Systems and methods for maintaining a distributed ledger pertaining to autonomous vehicles
Methods and systems for maintaining a distributed ledger and/or blockchain of transactions and/or events pertaining to autonomous vehicles and/or smart contracts. An enforcement server may receive indications of transactions and/or events generated by one or more autonomous vehicles. The transactions and/or events may include information relating to a trigger condition and/or a decision condition associated with one or more smart contracts. The enforcement server may route the transaction to the appropriate smart contract to determine whether a trigger condition has been satisfied. When a trigger condition is satisfied, the enforcement server may automatically perform an action to enforce the smart contract and/or update the distributed ledger. In some aspects, the distributed ledger may record events associated with autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle technology or system usage, including events associated with transitioning between manual and autonomous control, or vice versa, of one or more autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles.
1. A computer-implemented method for maintaining a distributed ledger or blockchain of transactions or events pertaining to autonomous vehicles, the method comprising:
receiving, at one or more processors, one or more autonomous vehicle-related transactions or events from one or more autonomous vehicles via a mesh network formed of multiple autonomous vehicles;
determining, by the one or more processors, a priority for a transaction or event of the received one or more transactions or events indicative of a trigger condition of a smart contract recorded in the distributed ledger or the blockchain,
based upon the determination, compiling, by the one or more processors, a set of autonomous vehicle-related transactions or events into a block of transactions or events, wherein the transaction or event is included in the block;
forming, by the one or more processors, a consensus on the block of autonomous vehicle-related transactions or events with a plurality of validation entities or nodes within a communication network on whether or not to update the distributed ledger or the blockchain;
when a consensus is formed, routing, by the one or more processors, the transaction or event to the smart contract; and
automatically executing, by the one or more processors, an action, that according to the smart contract, should be performed in response to the trigger condition.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein:
the trigger condition for the smart contract is a particular autonomous vehicle incurring liability or being involved in a collision; and
the transaction or event indicates that the particular autonomous vehicle incurred liability or was involved in a collision.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein:
a decision condition for the particular smart contract is a control state of the particular autonomous vehicle; and
the decision condition is indicated by another transaction or event that indicates whether the particular autonomous vehicle was being autonomously, remotely, or manually operated.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein automatically executing the action comprises:
assigning, by the one or more processors, the liability to (i) an insurer associated with an operator of the particular autonomous vehicle when the other transaction or event indicates the particular autonomous vehicle was being manually operated, and (ii) a manufacturer of the particular autonomous vehicle when the other transaction or event indicates the particular autonomous vehicle was being autonomously operated.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , automatically executing the action comprises:
transmitting, by the one or more processors, at least one of a tow request to a towing service, a police report to a law enforcement entity, or a subrogation request to an insurer of another autonomous vehicle.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein:
a decision condition for the particular smart contract is a distance traversed by the particular autonomous vehicle; and
the transaction or event indicates the distance that the particular autonomous vehicle has traversed during a trip.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , wherein automatically executing the action comprises:
assigning, by the one or more processors, liability to (i) an operator of the particular autonomous vehicle when the distance traversed by the particular autonomous vehicle exceeds a maximum trip length indicated in the particular smart contract, or (ii) an insurer associated with the operator of the particular autonomous vehicle when the distance traversed by the particular autonomous vehicle does not exceed the maximum trip length indicated in the particular smart contract.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein forming the consensus comprises:
distributing, by the one or more processors, the block the plurality of validation entities.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the autonomous vehicle-related transactions or events recorded are related to at least one of the following autonomous vehicle systems, features, or technologies:
driver alertness monitoring;
driver responsiveness monitoring;
pedestrian detection;
artificial intelligence;
a back-up system;
a navigation system;
a positioning system;
a security system;
an anti-hacking measure;
a theft prevention system; or
remote vehicle location determination.
10. A computer system configured to maintain a distributed ledger or blockchain of transactions or events pertaining to autonomous vehicles, the system comprising one or more processors, transceivers, and/or sensors configured to:
receive one or more autonomous vehicle-related transactions or events from one or more autonomous vehicles via a mesh network formed of multiple autonomous vehicles;
determine a priority for a transaction or event of the received on or more transactions or events indicative of a trigger condition of a smart contract recorded in the distributed ledger or the blockchain;
based upon the determination, compiling, by the one or more processors, a set of autonomous vehicle-related transactions or events, wherein the transaction or event is included in the block;
form a consensus on the block of autonomous vehicle-related transactions or events with a plurality of validation entities or nodes within a communication network on whether or not to update the distributed ledger or the blockchain;
when a consensus is formed, route the transaction or event to the smart contract; and
automatically execute an action, that according to the smart contract, should be performed in response to the trigger condition.
11. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein:
the trigger condition for the particular smart contract is a particular autonomous vehicle incurring liability or being involved in a vehicle collision; and
the transaction or event indicates that the particular autonomous vehicle incurred liability or was involved in a vehicle collision.
12. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein:
a decision condition for the particular smart contract is a control state of the particular autonomous vehicle; and
the decision condition is indicated by another transaction or event that indicates whether the particular autonomous vehicle was being autonomously, remotely, or manually operated.
13. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein the system if further configured to:
assign the liability to (i) an insurer associated with an operator of the particular autonomous vehicle when the other transaction or event indicates the particular autonomous vehicle was being manually operated, and (ii) a manufacturer of the particular autonomous vehicle when the other transaction or event indicates the particular autonomous vehicle was being autonomously operated.
14. The computer system of claim 11 , the system further configured to:
transmit at least one a tow request to a towing service, a police report to a law enforcement entity, or a subrogation request to an insurer of another autonomous vehicle.
15. The computer system of claim 14 , wherein:
a decision condition for the particular smart contract is a distance traversed by the particular autonomous vehicle; and
the transaction or event indicates the distance that the particular autonomous vehicle has traversed during a trip.
16. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein the system is further configured to:
assign liability to (i) an operator of the particular autonomous vehicle when the distance traversed by the particular autonomous vehicle exceeds a maximum trip length indicated in the particular smart contract, or (ii) an insurer associated with the operator of the particular autonomous vehicle when the distance traversed by the particular autonomous vehicle does not exceed the maximum trip length indicated in the particular smart contract.
17. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the system is further configured to:
distribute the block to the plurality of validation entities.
18. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the autonomous vehicle-related transactions or events recorded are related to at least one of the following autonomous vehicle systems, features, or technologies:
driver alertness monitoring;
driver responsiveness monitoring;
pedestrian detection;
artificial intelligence;
a back-up system;
a navigation system;
a positioning system;
a security system;
an anti-hacking measure;
a theft prevention system; or
remote vehicle location determination.
19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable instructions configured to maintain a distributed ledger or blockchain of transactions or events pertaining to autonomous vehicles, the instructions, when executed, cause one or more processors to:
receive one or more autonomous vehicle-related transactions or events from one or more autonomous vehicles via a mesh network formed of multiple autonomous vehicles;
determine a priority for a transaction or event of the received on or more transactions or events indicative of a trigger condition of a smart contract recorded in the distributed ledger or the blockchain;
based upon the determination, compiling, by the one or more processors, a set of autonomous vehicle-related transactions or events, wherein the transaction or event is included in the block;
form a consensus on the block of autonomous vehicle-related transactions or events with a plurality of validation entities or nodes within a communication network on whether or not to update the distributed ledger or the blockchain;
when a consensus is formed, route the transaction or event to the smart contract; and
automatically execute an action, that according to the smart contract, should be performed in response to the trigger condition.