Sony develops MaaS common database platform using blockchain

Sony Corporation (Sony) has announced the development of a common database platform (Blockchain Common Database or “BCDB”) utilising blockchain technology for Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS).

Independently developed by Sony, BCDB features high-speed data processing to enable more than seven million users per day to record and share anonymised travel history and revenue allocation.

Sony participated in the Blockchain Challenge Program, a MaaS initiative proposed by the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in 2019, and conducted a verification test of BCDB until the end of March 2020. It is said to be the industry’s first project to successfully realise the recording and sharing of large-scale movement history and revenue allocation by using blockchain technology for MaaS.

Blockchain technology is used to create networks where programmes and information are difficult to destroy or alter, and is considered well-suited for sharing and managing data and sensitive information.

BCDB has therefore reportedly made it possible to record and share information in a distributed ledger of the blockchain among various transportation operators, transaction processors and service provides involved in MaaS.

Sony has noted that BCDB, as a decentralised information platform, may contribute to the improvement of travel efficiency and measures for future smart city plans by analysing and utilising movement records and revenue allocation. It is said to have scalability and is being calibrated for even faster data processing so that it can be used by transportation operators in larger cities.