Articles in the DSRC Category
DSRC, GPS, Locational privacy, Networked Vehicle Systems, Privacy in Public, Privacy on the Roads, RFID »
Recently, the EFF released a report named “On Locational Privacy, and How to Avoid Losing it Forever“, introducing some of the basic threats to locational privacy:
Over the next decade, systems which create and store digital records of people’s movements through public space will be woven inextricably into the fabric of everyday life. We are already starting to see such systems now, and there will be many more in the near future.
Here are some examples you might already have used or read about:
Monthly transit swipe-cards
Electronic tolling devices (FastTrak, EZpass, congestion pricing)
Cellphones
Services …
DSRC, Privacy on the Roads »
Popular Mechanics‘ “buzzword” this week is Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications technologies, touting its safety benefits, open DSRC communication protocol, low cost to implement, and commitment by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to integrate similar technologies into roadway infrastructure (allowing Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communication).
The brief article notes “There will probably also be privacy concerns.” Yep, and you can read my article on how the design and implementation of Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Safety Communication technologies threaten the contextual integrity of personal information flows as we drive along the highways.
(FWIW, Popular Science covered VSC …
DSRC, GPS, Privacy in Public, Privacy on the Roads, Values in Design »
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution features a nice article that pieces together many of the privacy concerns with new transportation technologies – a central focus of much of my research. The article notes the desire to use GPS to track vehicle movements to facilitate assessing mileage taxes, vehicle-to-vehicle communication technologies to improve safety and the already ubiquitous use of RFID technology for automated tolling.
The piece introduces new research – “the adaptation of defense technology” – to automatically count the number of people in a vehicle so road authorities can charge variable tolls …
Contextual Integrity, DSRC, Privacy in Public, Privacy on the Roads »
For those readers interested in the intersections between privacy in public, locational privacy, contextual integrity, and vehicle technologies, my article “Surveillance, Privacy and the Ethics of Vehicle Safety Communication Technologies” has been published in the journal Ethics and Information Technology (you likely will need institutional access to view the article). Here is the abstract:
Recent advances in wireless technologies have led to the development of intelligent, in-vehicle safety applications designed to share information about the actions of nearby vehicles, potential road hazards, and ultimately predict dangerous scenarios or imminent collisions. These …
DSRC, Networked Vehicle Systems, Privacy on the Roads »
Popular Science features an article on “The Future of the Car: Behold the All-Seeing, Self-Parking, Safety-Enforcing, Networked Automobile” where one of the emerging technologies discussed is Vehicle Safety Communication technology:
The next giant leap in sensing will be radio networking that enables cars to exchange information. “Communication [between cars] will be like an additional sensor,” says Ralf Herrtwich, director of vehicle IT research at DaimlerChrysler. Car-to-car communication will ensure that your automobile is impeccably informed about road conditions ahead. And this extra “sensor” will have almost unlimited range, because information can …
Conferences, Contextual Integrity, DSRC, Networked Vehicle Systems, Privacy on the Roads »
I am on my way to The Netherlands to particpate in two exciting conferences. I will be presenting my paper “Surveillance, Privacy and the Ethics of Vehicle Safety Communication Technologies” [PDF] at the International Conference of Computer Ethics: Philosophical Enquiry. And I will be presenting my paper “Privacy and the Design of Vehicle Safety Communication Technologies” [PDF] at the International Conference of the Society for Philosophy and Technology.
DSRC, Networked Vehicle Systems, Privacy on the Roads »
DaimlerChrysler has made the first public demonstration of a DSRC-based vehicle-to-vehicle communication application. From the press release:
Cars equipped with DSRC can communicate directly with one another, also making it possible to transmit braking signals back over several vehicles, giving drivers early warning that they might soon have to brake. In this information network, each vehicle can take on the role of a sender, receiver or router. It allows a chain of information to be passed on, like a relay race. With the aid of this process, known as multi-hopping, information …
DSRC, Networked Vehicle Systems »
Bruce Schneier links to a report that speculates how Lexus automobiles might be vulnerable to computer viruses transferred via cell phones.(Techdirt has more, too)
The concern seems to be that as cars become more and more dependent on computers, they become more vulnerable. This threat increases with the advent of vehicle-to vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication applications via dedicated-short-range-communication (DSRC) technology. (more on DSRC here and here) While my research has focused on the privacy implications of DSRC, the threat of viruses being transmitted via these ad-hoc communication networks between cars incrases …
