Autonomous vehicle developers ‘must counter terrorist potential’

Vehicle developers will have to introduce measures to counter the potential use of autonomous vehicle by terrorists, according to Iain Forbes, head of the UK Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles. Replying to a question from ITS International during a panel session at the Driverless Technology Conference in London, Forbes said: “Security questions will be an important part of the debate about autonomous vehicles. I think that it would be amiss of any government to enable something tha
December 1, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Vehicle developers will have to introduce measures to counter the potential use of autonomous vehicle by terrorists, according to Iain Forbes, head of the UK Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.

Replying to a question from 1846 ITS International during a panel session at the Driverless Technology Conference in London, Forbes said: “Security questions will be an important part of the debate about autonomous vehicles. I think that it would be amiss of any government to enable something that might introduce new risks to society.”

Speaking so soon after the attacks in Paris he said the question was very relevant: “It is something that will have to be resolved.” However he added that he did not think it was an insurmountable problem: “We identify potential risks and find ways to deal with them.”

Joost Vantomme from FEBiAC (which represents the Belgian car industry) observed that the question applied equally to drones: “The need for regulation of drones is a topic of discussion in the European Commission and European Parliament,” he said.

Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • EU Green Deal needs place for ITS
    September 19, 2022
    European groups have expressed concern that a European Union move to decarbonise transportation does not take account of the ITS sector’s importance.
    Read More
  • Same old mistakes? Try something new
    June 28, 2018
    There’s nothing for it: we need to talk about Mobility as a Service (MaaS). The late Stephen Hawking’s publisher once told him that his readership would be cut in half for every equation he put in a book. Well, here goes nothing… One of the most famous equations in physics is Isaac Newton’s Second Law of Motion: Force = mass x acceleration. With a little tweaking, I think we
    Read More
  • Evolving Australia's truck weighing programme
    March 1, 2013
    Regulating heavy truck weight isn’t all about sensors in the road… this year marks a significant point in the progression of Australia’s Intelligent Access Programme as its administrators attempt to answer the scheme’s critics. Jon Masters reports. Australia’s Intelligent Access Programme (IAP), the country’s telematics-based system of reg­ulating movement of the heaviest vehicles, is now five years old. The IAP is administered by Transport Certification Australia (TCA) whose general manager for strategic d
    Read More
  • Kyiv Digital: “We never thought we’d create app functionality for missile attacks”
    August 15, 2022
    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought devastating change. Adam Hill reports on how the capital city’s transit app was reconfigured to help citizens stay safe under Russian bombardment – and to record evidence of war crimes
    Read More

Highlighted Content