Distributed Ledger Secure Peer-to-Peer Vehicle Rentals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rental car services face challenges as renters are deterred by the need to provide sensitive information and the potential for vehicle owners to access and control vehicle data, leading to privacy concerns.
Innovation Solution
A distributed ledger system, such as a blockchain, is used to manage vehicle rental services, allowing secure data storage and analysis while maintaining renter privacy by controlling access to data and remote vehicle functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If renters provide sensitive information to vehicle owners for rental services, then rental transactions can be completed, but renter privacy is compromised and trust is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a distributed ledger system as an intermediary between renters and vehicle owners. The ledger securely stores rental agreements, vehicle data, and transaction information without requiring renters to share sensitive personal information directly with owners. This mediator enables rental transactions to proceed while protecting renter privacy through cryptographic security and decentralized storage.
2Reliability
If owners can remotely control vehicle functions and access vehicle data, then they can monitor and manage their vehicles, but this creates security risks and renter concerns
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic access control where owner capabilities to remotely control vehicle functions are not static but change based on rental agreement terms. During active rentals, owner access is automatically restricted; when rentals are completed or violations occur, access is restored. This dynamic approach maintains vehicle management reliability while minimizing security risks during the rental period.
Solution Approach 2:
The distributed ledger provides continuous feedback about rental status, vehicle location, and usage conditions to all parties. This transparent feedback mechanism allows owners to monitor their vehicles through the ledger rather than direct access, reducing security risks while maintaining management capability. The system automatically notifies owners of rental completion or agreement violations, enabling timely intervention.
3Device complexity
If a centralized system manages vehicle rentals, then coordination is simplified, but single points of failure and data breaches become possible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized rental management system into a distributed network of nodes maintaining copies of the ledger. Instead of one central database vulnerable to breaches, the system distributes data across multiple independent nodes. This segmentation maintains coordination capability through consensus protocols while eliminating single points of failure and reducing the impact of potential security breaches to individual nodes.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure is directed to, among other things, systems and methods for secure peer-to-peer vehicle rentals. An example method may include receiving, by a node in a distributed ledger network, a request to rent a first vehicle. The example method may also include storing, based on receiving the request, a rental agreement for the vehicle as a transaction on a ledger of the distributed ledger network. The example method may also include receiving, by the ledger, data from a telematics control unit (TCU) of the vehicle during the a duration of the rental agreement. The example method may also include storing the data on the ledger, wherein a first device associated with an owner of the vehicle is prevented from remotely controlling a first set of functions of the vehicle during the duration of the rental agreement, and wherein the first device is also prevented from accessing the data on the ledger. The example method may also include enabling, based on the data from the TCU of the vehicle, the first device to perform remote control of the first set of functions of the vehicle.