hacking cars

Yesterday I went to my local auto body shop, the second time in a month (don’t even ask), and the owner, a super nice guy, is 6’ 4”.  Needless to say, every time I see him I tell him how envious I am of his height and stature and remind him that in a crowd, at 5’0”, all I can do is smell asses, as my vision and hearing are completely obstructed.

Actually, I complained that my 2011 Hyundai Elantra (even though I didn’t pay much for it), didn’t have the proper sensors of readjusting everything for me after someone else (i.e., the 6’ 4” person towering next to me) had driven the car.  Furthermore, I guess I don’t understand why a seat belt (and air bag) can’t re-adjust based on 3D sensors that calibrate my height, weight, build, etc.  My new friend, who also shares being deviant (different from the norm) in height, concurs.

Knowing my interest in robotics, he then mentioned the following article that was published in the last few days about the possibility of terrorism in our newer cars.  No need to panic, it’s not presently happening, but certainly these are issues we need to begin thinking about.  Hacking a car while it’s being driven, hacking a next door neighbor’s robot that ‘accidentally’ kills the neighbor – these will be future realities.

Time to collect old cars that don’t have any computers on-board…