Concern General Motors will give all their new cars a soul (digital shell)

The company is now developing a new “digital nervous system” that supports software auto-update and processing up to 4.5 TB of data per hour.

Photo of the prototype Cadillac CT5 2020 from GM

The new "electronic platform" is a computer network that will work on the vast majority of the company's vehicles and will ensure the operation of their numerous digital systems. It is just as important for the future automaker as any individual function or even the car itself. It is this infrastructure that will allow GM to compete in an increasingly software-driven industry and provide its customers with all the high-tech advantages they need, from high-resolution screens to stunning security features.

“This is the brain and the nervous system of the car,” says Al Adams, GM director for electrical components and subsystems, who oversaw its development. Think of it as an infrastructure that allows all parts of the car to communicate clearly and safely. You might also call it guts - a low value, hidden part of the body that is not noticed while it is working. The architecture debuts on the Cadillac CT5 2020, due out at the end of this year. Over the next four years, GM will introduce it to the majority of its global line, which has 56 models of four brands.

Thus, more cars will receive the Super Cruise Cadillac semi-autonomous driving system and other active safety features. Now GM will be able to release software updates over the air, improving the performance of its engines or operating the suspensions on uneven roads, even years after the sale of the car. More computational power allows you to improve the resolution on the screens. More intelligent battery management systems can squeeze more miles from electric vehicle batteries.
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“We must completely rethink the computer system”

For GM, the process began several years ago. According to Adams, this is part of an ongoing evolution. Modern cars contain up to 30 or 40 computers that control everything, from the work of the transmission to a small light that turns on when the user presses the window lock button. This is about twice as much as a decade ago, even though the GM team combined various functions in one computer. They also worked to minimize the number of wires passing through the car and weigh several kilograms.

Scientists from the University of Maryland shared the opinion that the method of creating AI used today is not suitable for high-grade autonomous vehicles. They suggested replacing classical neural networks with hyper-vector- based algorithms . Such AI will be able to form memory and reflexes.

About hackers also thought

The concern claims that cyber security was introduced from the very beginning. “Being cybersecurity is paramount for GM and is a prerequisite for entering this space. We conducted a comparative analysis with defense and aviation complexes, ”said Adams. And the company actually took a rather active approach to cybersecurity: in addition to the internal red team, it also uses third-party testers and the Hacker One community to search for software exploits. Removing these exploits has the same priority as any other vehicle safety issue. The new platform includes message authentication: when different modules in the car exchange data, the receiver and transmitter use the “security handshake” used for each piece of protected data. Before using data from the transmitting module, each side performs authentication.

"I will never buy a car that is always connected to the Internet"

All this is great news, not only for most car enthusiasts, but also for software developers. The implementation of the centralized management of car systems with Internet access by one of the leading automakers opens up many new areas of activity and will provide jobs for young IT professionals. However, not all users are happy with such an initiative. Many car owners are supporters of the retrograde outlook and believe that developers will deliberately leave their earnings vulnerabilities to correct errors that occur during operation, as often happens with mobile devices and operating systems. For an in-depth study of public opinion, go to the news discussion page on Reddit .

As analogs, you can imagine only the AI ​​of the Tesla “autorul” cars used for their driver assistance system - such a modernized “cruise control” that can keep the selected lane on the highway but does not relieve the car owner from responsibility associated with driving.

Who is interested in this topic, you can read the following links:

Hackers forced Tesla autopilot to go to the oncoming lane
Tesla will focus on weak AI and neural networks in autopilot new generation
Battle neural network and lidar
General Motors showed the work of his autopilot on video

Sources:

Arstechnica
Wired