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Modern vehicles are marvels of electronics. Many contain over 200 controllers in domains from infotainment to ride management to engine control. But the software behind our driving experiences has been treated largely as afterthoughts.

Audi is trying a new approach in the Q6 e-tron SUV’s. It allows over-the-air upgrading of the software to all those different domains and controllers.

This involves a new way of working with component suppliers, dealing with regulations that differ country-to-country, and how to get cars certified in all these geos.

The article is a good quick read on the current state of affairs.

Articles:

• https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/05/throw-out-all-those-black-boxes-and-say-hello-to-the-software-defined-car/

Car thieves are nothing if not persistent. Locks can be picked or ripped out. Wireless key fobs have become vulnerable to a number of new attacks.

Univerisity of Michigan students came up with a new method. Instead of relying on wireless fobs and locks, they connect a security monitoring device between the battery and electrical system. It watch for users to make a series of voltage changes on the electrical system before the car can start.

What voltage changes? They might perform some combination of flicking the windshield wipers, turn signal or headlights on and off, or locking and unlocking the doors.

Battery Sleuth’s default mode allows the battery to deliver enough current to power systems like electronics and lights, but not enough to power the vehicle’s starter. Only when it detects the pre-set series of voltage fluctuations in the vehicle’s electrical system does it turn up the juice, allowing the battery’s full power through to the starter.

Articles:

• https://news.umich.edu/a-surprisingly-simple-way-to-foil-car-thieves/
• https://hackaday.com/2023/07/25/car-security-system-monitors-tiny-voltage-fluctuations/

In 2015, David Pickett, Volvo Australia’s technical lead, was a part of the team that tried to develop the world’s first kangaroo detection and avoidance system.

Volvo’s team spent the next two years searching for a way to make Volvo’s cars detect and avoid/brake for kangaroos. After 2 years, they admitted defeat in 2017.

Volvo’s camera and radar system were no match for the marsupials. Wallabies proved to be equally challenging.

They had numerous unsolved issues. The kangaroo look entirely different in full flight than when resting. They’re very fast and jump in unpredictable ways, maneuvering mid-air to confuse and outrun predators.

Articles:

• https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/04/hazard-identification-software-cant-make-sense-of-kangaroos/