Where Do I Get My Robot Car?

There is more going on at Google than a new logo.

Google just hired John Krafcik as chief executive of its self-driving car project.

Krafcik was president of Truecar.  He is also a former CEO of Hyundai Motors America.

The fact that Google is hiring a real car guy suggests that Silicon Valley is getting ready to make a move from science project to serious business.

But, before the auto industry starts making money from auto-cars, it has a long way to go to address public acceptance of new disruptive transportation technology.

Concerns over the safety and security are growing. Stories about everything from hacking into car computers to hijacking the whole auto are rampant.

The auto industry needs to get smarter about smart cars, if it expects to be putting robot autos on the showroom floor anytime soon.

The Automotive Security Research Board is an initiative by Intel to promote “best practices.”  The board put out a white paper making a number of recommendations.

Whether Intel has all the answers or is just doing marketing is debatable. What’s not up for debate is the need for the industry to up its game before it takes the great leap into the cyber future.