We've all heard how the big players in tech are all battling over the self-driving (or autonomous) vehicle future.
Companies like Google, Lyft, Uber, Apple are all pouring billions into development, and companies like Amazon, Domino's Pizza, and Waymo' Taxi's are already experimenting with commercial use of autonomous vehicles.
But all these companies are fighting for dominance using their own proprietary, closed
and non-inclusive tech.
Now imagine, in the future you own a self-driving car. Will you just leave it sitting in your driveway while it's not in use overnight? Or sitting in your office parking lot all day while at work? Or if possible, would you put it to use while you aren't using it - and get paid for it?
This presents a perfect use case for smart contracts, blockchain tech, and cryptocurrencies!
One company called DAV (Decentralized Autonomous Vehicles) is going to be taking this task on in 2018. DAV is a software platform that allows anyone to buy or sell autonomous transportation services in a decentralized market.
They aim to create a large network of these vehicles, tied in with a network of supporting services such as power charging stations, repairs, rescue, and cleaning.
But don't limit your thoughts to just cars - drones, trucks, and even boats are some of the autonomous vehicles that will soon be entering the mainstream - in fact there are already 8,416 commercially registered drones already in the USA registered with the FAA, many of which can become delivery capable with little or no modifications.
So it works like this - a consumer can pay for services from these vehicles in tokens, this service can be anything from delivering a package via drone, or having a self driving car pick them up.
For those on the provider end, they can earn these tokens by providing their car or drone for use on the network, or providing infastructure or services like docking stations, charging, etc.
There's no debate here in Silicon Valley that the future tech to be watching today is AI, autonomous vehicles, and blockchain. Now we're seeing how some of these will work hand in hand with eachother.
More info on DAV's project can be found at https://dav.network
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Author: Ross Davis
San Francisco News Desk
