Author: AUTOCRYPT

2 March, 2021 . 8 mins read

Reusing and Recycling Electric Vehicle Batteries: A Bright Future

Are Electric Vehicles Environmentally Sustainable?

Have you ever heard of anyone talking about how smartphones are environmentally friendly because they do not generate emissions? Probably not. Instead, you would more likely hear criticisms on the build-up of electronic wastes. Then why do we think electric vehicles (EVs) are green?

EVs are only green because they are relatively greener when compared to conventional gasoline-powered vehicles. Yet, when speaking absolute terms, there is still plenty of room for improvement because environmental friendliness does not equal to environmental sustainability. Even though EVs do not generate emissions during usage, pollution could still potentially occur during two other stages: the power generation stage and the battery disposal stage. Whether EVs are truly environmentally sustainable heavily depends on these two factors.

Pollution at the power generation stage has long been a widely discussed topic for decades. Yet, this is not something to criticize the EV for because it is not a problem within the EV itself. Moreover, there is a clear solution for it; we all know countries around the world are working hard towards increasing their share of renewable energy consumption. Thereby, pollution at the power generation stage will gradually decrease in the long run, eventually reaching environmental sustainability.

On the other hand, most skepticism and resistance of the EV stem from the potential pollution at the battery disposal stage. This is because it is a new problem created by the EV itself. Even though in fact we are eliminating a larger problem by creating a smaller problem, our minds are wired in a way in which losses loom larger than gains, as Kahneman and Tversky’s Prospect Theory suggests. Therefore, to completely persuade all people to adopt EVs, we must eliminate this potential electric vehicle batteries’ disposal problem first.

What Does an EV Battery Look Like?

Two types of batteries are commonly found in EVs. First, there is the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery, which is by far the most used battery in EVs today thanks to their low manufacturing cost and ability to retain power. The second type is the nickel-metal hydride battery, which has the advantage of a longer lifecycle. However, they are almost solely used in hybrid vehicles because of their high self-discharge rate – a problem critical to battery electric vehicles (BEV) but not so much for hybrids. (In a previous infographic, we broke down four types of EVs and discussed their pros and cons. For a recap on that, refer to: The Different Types of Electric Vehicles.)

Lithium-ion batteries are the same type of battery used in consumer electronics like smartphones. While a smartphone battery contains a single cell, a EV battery pack consists of thousands of such cells. Due to such scale, EV batteries last at least eight to ten years, or 160,000 kilometers before their performance start to drop. This is a significantly longer lifecycle than smartphone batteries, which only last two to three years. However, the scale of the battery packs also creates a challenge in disposal.

How Can Electric Vehicle Batteries be Treated at Their End of Life?

The global production capacity for lithium-ion batteries today is ten times that of ten years ago, partially due to the increased demand for smartphones, but largely due to the demand forecast for EVs. At the same time, the first generation of BEVs and hybrids are now reaching their end of life, meaning that we are now facing the beginning of a massive wave of retired batteries waiting to be treated. As the ticking time bomb starts to run out of time, a lot of controversies started arising on whether EVs are truly an environmentally sustainable means of transportation.

This is indeed a problem, but not an unsolvable problem. Environmental engineers have been working on a wide range of possible solutions to treat retired batteries. It is only a matter of time before the industry adopts these solutions.

Most energy experts suggest a two-step solution, that is to reuse the batteries to their fullest, and recycle as many of the components as possible. Let us take a deeper look at how these can be done.

First, Reuse

A battery is only completely dead when it can no longer be reused to power anything. For instance, after a set of alkaline batteries get retired from powering an RC car, they can still be used to power TV remote controls for another six months. The same idea goes for electric vehicle batteries. Engineers suggest using retired EV batteries for less demanding purposes, such as storing energy to power houses and buildings. This is especially considering that EVs have very high requirements for batteries, such that a 20% drop in battery capacity would end up needing replacement. Hence, after a battery pack becomes no longer fit to power a car, it would most likely be still perfectly fine for less demanding tasks. It is estimated that a retired EV battery pack has enough collect-discharge capacity to power a solar-powered house for another seven to ten years.

Many automotive manufacturers are quickly stepping into the game to capture this blue-ocean market. Toyota has signed a contract with 7-Eleven in Japan to install retired electric vehicle batteries from their cars in 7-Eleven convenience stores. These batteries would be used to store energy collected from solar panels and use them to power the appliances in the stores. GM, BMW, and BYD are also looking for ways to reuse their batteries to power homes, stores, and car charging stations.

Then, Recycle

Of course, after reusage, batteries will eventually reach a point where they are no longer functional for any task. This is when they finally need to be recycled.

The recycling process for lithium-ion batteries is called hydrometallurgy. The most common method of hydrometallurgy used today is called leaching, which requires the use of strong acid to dissolve the battery into a liquid metallic solution, then separate the solution to recover the raw materials. This process is not easy because it requires the recycler to first remove the plastic coating on the batteries and completely drain the power out of them first. Since lithium-ion batteries do not have standardized sizes, it is very expensive for third-party recyclers to perform all these tasks. As a result, only 10% of lithium-ion batteries today – mostly coming from electronic devices – are recycled. Even among those 10% recycled, only about half of the components are recovered as raw materials, with the other half being dumped.

Do not be discouraged by such a low figure, because it is not a result of technical challenges, but instead due to a lack of readiness. Hence, as the industry starts to take appropriate measures to adapt to these changes, the future is very promising. With standardized battery sizes, standardized packaging, and dedicated recycling facilities, the recycling cost can be remarkably reduced. Moreover, if automakers start to recycle their own batteries, it is totally possible to reach a recycling rate above 90%.

To put it in perspective, the recycling rate of lead-acid batteries found in gasoline-powered vehicles is 99.2%, in which 99% of the lead is recycled. Alkaline batteries also have a recycling rate above 90% thanks to their standardized sizes and components. Therefore, it is only a matter of time until EV batteries match these figures.

Many news startups have been created to compete in this aftermarket. Automotive manufacturers around the world are also starting to take the responsibility of battery recycling. For example, Volkswagen Group Components, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, has been created to fully dedicate its work into battery recycling, with its goal of returning 97% of the components inside a battery back into the manufacturing process. The Chinese government even went a step further by making a law that requires car manufacturers to take full responsibility in recycling their batteries.

In the end, as the demand for batteries continues to rise, the recycling industry is expected to catch on quickly within the next few years. Energy researchers are expecting that by 2025, about 75% of all electric vehicle batteries will be reused for different purposes, then broken down and recycled to use as raw materials again in the manufacturing process.

A Bright Future for the EV Industry

Even though EVs might not be completely environmentally sustainable yet, the long-term prospect is promising. As the battery reuse and recycling industry catches up, EVs will soon become a critical part of the renewable energy supply chain. To learn more about the EV’s role in the power grid, read: How Plug&Charge Might Make EV Charging a Lifesaver.

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22 February, 2021 . 5 mins read

Top 6 Benefits of a Fleet Management System

What is Fleet Management?

Purchasing a car is easy, but owning one requires a lot of effort. What are some of the basic responsibilities that comes with owning a car? First there are the legal obligations, the owner must pay for license plate registration and renewal, purchase and renew car insurance on an annual basis, and pay for respective taxes. When it comes to usage, the owner needs to first have a place to store the car, bring the car to the service center for periodic inspections and maintenance, change tires and install winter tires as needed, wash the car occasionally, and lastly, fill up the car with fuel or electricity on a weekly, if not daily basis. Now imagine being the owner of a fleet of commercial vehicles. The work required to maintain these vehicles become extremely complex because the responsibilities are likely split between multiple individuals, adding to the complication that the primary driver of each vehicle tend to change over time. This makes a fleet management system necessary for all commercial fleet operators.

As the name suggests, fleet management is the practice of managing a fleet of commercial vehicles, such as cars, trucks, ships, and even delivery robots. It is commonly used by mobility providers such as public transportation companies, carsharing service providers, and delivery firms to ensure that their vehicles are used safely, efficiently, and well-maintained.

In this article, we will introduce six major benefits of using a fleet management system.

What Are the Benefits of a Fleet Management System?

1. Managing Administrative Work

A fleet management system keeps a record of all data regarding the vehicles. This includes every vehicle’s purchasing, financing, and leasing information, registration information, and insurance information. Since oftentimes the vehicles are purchased under different terms and conditions, it can be extremely difficult to keep track of these data and follow these conditions. This often leads to fines, penalties, and expenses that could have been totally avoidable. Using a fleet management system helps the owner manage these administrative works easily without missing any deadlines.

2. Managing Vehicle Maintenance

The biggest challenge of owning and operating a fleet is keeping all the vehicles properly maintained. Since vehicles are one of the most valuable assets for mobility providers, periodic inspections and maintenance help prolong their service life and significantly reduce costs in the long run. A fleet management system allows the fleet manager to track the current condition and maintenance history of every vehicle. Oftentimes, customized notifications can be selected so that the fleet manager can receive warnings on any vehicle issues in real-time. Without a fleet management system, it becomes very challenging and costly to detect and fix problems immediately and keeping vehicles maintained on schedule.

3. Managing Fuel Consumption

Apart from labour and maintenance costs, fuel expense is a major operating expense for mobility providers. Saving a few dollars per day on a vehicle does not seem like a lot, but the aggregate savings of a fleet of vehicles on an annual basis can make a remarkable difference on the financial standings of a company. A fleet management system can help maximize fuel economy by enabling the fleet manager to not only track each vehicle’s real-time mileage and fuel expenses, but also to analyze each driver’s behaviour to identify any wasteful usage patterns, such as excessive acceleration and prolonged idling.

4. Managing EV Range and Charging

For mobility providers that use autonomous and electric vehicles as part of their fleet, tracking their range and having them charged on time becomes a crucial task, because the last thing you want is to have the car run out of power before reaching the passenger’s destination. A fleet management system can make this process seamless and automated, so that vehicles can be dispatched and allocated appropriately.

5. Managing Driver Performance and Safety

It is very hard for mobility providers to establish consistent service quality because it almost entirely depends on the individual driver. A fleet management system can keep track of every vehicle’s activity in real-time, which is a clear reflection of the driver’s driving habit and behaviour. A fleet manager can use the system to set up customized reporting on all kinds of inappropriate behaviours – for instance – driving over 20km/h above the speed limit, sudden acceleration and braking, and prolonged idling during operation hours. This is especially useful for taxi companies, as the drivers could exhibit reckless driving behaviours to beat the clock and compete for business. Hence, using a fleet management system not only helps improve service quality, but also greatly reduces the possibility of road accidents.

6. Service Optimization

The road is a dynamic place. Many external factors can affect the service of a mobility provider, including traffic jams, weather conditions, accidents, constructions, and road closure. A fleet management system can help the mobility provider gain real-time insights on where their vehicles and potential customers are. The fleet manager can then dispatch and direct vehicles to areas where demands are high. The system also improves route planning to minimize travel time. To make this process more automated, an end-user interface is oftentimes accompanied by a fleet management system so that the customers can reserve for services directly on their smartphones.

AutoCrypt FMS, Fleet Management Utilizing Smart Mobility Infrastructure

AutoCrypt FMS is a fleet management system that offers customized services for mobility providers to monitor and manage all their resources in a secured and reliable way. By establishing secured communication with encryption and authentication technologies, AutoCrypt FMS ensures the accuracy and privacy of all data collected and stored in the process. By utilizing big data from other V2X-enabled entities, it offers some of the most advanced benefits of a fleet management system, along with highly comprehensive and secure insights. Click here to learn more about AutoCrypt FMS.

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5 February, 2021 . 6 mins read

7 Major Functions of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems

Autonomous Driving: The Bigger Picture

What comes to mind first when you think of autonomous driving? Most likely we would think about self-driving cars with adaptive cruising technology like Tesla Autopilot. Indeed, adaptive cruising supported by sensors and cameras is a core component of autonomous driving. Yet this is only a small part of the bigger picture. In fact, no matter how advanced and sophisticated adaptive cruising technology becomes, there will always be room for error to occur in situations like extreme weather events and unexpected road conditions.

Therefore, the vehicle alone is not sufficient to ensure a perfectly safe and seamless autonomous driving experience. To complete the full picture, cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) is needed to ensure that every vehicle on the road knows exactly what they need to know at the right time and the right place.

Intelligent Transportation Systems

Before looking at C-ITS, let us first look at what intelligent transport systems (ITS) are. These are the systems that collect and analyze data to improve the driving experience as well as to regulate traffic. Examples of ITS include the modern GPS navigation system which provides drivers with real-time information on traffic levels, estimated travel times, traffic accidents, road constructions, and even locations of traffic enforcement cameras. Another interesting ITS is the left-turn lane sensor, which are sensors embedded on the grounds of the left-turn lane at intersections, so that the left-turn signal would only turn on when needed.

C-ITS are simply more advanced ITS where vehicles and other road entities share their data to “cooperate” with each other on the road. Such cooperation is made possible by V2X (vehicle-to-everything) technology, which allows vehicles to communicate directly with infrastructures (V2I), pedestrians (V2P), and the greater network (V2N).

In a previous blog article, we have discussed in detail on what V2X technology is and how it is applied. To read that article, see: DSRC vs. C-V2X: A Detailed Comparison of the 2 Types of V2X Technologies. Today, we are here to look at seven of the major functionalities and benefits of C-ITS and how they paint the full picture of autonomous driving.

1. Collecting driving data

All kinds of driving data – including location, speed, time, and vehicle condition – are collected from the vehicles’ on-board units. These data (when given consent by the owners) will be stored a data center accessible by transportation regulators and infrastructure developers to help enhance transportation infrastructure and road safety. Sometimes, automakers (OEMs) also collect data of their cars to further improve their models with software updates and hardware improvements.

2. Exchanging real-time information on traffic

As vehicles share their location and speed with each other, a massive transportation network consisting of real-time data is formed. Every vehicle can then utilize the collective information on the current traffic flows and even analyze them to predict future traffic conditions in the next few hours. This allows all vehicles to choose an optimized route for their destination, significantly reducing traffic jams while saving time and money spent in traffic.

3. Exchanging real-time information on road hazards

Traffic data are not enough to guarantee road safety. With C-ITS, vehicles receive data on a wide range of information on road conditions, including road surface temperature, humidity, and buildup of snow and rain from precipitations. Vehicles are also warned of curvy and slopy roads, road breakage, as well as areas where traffic accidents frequently occur. Lastly, information on emergency road maintenance and road construction gets shared with vehicles to make sure that they are well-informed of road hazards and respond safely by reducing speed or detouring.

4. Exchanging real-time information on vehicle hazards

The smart traffic network also collects live information on dangerous vehicles such as trucks and buses, as well as those traveling at abnormally fast or slow speeds. Surrounding vehicles then get notified to stay aware of such hazards. In case accidents occur, vehicles behind will be directed to reduce their speed to prevent secondary accidents, because most traffic-related deaths involve secondary accidents. The locations of emergency vehicles are also shared so that other vehicles on the road can clear out a line ahead of time, allowing them to pass by quickly.

5. Directing traffic at intersections

Even though traffic lights are designed to protect the safety of cars and pedestrians at intersections, there are still conflicting situations where safety fully depends on the driver’s judgment. Take the left turn for example, drivers need to simultaneously pay attention to three different things: 1) the signal ahead, 2) cars traveling down from the opposite direction, and 3) pedestrians on the left-side crosswalk. One misjudgment can lead to danger. With C-ITS, this conflict resolution process gets sorted out automatically, significantly improving safety at intersections.

6. Toll collection

Roadside infrastructure tracks the identities of vehicles entering toll roads. The respective toll fees then get deducted automatically from the financial accounts pre-registered to each vehicle, making the payment process seamless. Since there is no longer the need to slow down at toll stations, highway traffic jams can be partially relieved.

7. Pedestrian protection

The ultimate goal of autonomous driving is to guarantee the safety of both drivers and pedestrians. With C-ITS, vehicles are directed to slow down in both school zones and silver zones. With V2P technology, cars receive data from the pedestrians’ mobile devices so that even when the pedestrian is hidden in sight, the car can still prepare to stop ahead of time. This is especially useful at intersections where pedestrian-related accidents are most common.

The Importance of Data Security for C-ITS

Cooperative intelligent transport systems are supported by all kinds of data from drivers, vehicles, and infrastructures. Even though these data might not necessarily contain personally identifiable information (PII), information on a city’s transportation infrastructure can still be exploited by malicious actors to commit various crimes. Furthermore, the messages in transmission also needs to be protected to prevent manipulations, which could lead to severe physical damages.

AutoCrypt V2X is a software-based security solution that is built into the chipsets embedded in both on-board units and roadside units, helping protect data privacy while ensuring the accuracy of the shared messages. As a major mobility security supplier for OEMs, chipmakers, and infrastructure developers, AUTOCRYPT has been collaborating with the government in a number of C-ITS projects.

To keep informed with the latest news on mobility tech, automotive cybersecurity and cooperative intelligent transport systems, subscribe to AUTOCRYPT’s monthly newsletter.

28 January, 2021 . 6 mins read

Data Privacy on the Road: How to Keep Car Data Safe

Since 2007, policymakers, regulators, NGOs, and businesses from all over the world have gathered on January 28 – Data Privacy Day – to raise awareness on data privacy and to promote the latest practices and technologies used to safeguard privacy in this digital world.

As the world enters the IoT (Internet of Things) age, concerns on data privacy are no longer limited to traditional IT environments. Connected devices like CCTV cameras, AI speakers, and now even cars, all collect and stores data from our daily activities.

As cars become increasingly digitalized and connected, ensuring data privacy becomes a new challenge for the automotive industry. Cars today are computers on wheels. Just as a computer stores data inputted by its user, a car collects data generated from the drivers’ behaviours. A typical car today generates exceedingly large amounts of data from cameras and sensors, electronic control units (ECU), and in-vehicle infotainment systems.

Data from Electronic Control Units

There is no need to explain how cameras, sensors, or infotainment systems generate data, as they work just like any other digital devices. Instead, we will discuss how electronic control units (ECU) generate and store data.

ECUs are embedded minicomputers in a vehicle that control its electrical systems, which then determine the vehicle’s movement. A modern car today contains around 80 of these units. Some of the ECUs include the engine control module (ECM), powertrain control module (PCM), and transmission control module (TCM). These units serve as the car’s computer. In most vehicles, each ECU operates separately on its own. However, some manufacturers such as Tesla are looking for a new approach to combine all ECUs into a central computer.

How do ECUs generate data? Let us look at the engine control module (ECM) as an example. A mixture of air and fuel is needed for an engine to operate. Too much air and fuel will overpower the engine, while too little of this mixture will not be enough to power the car. The ratio of air and fuel is also important. Too much air would make the car slow, while too much fuel would be pollutive.

Traditionally, an analog metering device was used to measure and determine the injection mechanically. However, tighter environmental regulations and rising oil prices meant that relying on analog means was no longer sufficient to reach to high fuel efficiency needed today. This had led to the digitalization of cars. Today, instead of using analog measures, the ECM uses optimization equations stored in its chips to calculate the optimized amount and ratio needed and injects the perfect mixture into the engine.

Since the ECUs are computers that send signals to control the car, these signals can be tracked and stored in the form of data and later used for a variety of purposes, from vehicle maintenance, driving experience optimization, as well as fleet management.

Then, what are some of the types of data generated by cars?

Types of Car Data and Their Uses

1) Driving behaviour
The cameras, radars, and lidar sensors equipped around the vehicles contain information on the vehicle’s speed, acceleration, braking, and steering. Such big data can be collected and used to enhance the driving assistance systems and improve responsiveness in emergency situations. These can also be used by taxi and rental companies to manage their fleet, making sure that drivers operate the vehicles safely. Lastly, insurance companies can use them to calculate highly accurate insurance premiums to better serve its customers.

2) Vehicle condition
The ECUs can provide critical data on a vehicle’s health condition. Information on tire pressure, wheel alignment, engine status, as well as other measures can be used to indicate the vehicle’s health, so that maintenance and repairs can be done immediately, eliminating any underlying safety hazards. Such information can also be collected by OEMs to improve their vehicles’ quality and performance.

3) In-vehicle services
Other data generated from in-vehicle infotainment systems may not be directly related to driving, but do contain sensitive personal information such as contacts, calls, and messages. Data on the usage pattern of mobility services, such as frequently visited locations, parking lots, gas stations, are also collected so that third-party service providers can use them to offer more personalized services and seek for new business models, such as smart parking and pay-as-you-go services.

How Are Car Data Shared with Outside Entities?

Many OEMs would ask consent for the car owner to share the data generated by the cameras, sensors, and ECUs to enable better driving experiences for the future. For example, the BMW Group collects telematics data generated from BMW and Mini vehicles (only under consent), and stores them in its data center to further expands its services.

Cars can also connect to the Internet directly. Many cars today are equipped with a SIM card slot, allowing the owner to subscribe to cellular internet service for in-vehicle infotainment. This allows the vehicle to receive live updates for its navigation system, allows the passengers to stream music with the car, as well as using it as a Wi-Fi hotspot to power other mobile devices on board.

Lastly, car data are a crucial asset for autonomous driving. V2X (vehicle-to-everything) systems not only shares the vehicle’s location, speed, and direction with other vehicles on the road, C-V2X technology will soon allow the onboard units (OBU) to communicate directly with the cellular network. This would lead to an explosion of transportation and mobility data.

How to Keep Car Data Safe?

Due to the sensitivity of car data, safeguarding data privacy comes as a prerequisite for connected cars. This means that drivers can rest assured knowing that their cars are much better at protecting their data than their computers at home. To protect car data from unauthorized access, authentication and encryption technologies are used to ensure that the sender and receiver of car data are properly authenticated, and that the data stored in the servers are safely encrypted. These security technologies are usually embedded in the ECUs and other onboard units such as the infotainment system to not only ensure data privacy, but also to make sure that these data are not altered or manipulated to cause physical harm.

AutoCrypt V2X and AutoCrypt PnC are software-based security solutions that are built into the chipsets during the manufacturing stage, protecting data privacy in the age of connected mobility. Working with chipmakers around the world, AUTOCRYPT is a major mobility security supplier for some of the world’s largest OEMs.

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27 January, 2021 . 6 mins read

The Role of Machine Learning in Strengthening Autonomous Vehicle Security

With Tesla considered one of the best bubble stocks for 2021 (shares soared 743% in 2020 and made Elon Musk the richest person in the world for a few days), the company is at the center of people’s attention as it’s been evolving on a very public stage. While the market indicates an increasing interest in autonomous driving, AAA’s 2019 annual vehicle survey found that 71 percent of Americans are afraid to ride in self-driving vehicles, especially after several high-profile incidents came to light the past few years.

The statistics above suggest that we may still be a few years away from driving fully autonomous cars. For self-driving cars to be fully autonomous, they need to deploy technologies such as RADAR (Radio Detection And Ranging), and LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) as well as algorithms to detect and respond to surroundings.

Can Autonomous Vehicles Be More Dangerous Compared to Traditional Vehicles?

Autonomous vehicles can be much more vulnerable than other devices we use in our daily lives as they utilize a combined deployment of various sensors and vehicle-related technologies. It’s known that even a single vulnerability can allow hackers to exploit the entire vehicle – meaning hackers may not only gain access to the operating system but possibly the entire network as well.

What’s more, autopilot has helped set the standard for numerous autonomous vehicles and gave a taste of what self-driving cars will be like in the near future. However, experts at the Tencent Keen Security Lab demonstrated that they could remotely compromise the Autopilot system on a Tesla vehicle. Even though the bug was promptly fixed after the presentation, this situation sheds some light on the potential for exploitation. As autonomous vehicles rely highly on “connectivity” itself, there’s no doubt that hackers see autonomous vehicles as tempting targets that contain countless amounts of data that can be used to exploit the system, which in theory could end up destroying every single aspect of the vehicle.

That is why in-vehicle security and the complexities involved have been the major focus of any discussion about autonomous vehicles. In-vehicle security isn’t just about protecting and securing the autonomous vehicle itself, but rather about mitigating as many risks as possible through the delivery of a comprehensive and holistic approach to automotive driving security.

How Can Autonomous Vehicles be Secured?

In order to secure the whole autonomous driving process, an important fact needs to be emphasized; these vehicles aren’t like the traditional ones out there. The complexity of autonomous vehicles makes it far more difficult to fully secure the vehicle – though it’s not impossible – and the only way to do that is by prioritizing security.

One possible solution is in-Vehicle Security (IVS) which is the car’s first line of defense that helps protect vehicles from external threats, monitors all relevant communications, and responds to any abnormal activity. As a result, deploying IVS is what’s most important in securing the vehicle. IVS needs a reliable Intrusion Detection System (IDS) that provides the security modules needed to guarantee safe communications between Electrical Control Units (ECUs).

Additionally, with the adoption of new regulations, it’s important to make sure that your provider is prepared to meet the requirements of WP.29 along with other industry standards of deploying a system that secures communication between vehicles, devices, and infrastructures.

This is where machine learning comes in.

How Can Machine Learning Enhance the Security of Autonomous Vehicles?

Machine learning is the process of using, storing, and finding patterns within massive amounts of data, which can eventually be fed into algorithms. It’s basically a process of using the data accumulated by the machine or device that allows computers to develop their own algorithm so that humans won’t have to create challenging algorithms manually.

With all the features and applications of machine learning, it’s easy to understand how our collected data are stored and used via a proper platform which in turn analyzes logs and patterns. In this way, this platform can warn and even mitigate risks occurring within the vehicle.

In other words, once the logs are collected and stored, machine learning technology can start analyzing and detecting these logs to see if there are any abnormalities. As machine learning enhances the detection model, it develops algorithms that can be used to detect malware activities and unusual behaviors of the vehicle. This process enhances the driver assistance technology by classifying the right data and patterns through various sensors attached to the vehicle.

Moreover, thanks to the advances in wireless technologies, a vehicular (ad-hoc) network is being formed among moving vehicles or RSUs (Roadside Units) and other communication devices. This network is considered a proprietary system that is seen differently from average computer networks, making it easier to predict the movements of vehicles. Machine learning can be employed in training algorithms from the very beginning to detect malicious exploits by differentiating normal from acute driving behavior which alerts the driver and prevents an attack.

In order to realize this, NXP is taking the lead in manufacturing microcontrollers with AI and machine learning capabilities that can be plugged into the OBD-II port. This not only observes but also allows the device to capture the vehicles’ data patterns to detect and monitor any abnormalities. Once it’s monitored, the microcontroller basically tries to prevent and alert the driver and becomes the replacement for traditional algorithms employed in vehicles.

Autonomous Driving is Not the Distant Future

It’s important to realize that autonomous vehicles that aren’t prioritizing security will cause far more serious consequences that involve physical harm or could even be abused by rogue nations and terrorists that are looking to cause chaos. Therefore, different security technologies must be considered when designing the security architecture from the very beginning.

Also, machine learning can become an essential tool for OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, or manufacturers that are looking to secure their autonomous vehicle and driving-related resources. After all, the new transportation system will need a total security solution that covers from intelligent transport system to in-vehicle, charging and connections security.

AUTOCRYPT’s Automotive Cybersecurity Solutions

AUTOCRYPT provides a total vehicle security solution that secures all parts of a vehicle by providing various security modules such as firewalls, authentication systems, to secure the vehicle from end to end.

To keep informed with the latest news on mobility tech and automotive cybersecurity, subscribe to AUTOCRYPT’s monthly newsletter.

19 January, 2021 . 7 mins read

DSRC vs. C-V2X: A Detailed Comparison of the 2 Types of V2X Technologies

A Beginner’s Guide to V2X

V2X (vehicle-to-everything) is an umbrella term that is used to refer to a vehicle’s communication with all other entities, including other moving and parked vehicles, pedestrians, traffic signals, road signs, construction sites, and many more. A vehicle communicates with the outside world in two ways: 1) by receiving physical feedback from the lidar sensors equipped around the vehicle, and 2) by wireless communication that sends and receives messages to and from other entities. These two methods complement each other to complete the autonomous driving experience. For example, lidar sensors provide feedback from the surrounding environment to detect any immediate threats, while messages regarding every vehicle’s location, speed, and direction from as far as 300 meters can be obtained through wireless communication so that the car can adjust its behaviors far ahead of time.

Lidar sensors provide one-way communication, in which the car receives information from its surroundings by physically illuminating them with laser light. By contrast, wireless communication technology enables two-way communication, so that the vehicle not only receives information, but also sends messages regarding its behavior to all other certified entities. Today, the term “V2X” is mostly used to refer to the latter – wireless vehicular communications.

V2X technology significantly increases a vehicle’s autonomy. For instance, by communicating with traffic signals, the car receives real-time information about when to stop at intersections. By communicating with the pedestrians’ mobile devices, the car can stay ahead of itself to prepare to stop for jaywalkers. By communicating with construction and accident sites, the car can look for the nearest detour to avoid getting trapped in traffic jams.

Note that V2X must be complemented by lidar sensors because even though it provides perfectly accurate information, it is not capable of detecting entities that are not equipped with communication technology, such as an old conventional car or a rock on the road. Thus, the importance of cameras and sensors must not be neglected.

In this post, we will take a deeper look at the two different V2X wireless communication technologies currently used by automakers and infrastructure developers across the globe.

DSRC (defined by IEEE 802.11p: WAVE)

DSRC was first introduced as a V2X technology in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)’s 802.11p standard, a vehicular communication protocol intended for adding wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE). As the first communication standard for V2X, WAVE uses WLAN technology to establish dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) channels so that the vehicles can communicate directly to other entities within short to medium ranges (typically 300 meters). Despite WAVE being the official name of the protocol, many still refer to the technology as DSRC to describe the underlying mechanism. In fact, many industry experts would use the terms DSRC, 802.11p, WAVE, or WLAN-based V2X interchangeably to refer to the same thing.

DSRC is essentially a modification of Wi-Fi. The technology was considered a huge breakthrough in the automotive industry because it allows for data to be transmitted between two devices without going through any intermediaries, making it highly useful for rural and remote areas without any telecommunication infrastructure. This is like sending a text message to another phone 300 meters away without the need for cellular network coverage. Moreover, DSRC is known for having very low latency due to the elimination of the intermediary.

After its initial approval in 2010, DSRC went through years of testing before it was first deployed in selected Toyota vehicles manufactured in Japan in 2015, and later adopted by some Cadillac models in the US in 2017. In 2019, the Volkswagen Golf 8, one of the most popular cars in Europe, became the most sold V2X-enabled car in the market.

C-V2X (defined by 3GPP Releases 14, 15, 16)

Introduced soon after DSRC, C-V2X is another vehicular communication protocol developed for V2X. Defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Projects (3GPP), C-V2X utilizes cellular radio instead of WLAN, meaning that it utilizes the same set of cellular radio technology as cellphones do. The major difference that sets C-V2X apart from DSRC is that it allows both direct and indirect communication. In direct C-V2X, vehicles communicate directly with other vehicles (V2V) and roadside units (V2I) the same way as how DSRC works. Under indirect C-V2X, vehicles communicate with other entities indirectly via the cellular network (V2N), which is something DSRC cannot do.

Indirect C-V2X is useful because the cellular network can collect data from many cars, and thus can be more effective at managing traffic on a larger scale. Originally designed in Release 14 to use the LTE standard, 3GPP later added compatibility for 5G and 5G NR in Releases 15 and 16.

Even though DSRC had been gaining ground in Japan and Europe, C-V2X is becoming increasingly popular in the US, China, and other regions of the world. Furthermore, C-V2X has won support from many professional organizations such as the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) based on its advantages to DSRC. Then, what are some of the pros and cons of C-V2X when compared to DSRC?

On the pros, supporters of C-V2X generally suggest that cellular radio technology has better growth potential for faster speeds and higher reliability. This means that looking at the long-run, C-V2X is more sustainable as it offers a long-term path for constant improvements. Moreover, the ability to connect to the cellular network could create a much smarter transportation system. Lastly, the price of cellular chipsets is cheaper than that of WLAN chipsets.

On a side note, some uncontrolled experiments show that direct C-V2X offers greater range than DSRC. But this is not scientifically proven, and that the 300-meter range of DSRC is more than enough for autonomous driving purposes.

As for the cons, supporters of DSRC believe that switching to C-V2X would delay the rollout of autonomous driving because DSRC is a more mature standard, proven to work in large commercial settings. C-V2X is still undergoing its final testing stage when it comes to large-scale deployment, and indirect C-V2X does not look like it will be ready for commercialization until at least 2024, though direct C-V2X is on schedule for commercial deployment in 2021.

DSRC and C-V2X Compatibility

At the end of the day, both DSRC and C-V2X have the same use cases, meaning that the real-life application is the same across both standards. Despite all the rhetoric from both sides, there had been no side-by-side testing proving that one performs better than the other in application.

Due to a lack of statistical evidence on the performance side, the industry has slowly shifted to prefer C-V2X as it exhibits better long-term prospects. The problem is that because DSRC and C-V2X run on different communication technologies, the access layer is not interoperable. Automakers and infrastructure developers face the difficult choice of adopting one or the other in their infrastructures.

The good news for automakers is that many chipmakers have started manufacturing dual-mode chipsets that are compatible with both standards, helping those undergoing the transition.

In terms of infrastructure developers, many of those with existing DSRC infrastructures are now working to add cellular network connectivity to them by combining them with indirect C-V2X.

The Role of Cybersecurity in V2X

Regardless of the communication technologies used, cybersecurity is an integral component of V2X. AutoCrypt V2X is a security solution that embeds itself in V2X chipsets, protecting the V2X system with both authentication and data encryption technologies. It ensures data integrity by verifying every entity to ensure they are who they claim to be, and protects sensitive information by encrypting the messages in transmission. Working with chipmakers around the world, AutoCrypt V2X is currently active in a number of C-ITS projects and is major supplier for some of the world’s largest automakers.

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