A three-year-long exhaustive study found using blockchain technology with hybrid vehicles could help cut down air pollution.
Encouraging Results
Automobiles behemoth Ford says emerging technologies such as distributed ledger technology (DLT) and geofencing can be used together with plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEVs) to improve the quality of air in cities.
The results were drawn from a three-year study conducted by Ford in the European cities of London, Cologne, and Valencia gauging the ability of commercial PHEVs to aid cities address air-quality problems.
According to the research, the dynamic geofencing feature activated zero-emission activity in the vehicles as soon as they entered any low-emissions zone without any intervention from the driver.
Notably, Ford also leveraged blockchain technology to keep an eye and record the number of times a vehicle entered or left a geofenced zone. The research found the pair of the aforementioned technologies to improve urban air quality.
The official press release reads in part:
“As Ford’s connected PHEVs entered these constantly fluctuating zones, they automatically switched to low-emission mode – taking the decision making out of drivers’ hands, improving air quality for citizens and helping vehicles maintain compliance with local restrictions.”
Commenting on the development, Mark Harvey, director, enterprise connectivity, Ford Europe noted:
“Our research has shown how plug-in hybrid vehicles, and emerging connected technologies such as dynamic geofencing and blockchain, can play a major role in transforming cities.”
Adding:
“With their zero-emission capability with no range anxiety, PHEVs offer a practical, flexible alternative to diesel, making them ideal as general-purpose vehicles for work in and around cities.”
Close followers of blockchain technology would remember that BTCManager had previously reported that Ford had announced that it would use DLT and geofencing to keep track of “green miles” driven by its newly-launched energy-efficient vehicles.
Blockchain Technology and Its Use in Automobiles Industry
Courtesy of its immense malleability, blockchain technology has found use-cases across a wide range of industries and automobiles is no exception.
As previously reported by BTCManager, automobile giant Renault had announced that it was testing Hyperledger Fabric blockchain solution to ensure the conformity of the parts used by the manufacturer.