Image Credits: Bryce Durbin
There is a lot of talk of robotaxis, self-driving trucks, sidewalk delivery robots and passenger vehicles with automated driving functions. The sexy side of independence.
The founder and CEO of Steer Tech, Anuja Sonalker, calls it endpoint autonomy.
Since it was founded in 2016 Steer has focused on providing high-level autonomy for valet parking, a bit of tech that it has been quietly earning revenue on by selling it to automakers.
Through a partnership with Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Steer will demonstrate how automated parking can alleviate congestion in traffic pick-up and drop-off areas.
The pilot will combine low-speed automated parking, a parking management system and a curb management system. It will test passenger vehicles that have been fitted with Steer's software.
The end of the logistics supply chain is what Steer wants to bring to it.
If you want to do end-to-end autonomy, you need both the depot side and long haul side. Everyone is going to master one area and then work with others to create an end-to-end system.
For most hackers, it’s not about the target they’re trying to breach; it’s about using that target as a springboard to something else. Anuja Sonalker, founder and CEO, Steer Tech
Sonalker was not able to solve for low-speed, private-space operational design. The founder spent three years at R&D firm Batelle, where she headed its automotive cyber innovation unit. TowerSec, an Israeli automotive cybersecurity startup that was acquired by Harman, was set up and led by her.
Sonalker talked to us about the importance of automotive cybersecurity, how automation can make freight more efficient, and why focusing on less glamorous tech can help you build better products.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Steer is the third startup you have been involved with, and the previous two were acquired. Is the goal for this one?
The plan was not acquired but the timing worked out. The plan has to be bigger in order to be successful. You have to have a vision of where you are going, and you have to be able to resist any kind of upheavals, like a pandemic, in your way.
It will happen if there is an acquisition. You can stop it, it's the timing. I didn't start with that goal. My goal is to build something. Two of the lastTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkia This time, the technology is not the whole.
What is the biggest pain point in automotive cybersecurity?
It has changed over time. When I started in this field, the problem was denial and not realizing that the vehicles were more vulnerable because of the cybersecurity problem. People were able to demonstrate attacks on vehicles that ranged from nuisances to being critical to safety. The ability to detect vulnerabilities was very important.
Now that we have detected it, we have to do something about it. The industry has changed in regards to cyber security. Everything and everybody, given enough time and resources, is penetrable.
It is about figuring out how we can change the situation. Increasing the internal resistance of your vehicles is the idea, but now the issue is designing the right amount of cybersecurity into your vehicles. Not too much and not too little.
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