Challenges in Designing Ethical Rules for Infrastructures in Internet of Vehicles

Abstract

Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs) have seen significant advancements in technology. Innovation in connectivity and communication has brought substantial capabilities to various components of VANETs such as vehicles, infrastructures, passengers, drivers and affiliated environmental sensors. Internet of Things (IoT) has brought the notion of Internet of Vehicles (IoV) to VANETs where each component of VANET is connected directly or indirectly to the Internet. Vehicles and infrastructures are the key components of a VANET system that can greatly augment the overall experience of the network by integrating the competencies of Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle to Pedestrian (V2P), Vehicle to Sensor (V2S), Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) and Infrastructure to Infrastructure (I2I). Internet connectivity in Vehicles and Infrastructures has immensely expanded the potential of developing applications for VANETs under the broad spectrum of IoV. Advent in the use of technology in VANETs requires considerable efforts in scheming the ethical rules for autonomous systems. Currently, there is a gap in literature that focuses on the challenges involved in designing ethical rules or policies for infrastructures, sometimes referred to as Road Side Units (RSUs) for IoVs. This paper highlights the key challenges entailing the design of ethical rules for RSUs in IoV systems. Furthermore, the article also proposes major ethical principles for RSUs in IoV systems that would set foundation for modeling future IoV architectures.