables tampering detection through comparison without requiring complex additional hardware, using software-based signal processing and validation at the remote system.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for controlling operation of an autonomous vehicle and a related system includes: comparing, at a remote computing system operably connected with a processor in the autonomous vehicle, a first signal indicative of an environment in which the autonomous vehicle is arranged and a second signal indicative of the environment in which the autonomous vehicle is arranged. The method also includes generating, at the remote computing system, a restriction command to restrict operation of the autonomous vehicle if the comparison indicates that the first signal and the second signal do not correspond. The first signal is generated by the remote computing system based on input received from the processor of the autonomous vehicle. The second signal is a processed signal received from an external computing system operably connected with both the remote computing system and the processor in the autonomous vehicle.