Building the Future of Mobility

Quantstamp collaborated with the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI) to release a report exploring use cases enabled by blockchain based vehicle identity standards. Advancements in blockchain technology, IoT, and AI have set the foundation for the next great leap in mobility services and management.

MOBI’s mission is to create useful standards for upcoming transportation infrastructure by incorporating the feedback and expertise of governments, blockchain experts, and private industry. MOBI’s membership includes Honda, Ford, GM, BMW, USAA, IBM, AWS, and other mobility leaders.

A Peek into the Future of Transportation

The goal of MOBI is to bring stakeholders together so they can facilitate the development of new transportation related use cases. Advances in technology have put the following use cases within reach:

Fighting Traffic

Cities can reduce traffic by charging vehicles an extra fee when they drive on highly congested roads, or paying vehicles to take alternative routes in less congested areas. These payments happen seamlessly in the background through the vehicle’s blockchain wallet.

Autonomous Vehicles Making You Money While You Sleep

We are not too far away from a world where autonomous vehicles can earn money for their owners while owners are asleep, at work, or basically any time they are not using their vehicle. Owners can lend their vehicles to a ride sharing service like Uber and, when in need of maintenance or repair, the vehicle can take itself to a pre-authorized mechanic and independently pay for its own maintenance.

Buying Used Vehicles

Have you ever purchased a used vehicle to later find out that it had mechanical issues that you were unaware of? Storing vehicle history on the blockchain creates a transparent and immutable record of things like accidents and major repairs. This prevents previous owners from sweeping major incidents under the rug and allows potential buyers to make a more informed decision based on the vehicle's history.

Insurance

Are you a safe driver? With a transparent and immutable account of vehicle activity, insurance companies have the opportunity to identify safer drivers and offer them lower premiums.

Standardization and Development

The existence of blockchain, IoT, and AI technology is not enough for the use cases mentioned above to prosper. In order for any new infrastructure to be successful, it requires big stakeholders to come together to create standards. Standards create predictable patterns that allow developers to efficiently connect to a network. The development of standards is essential in the scaling of any new infrastructure including the development of railway systems in the early 20th century and the development of the internet.

MOBI, Quantstamp, and the Vehicle Identity Standard

The Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative is collaborating with a wide array of stakeholders in order to create useful and widely adopted standards for the transportation infrastructure of tomorrow. These stakeholders include Ford, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, GM, USAA, Hyperledger, R3, and Quantstamp.

Quantstamp has been involved with the Vehicle Identity (VID) Standard II Working Group, chaired by BMW and Ford, since May 2019. The VID Standard II Working Group released a report detailing the use cases enabled by tracking vehicle registration and maintenance using blockchain technology.

Quantstamp has been involved with MOBI since its inception, even hosting a MOBI meetup at Quantstamp HQ in San Francisco at the beginning of 2019. In addition to the VID Standard II Working Group, Quantstamp was also involved in the Supply Chain Working Group and was instrumental in publishing the first VID standard in 2020.

Mainstream Adoption of Blockchain Technology

Quantstamp’s mission is to facilitate the mainstream adoption of blockchain technology. Until recently, the use cases of blockchain technology were not well understood outside of the “crypto bubble.” Despite this lack of understanding, developers and security experts continued to dedicate their time to improving blockchain technology and thought leaders continued to educate traditional finance, governments, and corporations.

Now, governments and private industry are ready to take the steps necessary to incorporate this technology, and developing common frameworks is an essential step in the adoption process. Quantstamp looks forward to collaborating with government entities and industry leaders to facilitate safe and effective standards.