My better half, the Applied Arts major, got way out ahead of me on this technology by investing in nine cryptocurrencies ranging from well-known names like Bitcoin and Ethereum to whimsical ones like Aragon, Dragonchain, and Golem Network.
All cryptocurrencies utilize blockchain technology, which relies on a distributed ledger method of record-keeping rather than centralized one. Crypto-coin transactions can be undertaken and recorded by any entity adhering to an established, secure, encrypted protocol, and all such transactions are recorded to a custody chain. The record of these transactions is shared on all devices accessing the network. Hacking would require altering the established protocol, and this can only be done with the complicity of more than half the devices on the gigantic network—a statistical and logistical improbability.
Many of the more than 1,500 cryptocurrencies in circulation have been established as tools of a particular trade or industry. Musicoin is designed to directly compensate musicians when their work is streamed, for example. At last fall’s Frankfurt show, I reported on an automotive blockchain application IBM was developing to track every individual part that goes into a vehicle so they’re all traceable to a particular VIN should a recall ever be needed.
Since then auto industry interest in blockchain has exploded. GM, BMW, Ford, Renault, and several suppliers, NGOs, and government entities have joined the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI) to develop standards and foster adoption of the technology. Other OEs are teaming up with universities and tech startups, such as Toyota and MIT Labs, or with other cross-industry blockchain incubators, like Daimler and the Linux Corporation’s Hyperledger project.
Porsche claims to have been first to employ the technology on a car, using Ethereum blockchain cryptographic encryption developed with XAIN to allow an owner, car-share user, or package-delivery service to lock or unlock a car via smartphone up to six times faster (and more securely) than when using a typical cellular connection.
Other blockchain applications will soon include use-based insurance and “car passport” information. The former promises to lower insurance rates by charging drivers for actual distance traveled and driving styles without the need for a third-party cellular-paired OBD-II dongle. The latter could start with IBM’s vehicle-build blockchain described above, augmenting it with the vehicle’s historic record of maintenance, recalls, collisions, floods, sales, car-share usage, theft, etc. Odometer tampering will be immediately evident, and it’s conceivable that data about driving styles could also be included. The availability of this data should create more accurate used-car values by reducing uncertainty about their condition. Watch for carVertical and VINchain products in this space.
In February, Mercedes-Benz floated a MobiCoin blockchain cryptocurrency in Europe to reward eco-friendly driving. The coins aren’t exchangeable for cash but can be applied toward VIP tickets for events such as the DTM races, the MercedesCup tennis tournament, or Fashion Week in Berlin.
Toyota hopes using blockchain to pool and share driving data from all early semi-autonomous vehicles might hasten the development of full autonomy. It’s also working to leverage the technology’s inherent smart-contract and internal payment capabilities to enable vehicle owners to monetize their asset by selling rides, cargo space, or even the use of the vehicle itself. And BMW has projects underway with VeChain Thor to use blockchain tech in its supply chain, and with startup DOVU to monitor lease-vehicle mileage.
My favorite blockchain app: Ford has patented a vehicle-to-vehicle communication protocol called a Cooperatively Managed Merge and Pass (CMMP). The idea is that if I’m running late, my car offers to pay other cars to get out of my way, trading crypto tokens on the blockchain ledger.
I have some concerns. A big one is that local budget-constrained revenuers will tap the same usage-based insurance data to automatically mail tickets to folks who briefly stray over the speed limit. Here’s hoping the MOBI crowd can protect us from that eventuality.
Read more by Frank Markus here:
- Stacked DAC: A Direct Air Capture CO2
- Wood-Be Weight Savior
- A New Ford Concept Helps Blind People “Look” Out the Window
- Reinventing the Wheel
- Putting a Chill on Diesel Consumption with Liquid Nitrogen
The post Tales from the Crypt(o): Blockchain Goes Mobile – Technologue appeared first on Motor Trend.
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