Method for creating and maintaining a distributed ledger of vehicle gas consumption and wear and tear information

Abstract

A distributed ledger operated by a group of network participants according to a set of consensus rules stores vehicle condition data and generated vehicle condition reports. The vehicle condition data may be received directly from a vehicle or an associated mobile device and the vehicle condition report may be accessed by an authorized user.

1 .- 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A computer-implemented method for verifying longevity of vehicles using a distributed ledger, the method comprising:
 obtaining, by one or more processors, vehicle condition data associated with a vehicle indicative a longevity of the vehicle based on wear and tear on the vehicle;   applying, by the one or more processors, a proof-of-work rule to validate the vehicle condition data;   determining, by the one or more processors, whether the vehicle condition data satisfies the proof-of-work rule;   if the vehicle condition data satisfies the proof-of-work rule,
 generating, by the one or more processors, a transaction including a representation of the vehicle condition data, wherein the transaction is stored in the distributed ledger; 
 transmitting, by the one or more processors, the transaction from a first participant of a plurality of participants to at least a second participant of the plurality of participants, the plurality of participants constituting a distributed ledger network; and 
 generating a vehicle condition report based at least in part upon the vehicle condition data, the vehicle condition report including one or more descriptors indicative of the condition of the vehicle. 
   
     
     
         22 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 if the vehicle condition data does not satisfy the proof-of-work rule,
 disregarding the vehicle condition data. 
   
     
     
         23 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the vehicle condition report includes a vehicle condition metric, the vehicle condition metric includes at least one selected from a group consisting of an estimated lifetime of the vehicle, an estimated value of the vehicle, and an estimated average fuel consumption of the vehicle. 
     
     
         24 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 23 , wherein the generating a vehicle condition report comprises using a trained machine learning model to generate the vehicle condition metric. 
     
     
         25 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the vehicle condition data are obtained from at least one selected from a group consisting of:
 one or more sensors on a user mobile device in the vehicle,   one or more sensors in the vehicle,   images associated with the vehicle taken by the user mobile device, and   information associated with the vehicle input via the user mobile device.   
     
     
         26 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 adding the transaction to a block of transactions;   generating a solution to solve a cryptographic puzzle based at least in part upon the block of transactions;   adding the solution to the cryptographic puzzle to the block of transactions; and   transmitting the block of transactions to at least one other participant in the distributed ledger network.   
     
     
         27 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the generating a transaction includes generating the transaction including a cryptographic hash value corresponding to the vehicle condition data, and the method further comprising:
 transmitting, by the one or more processors, the vehicle condition data to a server computing device configured to generate the vehicle condition report based at least in part upon the vehicle condition data.   
     
     
         28 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the transmitting the transaction includes transmitting, by the one or more processors, the transaction to an address that stores a smart contract on the distributed ledger, wherein the smart contract is configured to generate the vehicle condition report based at least in part upon the vehicle condition data collected over a period of time. 
     
     
         29 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the generating a transaction includes:
 obtaining, by the one or more processors, a plurality of sets of vehicle condition data, each set of vehicle condition data obtained at a different time; and   generating a plurality of transactions each including a representation of one of the sets of vehicle condition data obtained at a particular time.   
     
     
         30 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the transaction includes at least one selected from a group consisting of:
 identity data associated with the vehicle;   identity data associated with a computing device in the vehicle transmitting the transaction;   the vehicle condition data; and   an indication of a time in which the vehicle condition data were generated.   
     
     
         31 . A computing device for verifying longevity of vehicles using a distributed ledger, the computer device comprising:
 one or more memories having instructions stored thereon;   one or more processors configured to execute the instructions and perform operations comprising:
 obtaining vehicle condition data associated with a vehicle indicative a longevity of the vehicle based on wear and tear on the vehicle; 
 applying a proof-of-work rule to validate the vehicle condition data; 
 determining whether the vehicle condition data satisfies the proof-of-work rule; 
 if the vehicle condition data satisfies the proof-of-work rule,
 generating a transaction including a representation of the vehicle condition data, wherein the transaction is stored in the distributed ledger; 
 transmitting the transaction from a first participant of a plurality of participants to at least a second participant of the plurality of participants, the plurality of participants constituting a distributed ledger network; and 
 generating a vehicle condition report based at least in part upon the vehicle condition data, the vehicle condition report including one or more descriptors indicative of the condition of the vehicle. 
 
   
     
     
         32 . The computing device of  claim 31 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 if the vehicle condition data does not satisfy the proof-of-work rule,
 disregarding the vehicle condition data. 
   
     
     
         33 . The computing device of  claim 31 , wherein the vehicle condition report includes a vehicle condition metric, the vehicle condition metric includes at least one selected from a group consisting of an estimated lifetime of the vehicle, an estimated value of the vehicle, and an estimated average fuel consumption of the vehicle. 
     
     
         34 . The computing device of  claim 33 , wherein the generating a vehicle condition report comprises using a trained machine learning model to generate the vehicle condition metric. 
     
     
         35 . The computing device of  claim 31 , wherein the vehicle condition data are obtained from at least one selected from a group consisting of:
 one or more sensors on a user mobile device in the vehicle,   one or more sensors in the vehicle,   images associated with the vehicle taken by the user mobile device, and   information associated with the vehicle input via the user mobile device.   
     
     
         36 . The computing device of  claim 31 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 adding the transaction to a block of transactions;   generating a solution to solve a cryptographic puzzle based at least in part upon the block of transactions;   adding the solution to the cryptographic puzzle to the block of transactions; and   transmitting the block of transactions to at least one other participant in the distributed ledger network.   
     
     
         37 . The computing device of  claim 31 , wherein the generating a transaction includes generating the transaction including a cryptographic hash value corresponding to the vehicle condition data, wherein the operations further comprise:
 transmitting the vehicle condition data to a server computing device configured to generate the vehicle condition report based at least in part upon the vehicle condition data.   
     
     
         38 . The computing device of  claim 31 , wherein the transmitting the transaction includes transmitting the transaction to an address that stores a smart contract on the distributed ledger, wherein the smart contract is configured to generate the vehicle condition report based at least in part upon the vehicle condition data collected over a period of time. 
     
     
         39 . The computing device of  claim 31 , wherein the generating a transaction includes:
 obtaining a plurality of sets of vehicle condition data, each set of vehicle condition data obtained at a different time; and   generating a plurality of transactions each including a representation of one of the sets of vehicle condition data obtained at a particular time.   
     
     
         40 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for verifying longevity of vehicles using a distributed ledger, the instructions that when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 obtaining vehicle condition data associated with a vehicle indicative a longevity of the vehicle based on wear and tear on the vehicle;   applying a proof-of-work rule to validate the vehicle condition data;   determining whether the vehicle condition data satisfies the proof-of-work rule;   if the vehicle condition data satisfies the proof-of-work rule,
 generating a transaction including a representation of the vehicle condition data, wherein the transaction is stored in the distributed ledger; 
 transmitting the transaction from a first participant of a plurality of participants to at least a second participant of the plurality of participants, the plurality of participants constituting a distributed ledger network; and 
 generating a vehicle condition report based at least in part upon the vehicle condition data, the vehicle condition report including one or more descriptors indicative of the condition of the vehicle.