Here's what Toyota's blockchain lab is building

By Will Heasman

Motor manufacturer Toyota has unveiled a variety of blockchain enterprises intending to digitalize the automotive industry. According to a press release issued today, the Toyota Blockchain Lab has already undergone several successful trials—one of which looks to tokenize vehicles and ownership rights on the blockchain. 

In April 2019, the firm founded the Toyota Blockchain Lab—an initiative tasked with integrating blockchain into Toyota’s infrastructure. Today, the company has reiterated that goal, highlighting several enterprises in the works, and collaborations to come. 

Toyota’s currently focused on using blockchain technology for customer and vehicle initiatives. The firm calls attention to “value digitalization,” which aims to enhance financing methods via the tokenization of assets, such as vehicles and owner rights.

“Toyota Blockchain Lab has been examining plans for promising applications for use and promoting demonstration trials while accumulating Group knowledge. It is also engaging in global collaboration with Group companies, including Toyota Research Institute,” the blog post stated. 

Toyota also highlighted ID sharing and contract digitalization for customers, as well as an overhaul of its supply chain—in which the company employs blockchain to record and share data on parts manufacturing and shipping.

Toyota’s smart city 

The press release additionally touched upon Toyota’s ‘Woven City’ project—a conceptual ecosystem powered by hydrogen and smart technology. Announced in January, Woven City aims to weave together a menagerie of intercommunicating smart technologies, including artificial intelligence—and now—potentially blockchain. 

“Building a complete city from the ground up, even on a small scale like this, is a unique opportunity to develop future technologies, including a digital operating system for the city’s infrastructure,” explains the Woven City announcement.

Tell that to Akon.

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