A Safety and Security Testbed for Assured Autonomy in Vehicles

Connectivity and autonomy in vehicles promise improved efficiency, safety and comfort. The increasing use of embedded systems and the cyber element bring with them many challenges regarding cyberattacks which can seriously compromise driver and passenger safety. Beyond penetration testing, assessment of the security vulnerabilities of a component must be done through the design phase of its life cycle. This paper describes the development of a benchtop testbed which allows for the assurance of safety and security of components with all capabilities from Model-in-loop to Software-in-loop to Hardware-in-loop testing. Environment simulation is obtained using the AV simulator, CARLA which provides realistic scenarios and sensor information such as Radar, Lidar etc. MATLAB runs the vehicle, powertrain and control models of the vehicle allowing for the implementation and testing of customized models and algorithms. Real-time simulation and connectivity with external components are obtained using a Speedgoat real-time machine while ROS provides the link between the CARLA environment and the MATLAB simulation. Communication with external hardware can be achieved through different network protocols such as CAN, LIN, SAE J1939 etc. which are present on passenger and commercial vehicles. The hardware can potentially range from small scale embedded devices to real ECUs or infotainment systems which can further provide different kinds of wireless communication capabilities. The overall setup is built considering the multiple attack surfaces present on a real automobile and the need to test for security over all of them. Experiments are performed on the testbed to show its usability and potential.