Autonomous vehicle ultrasonic sensor vulnerability and impact assessment

Vehicles today are relying more on technologies to bring about fully autonomous features. The conventional wirings within are being simplified into a network of electronic components, and this network is controlled via advanced sensing of the environment to make decisions in real-time. However, with the heavy reliance on the sensor readings, any inaccurate reading from the sensors could result in decisions that may cause life-threatening incidents. As such, this research focuses on the in-depth assessment of potential vulnerabilities of an important and commonly used obstacle sensing device, which is the ultrasonic sensor, in modern as well as autonomous vehicles. This research will help bring awareness to the car manufacturers and AV researchers so as to mitigate such issues.