ADS Feature Subscription Activation via Blockchain Smart Contracts
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing process for subscription-based activation of ADS features in vehicles is complex and involves multiple actors, leading to increased backend and transaction costs, as well as complexity in managing customer and vehicle identities while adhering to regulations like GDPR.
Innovation Solution
A distributed subscription-handling system using a peer-to-peer blockchain network with smart contracts to manage subscription options, vehicle configurations, and activation processes, reducing the need for intermediaries and enhancing transparency and control for ADS feature providers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a centralized subscription management system is used to handle ADS feature activations, then the process involves multiple actors and handovers ensuring comprehensive control and validation, but the system complexity and transaction costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized subscription management system is segmented into multiple independent blockchain nodes distributed across the network. Each node maintains a copy of the subscription data and can independently validate transactions, eliminating the need for a single complex central authority while maintaining comprehensive control through distributed consensus mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
A blockchain network acts as an intermediary layer between ADS feature providers, vehicle operators, and billing companies. The blockchain smart contracts automatically handle subscription validation, activation, and billing processes, reducing the need for direct complex interactions between multiple actors and their respective systems.
2Reliability
If multiple actors and handovers are involved in the subscription process, then comprehensive validation and control are achieved, but the transaction costs and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Subscription validation rules, vehicle configuration requirements, and billing parameters are pre-programmed into smart contracts on the blockchain network. When a subscription request is initiated, these pre-established rules automatically validate the transaction without requiring sequential manual verification by multiple actors, significantly reducing processing time while maintaining validation completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The blockchain network provides real-time feedback to all participants about the status of subscription transactions, validation results, and activation states. This immediate feedback mechanism eliminates delays caused by waiting for responses from multiple actors in a centralized system, as all nodes can independently verify and act on transaction status.
3Ease of operation
If customer and vehicle identity information is shared across multiple actors, then proper subscription activation and vehicle identification are achieved, but regulatory compliance and data protection become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Sensitive customer and vehicle identity information is extracted from the main subscription transaction data and stored as encrypted references on the blockchain. The actual personal data remains protected in secure storage, with only cryptographic hashes and authorization tokens exposed on the distributed ledger, enabling subscription activation while maintaining GDPR and other regulatory compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of sharing actual customer and vehicle identity data across multiple actors, the system uses cryptographic copies and digital representations. Blockchain nodes store and validate cryptographic hashes of identity information rather than the raw data itself, allowing verification and proper subscription activation without exposing sensitive personal information.
Data Source
AI summary
A method performed by a distributed subscription-handling system for supporting subscription-based activation of Automated Driving System (ADS) features in a vehicle. Arrangements that support a process where complexity and/or the transaction cost of ADS feature subscription handling may be limited. There is identified at one or more ADS-equipped vehicles connected via a peer-to-peer blockchain network having at least a first service provider node dedicated to an ADS feature provider, data indicative of one or more subscription options comprising indication of various ADS feature sets available for activation and indication of respective corresponding required ADS-related vehicle configuration are defined in at least a first blockchain-stored smart contract deployed by the at least first service provider node.