autoevolution
 

Mitsubishi Wants You to Carpool With Other People, Patents a New Social Credit System

Engineer working 6 photos
Photo: ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash
Android Auto DrivingSoftware being developedAutonomous carsMitsubishi Steering WheelEngineer working
When ridesharing was introduced, we were all thinking that it’s a good way of traveling faster from point A to point B with minimal stranger interaction. Mitsubishi is looking to change how we perceive these services, especially since autonomous taxis are just around the corner. Here’s how it’ll make you like having multiple stops en route to your destination.
While EV production and autonomous driving aren’t its strongest suits at the moment, Mitsubishi U.S. is keen on putting technology to work. The company wants you to travel with other people, and it will reward you for that. If you refuse, then you’ll have to pay tokens on a blockchain. It sounds futuristic, but remember, patents aren’t always a guarantee of production. It might happen; it might not.

Mitsubishi’s basic idea here is to conserve fuel or energy while taking as many people as possible to their destinations. By doing this, it’s also trying to avoid congestion on the roads. Remember when Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson sat near a UK highway and counted all the people traveling alone in their cars? The British star wanted to prove back then that people preferred bigger cars for all the wrong reasons. In the end, this too became a factor for traffic jams. That’s what Mitsubishi is trying to do with its new system - the company wants to avoid road bottlenecks. At the same time, it wants to make sure ridesharing companies are using their fleets in a responsible way by offering their services when needed and with the maximum efficiency possible.

Basically, it plans on creating a complex software that’ll allow those operators like Uber or Waymo which implement it to offer their customers cheaper fares and keep running costs as low as possible. If the users find themselves in conjunction with others that also need to travel around the same place, the system will create a ridesharing plan. The first occupant will be asked if he wants to travel with someone else in the car. If he or she accepts, then the cost is automatically lowered. This can be a discount or a reward that can amount to a free ride in the future.

Mitsubishi will use a blockchain for this technology. A public ledger will ensure transparency and will make checking everything relevant to the users and the company easier – from rewards to frequent clients. This might also mean a new crypto-like token will appear.

The system can take many forms and can even be implemented by cities for automating their public transport. For example, the times a certain bus must follow its predetermined route can be instantly adjusted based on the number of people that travel at any given time. The software can learn based on what information it constantly receives.

Mitsubishi’s technology is patented already in the U.S., and we might see it put to work soon. If you’d like to learn more about it, then make sure to check the USPTO filing attached down below.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram

Editor's note: Pictures shown are for illustration purpose only.

 Download: Mitsubishi's USPTO Filing (PDF)

About the author: Florin Amariei
Florin Amariei profile photo

Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories