Urban congestion and cybersecurity: questions raised by the advent of autonomous vehicles

Autonomous cars are often presented as new living spaces, bona fida personal bubbles for spending a nice time, even in traffic jams. But they could also drive around empty, on a return trip, for instance, or when travelling to park further away. Such indicators are raising concerns that autosolism will rebound, or that ‘auto-nihilism’ (a car driving on its own) may even emerge!

One thing is for sure: autonomous cars will only help ease congestion in cities if trips are shared! As such, it is questionable whether it would not be better to favour fleets rather than private cars. But if the two do co-exist, will we then witness a social divide between people with access to private autonomous cars, i.e. to their very own personal bubble, and those without? What about regulation by local authorities that makes sharing compulsory?

Likewise in the skies, the emergence of taxi-drones (carrying people) or delivery drones (transporting goods) raise questions over management of urban air space, noise and visual pollution, and respect for private life. And therefore the possible congestion of urban skyways – up until now only used by birds!

Another concern is the risk of piracy. Because, in actual fact, autonomous vehicles don’t quite live up to their name: they are hyper-connected and depend on data coming from their immediate surroundings (other vehicles, infrastructure, control centre).

So, should we instead be talking about ‘driverless vehicles’? By the time they come to market, the infrastructure itself will be even more communicative: road signs, roads themselves, stations, ports, lighthouses, aerodromes, etc. will certainly play a major part in regulating the flow of autonomous vehicles. In this context, a hacking incident could have serious repercussions. Moreover, beyond the challenges posed by autonomous vehicles, cybersecurity is in itself a critical, 21st century issue for the field of mobility.