Vehicles of the Future Will Be Powered by Open-Source Technology
By Bradley Berman — Lead Editor
If you’ve never been inside the headquarters of a major auto company, you might be surprised by the Fort Knox level of security. That was especially true a few years ago when I visited Toyota’s headquarters in Toyota City, Japan. I was on an assignment to interview executives working on cutting-edge hydrogen-fuel technology. As a non-employee, my access was strictly limited to a single, nondescript conference room — far away from any sight or sound that might reveal Toyota’s plans. Of course, that’s understandable for a company spending billions of dollars a year to develop a technology advantage over its competition. At the same time, it felt anachronistic.
Establishing a centralized, closed, and safeguarded repository of research about vehicle efficiency and safety — in a time when the world is desperate for eco-friendly options of all types — seemed very 20th century. So I applauded when, soon after my visit, Toyota announced that it would grant free access to nearly 6,000 patents to anybody wanting to produce hydrogen-car components or fueling stations.
“By eliminating traditional corporate boundaries, we can speed the development of new technologies and move into the future of mobility more quickly, effectively, and economically,” said Bob Carter, executive general manager at Toyota. In 2014, Tesla similarly said it would no longer pursue lawsuits related to its electric-car patents, allowing anybody to use its technology to “accelerate the advent of sustainable transport.”
These steps to open the I.P. vaults are part of an industry-wide movement to democratize intellectual property about cars — including vehicle data and source code. It’s a sign of the times as we enter a transportation era characterized by shared, autonomous-vehicle fleets rather than selling two-ton internal-combustion machines that mostly sit idle in private driveways.
Transportation Inspiration
At the non-profit DAV Foundation, we take inspiration from these developments and the open-source movement that has existed for decades — which has fundamentally transformed such industries as web publishing and mobile app development. We follow the same path as we create an open-source transportation blockchain that encourages countless software developers and service providers to collaborate.
Thankfully, DAV can look to the work of open-source vehicle pioneers such as Open Motors, Open Source Car Control, Local Motors, and GENIVI. Those firms might be less recognizable than Toyota and Tesla but, like those corporate innovators, they are creating the path forward for transportation.
The mission of Hong Kong-based Open Motors is to enable startups to design, prototype, and build electric vehicles and transportation services — at a fraction of the existing cost. As the name suggests, Open Motors provides an open and downloadable platform that jumpstarts the creation of a new vehicle from scratch. Its hardware is licensed via Creative Commons. It’s also exactly what is needed for the burgeoning autonomous-vehicle market in which hundreds of start-ups are sprouting up with great ideas for new transportation services.
Got a hot idea for a new self-driving vehicle service? Instead of needing to invest millions of dollars to get it off the ground, you could use Open Motors’s “EDIT” platform, which was released last year. EDIT is a ready-to-customize, white-label “vehicle as a service” modular platform. Why reinvent the wheel for a food delivery or niche ridesharing business when you can start with a road-safe vehicle platform and then customize your code and branding?
In another open-source project, the software from Polysync’s Open Source Car Control Project enables entrepreneurs to control an existing vehicle’s steering, throttle, and brakes — starting with a Kia Soul and Arduino modules. When Polysync, based in Portland, Oregon, unveiled its software at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show, chief executive Josh Hartung said, “Autonomous technology has massive potential, and the only way to push it forward is to enable everyone to have access to the tools they need to contribute.”
Polysync’s software can work with other cars besides the Kia Soul, but what if you want an entirely different type of vehicle? Then consider working with Phoenix-based Local Motors, which got its start a decade ago by choosing from among 35,000 creative vehicle body designs submitted by its community. The winning design — the Rally Fighter, a mean-looking driving machine resembling a P-51 Mustang fighter plane — was produced mostly using 3D printing technology.
Local Motors is now focusing on Olli, a 12-passenger customizable self-driving shuttle that’s been used in pilot projects throughout the U.S. and Europe. Leveraging the open-source platform, communities and campuses can build their own fixed-route self-driving shuttle. The bundled software allows users to book, ride, and pay for trips. Local Motors recently partnered with IBM to create “Accessible Olli,” a self-driving bus for people with disabilities — just one of an infinite number of variations to the platform.
Local Motors has a long list of partners, including G.E., Hewlett-Packard, Airbus, Siemens, and Peterbilt. Meanwhile, the GENIVI Alliance, which was established in 2009, created an open platform for major carmakers to collaborate on in-vehicle infotainment. GENIVI technology has been deployed in vehicles made by Alfa Romeo, BMW, Mini, Hyundai-Kia, Jaguar Land Rover, Peugeot-Citroen, Renault-Nissan, Suzuki, and Volvo.
The common idea behind these open-source vehicle projects (and many others) is that carmakers and mobility companies will increasingly be distinguished by the valuable services and innovative interfaces they provide — not by their software and hardware. With open-source solutions, it’s only a matter of time before the many different types of niche vehicles and modes of transport become a part of the greater Internet of Transportation.
That’s the open, decentralized vision for transportation that the DAV Foundation believes in. And it’s why we are working so hard to develop our blockchain that will fuel transactions between countless new services and vehicles — many of which will use open-source technology to create a new era of efficient and accessible transportation.
