Sony Corporation, a global leader in electronics and entertainment with its gaming, music and film divisions, is looking to emerging technology to build new systems for smart cities.
As an enterprise leader, the Tokyo-based media giant is betting on blockchain to power critical infrastructure. The firm has announced the development of Blockchain Common Database (BCDB), a database platform that utilizes blockchain technology for next-generation transportation systems.
The system aggregates data from trains, buses, taxis, car sharing, on-demand mobility services and rental bicycles, allowing users to find optimal routes to their destinations and the best transportation means and services.
Sony’s BCDB also shows users extensive details about required times and the total cost of routes, covering everything from booking a trip to boarding. The high-speed blockchain-based data processing system is designed for mass transportation, tracking data across various transportation operators, transaction processors and mobility service providers.
It currently powers record keeping, shares anonymized travel history and tracks transactions for over seven million users per day.
Sony is also eyeing other use cases for BCDB, such as recording and sharing multiple forms of sensor data for smart cities. As for blockchain at large, the Japanese conglomerate is already developing a virtual currency hardware wallet technology for private key management for all blockchain related services.
Its team of developers and engineers expects to explore other fields as well, including education data and digital content rights processing for entertainment, with the aim of further popularizing blockchain technology, according to the company’s official statement.