IBM Patents Blockchain Implementation To Manage Data For Self-driving Vehicles
IBM is adding to its arsenal of blockchain patents with a new implementation to manage data and interactions for self-driving vehicles (SDVs). The patent was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on April 2nd.
IBM which has previously filed extensive patents for various inventions related to autonomous cars outlines that a blockchain system could effectively enhance SDV configurations by allowing for robust privacy and information validation.
The scope for prospective blockchain implementation would be a system wherein an SDV interacts and predicts the behavior of the drivers of non-autonomous vehicles nearby.
The patent outlines the various parameters that can be used to assess nearby drivers’ behavior, using an array of sensor technologies.
The patent outlines: “Observing, detecting, and sensing of the driver behavior data can be collected by the in-vehicle sensors of the driver’s vehicle in real-time and uploaded onto a cloud data hub, designated […] as a Mobility Information Hub (MIH), to which the SDV can subscribe to,”
IBM proposes that blockchain can enhance this complex construction and real-time use of environmental analytics and prediction models by enabling full data functionality, while retaining the privacy of others.
IBM says a sensor data can be logged into a blockchain system wherein public key infrastructure (PKI) is used to generate “the right public-private pair associate to each SDV/driver, wherein each data uploading or accessing transaction is cryptographically signed using private key.” The patent clarifies that the system would only allow authorized entities to access the data.
The patent outlines how an SDV can then access the predicted behavior of the nearby drivers in real-time by means a blockchain client application by scanning a nearby license plate number for an example.