Cars watching each other
What happens when you automate security this way? Invariably, there are vulnerabilities to address along with the perceived benefits. One hurdle is likely to be the perceived or actual capacity that such a protective cordon would give to anyone interested in tracking the vehicle -- and its owner. What about liability? In our litigious society, it might be very likely that if your car is supposed to be linking to others and sending out a distress signal through its parking lot peers, someone somewhere who loses a car to theft will look to sue a car owner who failed to maintain his car's alert system properly, thereby contributing to the loss event. Nuisance alarms will also be a likely barrier to user acceptance. Surely, rejection is ample in this world without having to face a cabal of cars apparently conspiring against a driver by sounding the alarm and failing to recognize him.
The ramifications are endless, at least for the beta site. Yet this technology may well offer promise in a world where neighborhood watches and looking out for each other seem out of fashion.
- Nick Catrantzos
