[…] The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) said it discovered a wealth of information about Tesla’s Autopilot, along with data around speed, accelerator pedal positions, steering wheel angle and more. The findings will allow the government to “request more targeted data” to help determine the cause of accidents, the investigators said.
The researchers already knew that Tesla vehicles encrypt and store accident related data, but not which data and how much. As such, they reverse-engineered the system and succeeded in “obtaining data from the models S, Y, X and 3,” which they described in a paper presented at an accident analysis conference.
[….]
With knowledge of how to decrypt the storage, the NFI carried out tests with a Tesla Model S so it could compare the logs with real-world data. It found that the vehicle logs were “very accurate,” with deviations less than 1 km/h (about 0.6 MPH).
[…]
It used to be possible to extract Autopilot data from Tesla EVs, but it’s now encrypted in recent models, the investigators said. Tesla encrypts data for good reason, they acknowledged, including protecting its own IP from other manufacturers and guarding a driver’s privacy. It also noted that the company does provide specific data to authorities and investigators if requested.
However, the team said that the extra data they extracted would allow for more detailed accident investigations, “especially into the role of driver assistance systems.” It added that it would be ideal to know if other manufacturers stored the same level of detail over long periods of time. “If we would know better which data car manufacturers all store, we can also make more targeted claims through the courts or the Public Prosecution Service,” said NFI investigator Frances Hoogendijk. “And ultimately that serves the interest of finding the truth after an accident.”
Source: The Dutch government claims it can decrypt Tesla’s hidden driving data | Engadget
Protecting your IP this way basically means things like not being able to use the data for legitimate reasons – such as investigating accidents – as well as halting advancements. This whole IP thing has gotten way out of hand to the detriment of the human race!
Also, this sounds like non-GDPR compliant data collection
Robin Edgar
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