INDUSTRIES/AUTOMOTIVE

Every decision verified before it becomes motion.

Software now steers, brakes and accelerates. IrisKey gives the vehicle a continuous authority layer — so every command is authorised before the wheels ever know about it.

Automotive scene with integrated iris and trust fabric
THE CHALLENGE

A vehicle is no longer a machine. It is a stream of decisions.

01
Software defines the vehicle

Hundreds of ECUs and over-the-air updates mean the vehicle you shipped is not the vehicle on the road. Its capabilities change monthly.

02
Autonomy acts at machine speed

Driving decisions happen faster than any human review. Whatever governs them must decide within the control loop, not after it.

03
Connectivity widens the surface

V2X, fleet links and third-party services all reach systems that move two tonnes of metal. Every connection is a potential instruction.

WHY EXISTING SOLUTIONS FAIL

Identity is proven once. Motion happens every millisecond.

Automotive security was built to keep intruders out. It was never built to keep asking whether an action inside the vehicle should still be allowed.

MONITORING
Observes. Warns. Records.
The unsafe condition has already occurred. A person still has to notice, decide and act — while the vehicle keeps moving.
AUTHORISATION
Permits. Withholds. Withdraws.
The unsafe action never becomes motion. Nothing is left for a human to catch, because permission was never granted.
Perimeter security
Assumes everything inside the vehicle network can be trusted. One compromised ECU inherits the authority of all of them.
PKI & certificates
Prove what a component is — once. They say nothing about whether the command it just issued should be allowed.
Signed OTA updates
Protect the code at install time. They cannot evaluate the decisions that code makes at 110 km/h.
Driver monitoring
Observes the driver and raises an alert. The alert is the end of its authority — the vehicle still moves, and a human is expected to react in time.
HOW IRISKEY SOLVES IT

A continuous authority layer between intent and actuation.

Authorise between intent and actuation

IrisKey sits between the driving stack and the actuators. Intent is formed above; motion is released below — only with live authority.

Five gates per command

Identity, authority, context, verification, decision — evaluated continuously for every steering, braking and propulsion command.

Evidence, not assertions

Every authorisation and every refusal is recorded as tamper-evident evidence for OEMs, fleets, insurers and regulators.

THE FIVE GATES — ON THE ROAD

Before a command becomes motion, it earns its way through five gates.

GATE 1 IDENTITY Is this controller the one the vehicle trusts?
GATE 2 AUTHORITY Is it permitted to steer, brake or accelerate?
GATE 3 CONTEXT Does the manoeuvre fit the road, speed and location?
GATE 4 VERIFICATION Is that authority still valid at this instant?
GATE 5 DECISION Release the motion — or refuse it.
CONTINUOUS AUTHORISATION SIMULATOR

Watch a vehicle earn its authority.

A driver enters. Five gates evaluate. Only then does the vehicle wake. Revoke authority at any moment — and watch motion become impossible.

VEHICLE STATUS DORMANT
IDENTITY Awaiting driver
AUTHORITY Awaiting driver
CONTEXT Awaiting driver
VERIFICATION Awaiting driver
DECISION Awaiting driver
The vehicle is dormant. No identity, no authority — no motion possible.
Vehicle awaiting authorisation
DORMANT — AWAITING DRIVER
THE FLEET IN SERVICE

One authority layer across every vehicle, every charge, every update.

ARCHITECTURE

In the vehicle. At the edge. Ahead of the actuator.

The authority layer runs inside the vehicle, decides within the real-time control budget, and holds its authority even when the network does not. Fleet policy flows down; decision evidence flows up.

IrisKey integrates into existing platforms through technology licensing. We enable manufacturers, governments and software providers to embed Continuous Authorisation into their own systems. The vehicle is built by the OEM. The trust layer is licensed from us.

LAYER 01 — INTELLIGENCE
Driving stack & vehicle software
Perception, planning, OTA services — everything that forms intent.
LAYER 02 — IRISKEY AUTHORITY
Continuous authorisation engine
Every command crosses the Five Gates here — in-vehicle, offline-capable, within the control loop’s time budget.
LAYER 03 — ACTUATION
Steering · braking · propulsion
Motion happens only with live authority. Refusals are logged as evidence.
WHAT IT CHANGES
Motion only with authority

No command reaches an actuator without passing the Five Gates — including commands from your own software.

OTA without loss of trust

Updated software earns its authority the same way the original did. Capability can change; governance does not.

Auditable by design

A continuous evidence trail of what was allowed, what was refused, and why — per vehicle, per decision.

Regulator-ready

Demonstrate continuous authorisation as a property of the vehicle, not a claim in a compliance document.

THE ROAD AHEAD

The first generation of autonomy asked, “Can the vehicle drive itself?”
The next will be judged on a harder question: “Should it — right now?”

IrisKey licenses its Continuous Authorisation technology to organisations developing intelligent systems. Whether embedded into connected vehicles, national infrastructure, enterprise platforms or autonomous machines, the underlying technology remains the same. We provide the trust layer. Our partners build the solutions.

Licensed to automotive manufacturers
Request a Licensing Discussion Request the Technical Overview
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