A Simulation Framework for Evaluating the Cybersecurity of Autonomous Ground Vehicles

Autonomous ground vehicles (AGV) are comprised of a network of interconnected components including sensors, drive-by-wire actuators, and on-board computing. This on-vehicle network is often connected to a larger network which may include a ground station, other autonomous systems, or remote servers. While AGV share many features with other mobile networked devices like cell phones, the AGV computing and networking architecture may be vulnerable in ways that other systems are not, and the consequences of an attack may result in more severe physical consequences. In this paper, we present a systematic study of the network architecture of an AGV system, a cross-domain evaluation of possible attack vectors for AGV, and an implementation of a simulated cyberphysical test range that reveals the real-world consequences of cyberphysical attacks on AGV.