Blockchain Touted As Solution To Sharing Self-Driving Car Data, Earns General Motors, BMW Support

Blockchain Technology Touted As Solution To Sharing Self-Driving Car Data, Earning Support From General Motors And BMW

The use of blockchain technology is being adapted to multiple industries in trials around the world. Recently, blockchain technology started to emerge as an option to share the data collected from self-driving cars amongst the manufacturers of these vehicles. New reports from CoinDesk indicate that both General Motors (GM) and BMW are now backing up blockchain as the solution as well.

There has already been plenty of work in this effort, aiming to unlock the data that can help to release more autonomous vehicles on the road at a faster pace. The Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI) is leading the way since it was created to help with the development of distributed ledger technology throughout the car industry.

In the next MOBI working group, General Motors will be chairing the discussion on the autonomous vehicle data markets (AVDM). GM has been considering the implementation of blockchain technology for a while and even filed a patent last year for the creation of a system for self-driving cars.

The new chairman of the AVDM working group, Michal Filipowski, said that he is excited to join the cause and to “kickoff” the work that the team will make with other OEM and supplier MOBI members. Filipowski is also the manager of global innovation at GM.

As for BMW, this is the first time that the founding member of MOBI has given any indication that they want to be involved in the data-sharing use case. In the past, BMW has used blockchain technology already as a way of tracking the mileage of the vehicle that they lease out, but this would be the first time, that the German manufacturer has supported the use of blockchain for self-driving data.

Andre Luckow, the blockchain lead for BMW Group, said that the use of blockchain in this situation would help with preserving privacy efficiently and that other technologies would essentially “provide the fabric for data processing in the autonomous age.”

In a report from Rand Corp, the progress made for AVs to be considered safe to continue using would realistically take billions upon billions of self-driven miles of data. The data collected would involve cameras and Lidar. Lidar is similar to that of tracking by radar, but the source of data is from light from a laser. Compiling this information together for the use of AV companies would be a smart and helpful process, but most manufacturers of the cars prize themselves on the research needed to improve the artificial technology.

Sebastien Henot, the head of business innovation at the Silicon Valley-based Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance Innovation Lab, believes that this is exactly why blockchain technology could be useful. He explained that everyone in the industry sees their data collected from their smart cars to be “precious,” but the “new way” of thinking says that all of the data collected is like separate ingredients.

Ocean Protocol, another member of MOBI, said that the creation of blockchain-based data markets is their priority, allowing for the sharing of artificial intelligence. The co-founder, Trent McConaghy, wants to establish a common data source for everyone to gain benefits, but that won’t be released beyond the company.

Even with all of this progress, Waymo has seen much more advancement in the collection of data. The self-driving tech development company that is owned by Alphabet, the parent of Google, could still be a few years away from establishing themselves independently with the data. If the estimated completion is based on the current rate of mileage data collected, Chris Ballinger, the founder and CEO of MOBI, believes that Maymo is “going to take a millennia” to get what they need.