Building a "Network on Wheels"

Cars and trucks in the future are likely to network continually with other vehicles and the surrounding environment, sharing road information (an upcoming traffic jam, accident or hazardous road conditions) and calculating alternative routes, or alerting police in case of emergency. High-tech though it may be, it's the same principle as truck drivers talking on CB radios.

Motor vehicles, however, pose special problems for networks. With vehicles moving rapidly between nodes and attempting to communicate with one another in an ad hoc manner, security, authentication and seamless communication all become crucial concerns.

To address this problem, the German government has authorized the Network on Wheels project to address inter-vehicle communication systems while the technology is still in its relative infancy. The project will examine how vehicles interact, how to ensure the privacy of drivers, and how to guard the network against malicious attacks.

Source: Roland Piquepaille's Technology Trends