CHAPTER 1 on the MOVE Transportation is all the methods of moving quickly and safely from one place to another by land water and air But what really goes on behind the scenes What deals are made and secrets stolen to make it to the top of the transportation industries Cutting-edge technology can make huge profits The transportation industry is very competitive and the money that can be made encourages companies to be ruthless in keeping their science and technology a secret from competitors who might steal it to make money from it themselves Transportation is changing Today cars trains ships and planes are not just faster than ever before but smarter too AUTOMOBILE SECRETS The global automobile manufacturing industry is worth a staggering 2 billion Such huge sums of money bring out the secret and sometimes dark side of business and of some businesspeople Car companies are very secretive when developing new technology especially technology connected to self-driving vehicles 4
tomorrow's secrets STEALING SECRETS A former Apple engineer has been accused of stealing trade secrets related to Apple’s self-driving car project Trade secrets are closely guarded devices or techniques used by a company in making its products They are the intellectual property of the company Intellectual property is ideas that are protected by law so that no one else can use them without the owner’s permission Information was allegedly downloaded to the employee’s personal computer a few weeks before he quit to join a self-driving startup in China He was arrested and the legal case is ongoing Imagine a day when vehicles talk to each other It is coming Vehicle-to-vehicle V2V communication allows vehicles to wirelessly exchange information about their speed location and direction Vehicles not the humans behind the wheel become aware of other vehicles in the area Your car might use the messages it receives from other vehicles to decide if there is a potential crash threat It can send this information to the driver with an alert such as a sound or a visual sign on the car dash Alternatively it can take immediate action such as turning the steering wheel or applying the brakes One day pedestrians and bicycles may be able to use V2V communication to allow motor vehicles to see them even when the driver cannot This could help save many lives 5
