Earlier this July, the British government published “The Pathway to Driverless Cars: A Code of Practice for testing”, a fourteen page document clarifying the legislation around driverless vehicle testing in the UK.

As expected, the document is heavily skewed towards safety, with stipulations for operator overrides and emergency service procedures among others.

That’s not the part that I found interesting about the guidleines. That came later, and was more focused on data collection and cyber security.

As we have come to expect from our connected devices, data collection is inevitable. The government’s outlines mandate the following as minimum data recording functionality on the vehicle.

As a minimum this device should record the following information (preferably at 10Hz or more):

• Whether the vehicle is operating in manual or automated mode
• Vehicle speed
• Steering command and activation
• Braking command and activation
• Operation of the vehicle’s lights and indicators
• Use of the vehicle’s audible warning system (horn)
• Sensor data concerning the presence of other road users or objects in the vehicle’s vicinity
• Remote commands which may influence the vehicle’s movement (if applicable)

 

Add to these minimum prerequisites some other specific datasets such as location (for traffic updates etc.) and you begin to get the picture. Very soon our connected, driverless cars will become a hive of activity, bringing convenience to our daily lives but documenting it like never before.

In fact, immediately following the data collection requirements, the document then went on to establish expected behavior for handling this data.

“Testing is likely to involve the processing of personal data. For example, if data is collected and analysed about the behaviour or location of individuals in the vehicle, such as test drivers, operators and assistants, and those individuals can be identified.”

Will our own cars present a privacy risk to us in the future? Thorough data logs of everything we do and everywhere we go suggest that it might. Who knows, perhaps we’ll see an optional “incognito mode” like we see in some web browsers, where you can drive “off-record” for a limited time.

I was also pleased to see the inclusion of some basic cybersecurity standards included in the document. As our digital world rapidly merges with the offline, it becomes ever more important to safeguard the things that matter most from attack.

The document stipulates:

“Nevertheless, manufacturers providing vehicles, and other organisations supplying parts for testing will need to ensure that all prototype automated controllers and other vehicle systems have appropriate levels of security built into them to manage any risk of unauthorised access.”

This is hardly comprehensive but it does make developers consider cybersecurity from the outset.

While time will tell just how ready the people of Britain are for driverless vehicles, but it’s good to see that the government is addressing safety concerns both on the road and online.