Today, Sony unveiled its Blockchain Common Database (BCDB) platform, which is being used as part of a transport service solution that provides users with information regarding optimal routes, fares, recommended means of transport and other services.
The solution was developed by Sony for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and will enable seven million users per day to record and share their anonymized travel history. BCDB integrates various means of transportations such as trains, buses, taxis, car-sharing, on-demand mobility services and rental bicycles. The solution covers the entire process of booking a ticket to the clearing of payment.
BCDB is an information-sharing platform built to address the future needs of smart cities by analyzing movement records and revenue allocation for transportation services.
Last year, Sony participated in the Blockchain Challenge Program of the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to test BCDB. According to Sony, it was the only participant whose solution met the requirements laid down by the Ministry.
“BCDB has made it possible to record and share information in a distributed ledger of the blockchain among various Transportation Operators, Transaction Processors and MaaS Service Providers involved in MaaS, thereby making it possible to utilize information with reliability and transparency and deploy it as a service,” Sony said in its statement.
Going forward, Sony plans to scale the platform for faster data processing for use by bigger cities. Additionally, BCDB could also be used for other applications that require recording and sharing of sensor data for the development of smart cities.
The Japanese conglomerate has previously trialed blockchain for the rights management of educational data. This solution applies to written works and books. Last year, Sony invested in the German startup Bitwala, which is developing a platform combining a crypto wallet and trading system with a conventional bank account.
Sony also has an investment in the tokenization firm Securitize. It partnered with Fujitsu for a blockchain trial to manage language course records and test results.
