General Motors seeks patent for decentralized distributed map

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Automotive giant General Motors is integrating blockchain into its self-driving cars. The company has filed a patent application before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to set up a “Decentralized Distributed Map Using Blockchain.”

The U.S. corporation plans to use blockchain technology in building a map for the company’s self-driving vehicles. They will also apply other features such as GPS and sensors to create routes and evade obstacles on the move, creating a distributed and decentralized database for improved navigation maps.

The platform will include its own sensors that will collect and store data analyzing the surroundings to build the optimal route for the vehicle. The data will be recorded on the blockchain, making it unalterable.

The submitted document explains the idea as: “A system for updating a distributed navigation map for a motor vehicle includes one or more sensors that evaluates and characterizes a surrounding around the motor vehicle and a discrepancy detector that identifies differences in the surrounding compared to a known navigation map based on information received from the one or more sensors. The differences are transmitted to a blockchain map network.”

Prior to this initiative, many motor vehicles make use of a navigation system that provides detailed maps to the driver of the motor vehicle or the automated driving system concerning the location of the vehicle and directions to a desired destination. These systems have shortcomings as it’s difficult to keep dynamic without incurring large costs. General Motors believes blockchain technology can solve this. They’ll use sensors to evaluate and characterize the area around the motor vehicle, and a discrepancy detector to identify differences in the surrounding.