Jaguar Land Rover is developing a concept test to pay drivers in IOTA, a cryptocurrency based around the Internet of Things (IOT) in exchange for vehicle driving data.
The proof of concept will be rolled out to a test group of vehicles opted-in to collect data on driving habits, as they relate to the vehicle's dynamic functionality and travel. In exchange for this data, Land Rover will reward drivers with IOTA coins, deposited into their vehicle's IOTA digital smart wallet.
In the not-too-distant future, opted-in vehicles would enable onboard sensors to track and share data like traffic congestion on your commute, the location of potholes or broken pavement, identify drivers that ride-share, etc. The data stream would be subscription-based. For example, data subscribers could include local, state or federal highway authorities or third party organizations like civil planning agencies, engineering and development firms... or any organization working in the transportation space that could benefit from real-world, dynamic driving data available on-demand across an easily accessible, decentralized network. IOTA is exactly one such network and is designed specifically for IOT applications.
Rewarded IOTA currency could be used to pay for tolls on highways, paying for charging your electric vehicle (EV) at a charging stations, paying for in-vehicle entertainment and media over 5G (Pandora, Netflix on-demand, etc.), and any number of future services and products made available to you and your vehicle.
IOTA cryptocurrency has been developed for use on Internet of Things (IOT) devices and, unlike traditional blockchains, it's a fee-less platform that scales and gets faster as more devices are added to the network. Automobiles are just one type of "IOT Device" that can leverage IOTA and JLR joins notable automotive companies like Volkswagen and BOSCH in concept-testing IOTA for real-world implementation in the automotive space.
In the car of the future, where most functions are autonomous the vehicle will be highly dependent on mobile data network connection. Distributed ledger technology like IOTA will be integral to powering a device-driven, machine-to-machine economy. JLR's concept test with IOTA shows they not only see the possibilities such technology will provide, but that developing and testing the burgeoning tech now will be integral to future product offerings and best-in-class on-vehicle features.
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