[2017-05-23] ToI: Toyota, tech firms explore blockchain for driverless cars

Toyota, tech firms explore blockchain for driverless cars

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/toyota-tech-firms-explore-blockchain-for-driverless-cars/articleshow/58797045.cms

Toyota Research Institute, a wholly owned unit of Toyota Motor North America, said on Monday it has teamed up with MIT Media lab and five other companies to explore blockchain technology for the development of driverless cars.

The project would enable businesses and consumers to securely share data on testing and driving as well as the sharing and usage of such cars to help set insurance rates, Toyota said in a statement.

The database would use blockchain, a public online ledger of transactions that first became well known as the software underpinning bitcoin, the first digital currency.

The growing use of computing power in vehicles is paving the way for self-driving cars, creating new rivalries and business opportunities for technology companies and automakers.