BMW, GM support blockchain for self-driving vehicle data

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As the blockchain continues to be recognized for its powerful attributes, it is making its way into a number of global industries. More than just a possible financial solution, blockchain technology can revolutionize virtually any industry, making it more efficient, more secure and more user-friendly. Global automobile manufacturers BMW and General Motors (GM) have seen the light and want to integrate the technology into self-driving cars.

The Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI) is a consortium created in 2018 to provide synergy to the development of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the smart mobility industry. MOBI is preparing its next working group for autonomous vehicle data markets (AVDM), which is going to be chaired by GM. The auto manufacturer appears to be fully behind the technology, as it filed a patent last year for a similar system that would be used for fleets of self-driving vehicles.

In a statement to CoinDesk, AVDM working group chairman, and GM manager of global innovation, Michal Filipowski, stated, “I am excited to chair the AVDM working group and kickoff the development of our collaborative efforts with the other OEM [original equipment manufacturers] and supplier MOBI members.”

BMW is a founding member of MOBI. It has previously tested how blockchain technology could be used to track mileage of leased vehicles and is getting behind the idea of using the technology for sharing data across automobile companies. BMW Group blockchain lead Andre Luckow told the news outlet, “With the advent of blockchain, decentral[ized] data management can be implemented in a privacy-preserving and efficient way. Further, emerging technologies, such as decentral machine learning, secure multi-party confidential computing, and decentral data markets, will provide the fabric for data processing in the autonomous age.”

In order to successfully create an autonomous vehicle industry, millions of hours of data must be compiled and analyzed–different road conditions, different weather conditions, different driving habits, different scenarios, etc. Currently, and what is often the norm, vehicle manufacturers have been working independently to develop their vehicles, but this is counter-productive in the long run. By pooling their resources, they can capitalize on the efforts of the others, have access to more complete data—which will lead to better consumer safety—and reduce their expenses and research time.