Jaguar Land Rover testing software which allows drivers to earn crypto for sharing data

Britain’s largest car manufacturer – Jaguar Land Rover – is testing software that will enable drivers to earn crypto for sharing data.

The news was posted by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on its website. It will be implementing a “smart wallet” which lets drivers earn cryptocurrency on the move.

Using this smart wallet technology, JLR car owners will be able to automatically report useful road condition data such as traffic congestion or potholes to either navigation providers or local authorities. Drivers will then be able to redeem the crypto for rewards such as coffee, toll fees, parking fees and for smart charging electric vehicles.

The smart wallet will remove the need for drivers to rummage around for spare change. It will also mean they don’t need to sign up for multiple accounts to pay for a variety of services.

The move is part of a partnership with the IOTA foundation to harness distributed ledger technology to make and receive payments.

The announcement reads: “unlike other similar systems, due to its structure, it requires no transaction fee to operate and, over time, transactions will get faster across the entire network, forecast to include some 75 billion connected devices by 2025.”

Drivers will also have the ability to top up the smart wallet using conventional payment methods.

The technology is already being trialled by Jaguar Land Rover at its new software engineering base in Shannon, Republic of Ireland, where engineers have decked out several vehicles with the tech, including the Jaguar F-PACE and Range Rover Velar.

The research is part of Jaguar Land Rover’s Destination Zero strategy which aims to achieve zero emissions, zero accidents and zero congestion.

The connected smart wallet services will aid this goal, in theory, through drivers reporting live traffic updates to aid other drivers in finding an alternate route.

Nick Rogers, executive director of product engineering at JLR, has commented: “Jaguar Land Rover is embracing autonomous, connected, electrified and shared mobility technology as we endeavour to make cars safer, cleaner and smarter for everybody”.

Interested in reading more about car manufacturers, crypto and blockchain? Discover how Ford Motor Company has begun trialling blockchain technology to trace its supply chain.