SELF-DRIVING CAR DISABLED WITH A LASER

Modified Laser Pen Used to Fool Autonomous Cars By Projecting Phantom Objects

Jonathan Petit, principal scientist at software firm Security Innovation has demonstrated how a homemade gadget can disable self-driving cars by creating phantom objects that fool their sensors. Petit revealed to technology magazine IEEE Spectrum, that if enough of these images were created the vehicle would be stopped dead in its tracks. He used a modified laser paired with a pulse generator – which can be created using a Raspberry Pi – to project phantom objects, such as walls, cars and pedestrians in front of the autonomous cars. These ghost images confuse the lidars which the car uses to “see.” Lidars are a combination of light and radar that use a laser to illuminate a target and then analyse the reflected light to determine distance, and work out where objects are positioned. In August software developer Sammy Kamkar revealed how he modified a Raspberry Pi to hack into a Fiat Chrysler, highlighting the vulnerabilities of GM’s OnStar system.

 

Phantom objects fool lidars on autonomous cars – Courtesy of spectrum.ieee.org