SyVElA
Autonomous vehicles will finally go mainstream in the next 10 years (Gartner Hype Cycle report). But are we ready? Can we ensure safety, privacy, and security with these highly-connected vehicles?
Connected cars have become the norm over the last 10 years, opening the car world to threats from cyber attacks. A significant proportion of the existing car pool is already vulnerable on several levels. The fact is that, the more a car is connected and the deeper the connection, the higher the risk of an attack.
Airports and large car pool managers have a high interest in autonomous vehicles that enable simpler management and cost cuts. Such organisations have a role to play in leading the autonomous transition since they work in a controlled environment with clear goals within infrastructures where testing of self-driving vehicles is possible. We need to collaborate with them in order to enable faster and safer transition to autonomous driving.
It is in this context that the SyVElA project was born. It is a European project, part of CONTRIBUTE which is a a platform dedicated to cyber-physical systems in the fields of energy conversion and transport..
The goals of the project are the following : study, design, and technically validate autonomous vehicle projects from a cybersecurity and safety standpoint.
SyVElA unites expertise from partners already dedicated to cybersecurity. Alstom and Aisin Mobility are piloting the project with their strong expertise in cybersecurity and embedded systems for railway and automotive respectively. ACAPELA, GUARDIS, and COMEXIS have also joined the project bringing their expertise in vocal synthesis, cybersecurity, and software architecture.
Embedded systems enabling autonomous driving are highly complex and rely on multiple sensors and complex algorithms. This is why we have brought additional scientific expertise to the project through the following partners:
CETIC (Excellence center in information and communication technologies), bringing expertise in heterogeneous embedded architectures and cybersecurity.
CRIDS (Research center in information, law and society), bringing expertise in legal aspects of new technologies and, especially, for self-driving cars.
UCLouvain, assisting with UX, route optimization, and security architecture.
Charleroi Airport, helping to define scenarii, validation tests, and security analysis.
In short, SyVElA is building a scalable, autonomous system that will work in a heterogeneous environment while ensuring the safety and security of operators and users.