Vodafone has launched a global “Economy of Things” platform that enables connected devices to trade with each other.
The new platform, launched today, is called Digital Asset Broker (DAB) and enables businesses across industry sectors to transform physical goods into tradable digital assets.
Connected devices are often limited in their automation due to awaiting manual payment for the service(s) they provide. In the future, connected devices will be able to make transactions on a user’s behalf.
An initial deployment in Newbury, UK – in partnership with not-for-profit Energy Web – aims to combat the “range anxiety” associated with electric vehicles.
Motorists will be sent real-time data on the availability and compatibility of nearby charging points and give authorisation for their vehicle to transact with the charger:
Jesse Morris, CEO of Energy Web Foundation, said: “Electrification is a major part of global decarbonization efforts. However, there’s currently no way for EV drivers to ensure that all the electricity used to charge their vehicles comes from renewable sources.
As access to green energy solutions is democratized, this is sorely needed. Working with any on-street EV charger, our solution can give individuals and companies assurance of clean energy use—a real game-changer for EV users and companies with electric fleets.”
Vodafone has partnered with Mastercard on DAB and the company says that it’s compatible with existing mobile wallets.
Johan Wibergh, Chief Technology Officer at Vodafone, commented, “We are building in-house new, scaled platforms for our customers across Europe and Africa. This, our latest platform, will drive the new Economy of Things where everyday objects and devices can negotiate, buy, and sell services on our behalf.
We are actively talking with many other companies to rapidly expand partnerships and widen the ecosystem worldwide to include other features and payment schemes.”
DAB uses blockchain technology to verify that all connected devices and machines are verified as trustworthy.
