Revolution ahead — What it takes to enable securely connected, self-driving cars

Few industries are as primed for radical change in the years ahead as the worldwide automotive market. Advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features are increasingly common in entry-level/affordable new car models, and today's high-end vehicles commonly receive over-the-air software updates and feature semi-autonomous driving functionality. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley start-ups and established auto OEMs alike are rushing to deliver the first true “self-driving” cars. Among the most critical technologies driving this revolution are: •Highly integrated CMOS-based radar solutions that can replace today's bulky, power-consuming hardware for radar-based ADAS with sensors the size of postage stamps — for self-driving cars cocoons of such sensors are needed to enable a reliable 360 surround view of the vehicle environment •Gigabit Ethernet in-car communication technology enabling deterministic performance and real-time transport of massive data sets •Advancements in vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technologies that support secure data exchanges between high-speed vehicles and roadside infrastructure. •Increasingly rapid adoption of next-generation RFID and Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies for a broad range of connectivity innovations. However, despite the rapid advancement of these Connected Car technologies, the era of autonomous vehicles cannot truly arrive until consumers really trust that their vehicles are save against hacking. This discussion will present an in-depth examination of the specific technologies driving the autonomous vehicles revolution of the future, while detailing the security, reliability and safety requirements necessary to realize its full potential.