Organizers
J.D. Schneeberger, Noblis
Chris Ballinger, the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI)
Kevin Dopart, USDOT ITS JPO
Rajat Rajbhandari, dexFreight
Dale Thompson, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Karl Wunderlich, Noblis
Session Description
Blockchain is founded on an incorruptible, shared, digital ledger of transactions that can record not just financial exchanges but virtually any kind of collective transaction. The secure nature of transactions and the permanent authenticity of the data offers potential for blockchain to augment vehicle automation. This session explores potential use cases where vehicles exchange data and payments with other vehicles and infrastructure; operate in a tokenized environment by registering assets on a public or permissioned ledger; and create an ecosystem of “earned trust” improving traffic flow. This session includes presentation from leading researchers and creates a forum to discuss how this emerging technology can augment vehicle automation.
Goals/Objectives/Outputs
Introduce the transportation community to blockchain technology—Blockchain 101.
Learn about leading research on potential uses of blockchain in coordinating vehicle movement and improving transportation in urban environments.
Explore how blockchain technology can create an ecosystem for automated vehicles to trust each other and improve the flow of cars on the road.
Identify potential research needs statements.
Agenda
1:30 PM – 1:40 PM – Session Overview and Speaker Introductions
The session will begin with a brief overview of the “Blockchain: Enabling a ‘Trusted’ Automated Vehicle Future” session as well as the review of the session objectives and expected outcomes.
- Dale Thompson, Team Leader Transportation Enabling Technologies, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
1:40 PM – 2:00 PM – Blockchain 101 – An Overview of Blockchain Technology
You may have heard the term “blockchain” in reference to cryptocurrencies, but did you know this emerging technology can be applied to other areas as well including transportation. Essentially, blockchain is a method of digital record-keeping that is extremely secure because it is not stored centrally, and each entry cannot be retroactively modified. The secure nature of transactions and the authenticity of the data offers the opportunity to revolutionize the world. This session will introduce attendees the fundamental elements of this emerging technology.
- Rajat Rajbhandari, Co-founder BlockSec and CEO and Co-founder dexFreight
2:00 PM – 2:20 PM – Potential Use Cases for Blockchain and Automated Vehicles
Blockchain/distributed ledger technology in an automated vehicle ecosystem is poised to play a critical role in transforming mobility, ensuring cybersecurity, facilitating pay for use transactions, securing automated vehicle credentials, among other areas. This presentation highlights the results of the Mobility Blockchain Initiative (MOBI) Grand Challenge—a tournament to showcase potential uses of Blockchain in coordinating vehicle movement and improving transportation in urban environments. The initial phase ended with a public demonstration of selected technologies at an event hosted by the BMW Group, MOBI community member, in Munich, Germany on February 15, 2019.
- Chris Ballinger, Executive Director and Founder, MOBI, the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative
2:20 PM – 2:40 PM – Leveraging the Blockchain for Orchestrated Autonomy
This presentation is a deeper dive into a specific automated vehicle ecosystem use case. This presentation will explore how blockchain technology can create an ecosystem for automated vehicles to trust each other and calculate — in a decentralized way — the flow of cars on the road. Blockchain-driven automated vehicles will remove the uncertainty and strengthen trust that vehicles must have with each other. This ‘earned trust’ will result in a collaborative effort where all vehicles on the road maintain road safety and efficiency simultaneously.
- Karl Wunderlich, Director Surface Transportation Systems Division, Noblis
2:40 PM – 3:00 PM – Questions & Answers and Discussion