Tag Archives: entrepreneur

City as a Service: The Future of Urban Transportation

Model of a smart city resting atop a computer tablet.Anheuser-Busch just made the first ever beer run in a self-driving truck. The truck delivered 51,744 cans of beer from Ft. Collins, CO to Colorado Springs, CO while the driver monitored the trip from the sleeper cab, at least on the Interstate 25 portion of the ride. The historic delivery was made by Otto, the trucking arm of rideshare company Uber, partly to showcase their capabilities and partly to deliver beer. The inaugural run had the full backing and blessings of the state of Colorado.

I have written about autonomous passenger vehicles and recently wrote about the development of flying cars. I wonder how these developments will change the landscape of cities. If in the future we just rent cars by the mile to take us to work and back, where will they go at night? Or will the same car be used at night to take us to the theater? Will there need to be as many cars, since people can share them? How will this change how we live? How we think about car ownership and the role of vehicles in a community could change. Just as we have moved to software as a service for our computing needs, we could soon have city as a service for transportation.

The Next 100

BMW just wrapped up a worldwide series of presentations they called the Iconic Impulses Tour. The final show was two weeks ago in Santa Monica, CA and highlighted their vision for BMW’s next 100 years. In addition to introducing new concept cars from Mini, BMW, and Rolls-Royce they are rolling out their vision of how these cars will fit into a new urban environment. To this end, BMW/Mini has created a venture accelerator called URBAN-X to encourage entrepreneurs to help develop their vision.

URBAN-X

The mission of this new venture is “to catalyze, educate, invest in and advocate for startups who are shaping the future of cities through technology.” I assume they are hoping that future includes vehicles, however they are encouraging forward thinking about all aspects of the urban experience. If you are a successful applicant, you get $60,000 in seed money and access to hosting, legal consultation and proprietary software. You also get a chance to spend three months with business developers and engineers from Mini to help bring your idea to fruition. Some of their recent ventures include Brooklyness which makes an intelligent bike helmet, CTY which creates data analytics products for traffic flow, and Nello which makes keyless entry products though a smartphone app. The application deadline to join the next group of lucky entrepreneurs is November 29th,  details at urban-x.com.

Thoughts

I am impressed that an automobile company is thinking ahead to a time when there are fewer cars and limited private car ownership. I assume that the car companies will own the vehicles and make money through subscription services, like today’s cloud service providers. With this scenario, the city will indeed look different and perhaps we can convert at least some city parking to green space and make other improvements. What ideas do you have for the future cityscape? Perhaps your idea is worthy enough to attract funding from a car company. Let me know your thoughts.

Author Kelly BrownAbout Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional and assistant professor of practice for the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.

The Beauty of Blockchains

A rainbow of color blocks.Last year I wrote about the Bitcoin revolution and some of the implications to our financial, currency, and trading systems. At that time, a single Bitcoin was worth $1,100 but now is only worth $379. There are wild price swings and talk of dissent among Bitcoin developers, as outlined in a recent Wall Street Journal article. Whether Bitcoin or some other crypto-currency survives in the long run, I think the most interesting story is the blockchain technology behind the rise of Bitcoin and the wide-ranging uses for this development.

Blockchain Explained

A blockchain can best be described as a ledger or database that exists simultaneously on hundreds or even thousands of systems. All of these copies are cryptographically connected to ensure data security.

In the case of a Bitcoin, every time a coin or a fraction of a coin is used, that transaction is recorded on the ledger. The database or registry records who had the coin and who now has the coin, which prevents a coin holder from spending the same coin multiple times. Because this registry is replicated in several identical databases simultaneously, someone attempting to hack into a system to steal the coin would have to hack into all of the systems at the same time. Changing only one instance of the registry alerts the other systems of the fraud and blocks the transaction. If blockchains can be used for currency, what are other possible uses for this technology?

Title Chains

Anything that requires a title could make use of blockchains. When you purchase a home or a vehicle, you need to know the person selling that property really owns it. A title tracks ownership through the life of the property. When you purchase the property, you are added to the title. This process takes a lot of resources, both human and computer, and is not immune to fraud.

When I sold stock, I had to send my paper certificate to a broker to prove that I was indeed the owner. When I bought stock, the broker sent me a newly issued certificate to prove that I was the owner. Now the exchange is executed electronically, but it can still take up to three days to complete a transaction because of all of the systems and humans involved in the process. All of these transactions could be simplified by secure blockchain technology, which would be quicker and would reduce risk and amount of paperwork.

Developing Countries

I think that developing countries could benefit greatly by using blockchain technology. Many of them do not have a secure title transfer infrastructure which limits their ability to buy and sell goods and services. Blockchains can be registered in small increments, even cents, so they can be used by entrepreneurs wanting to sell locally and worldwide without employing costly brokers.

Thinking on a larger scale, if an entrepreneur wanted to start a company, they could sell fractional shares in the company with each share secured by a blockchain transaction. The computing infrastructure does not need to reside in the community or even in the country but could be anywhere in the world. The transaction costs can be a lot lower, thus ensuring that more of the profit is kept in the community and reinvested for future growth and opportunities.

Thoughts

I am excited by the fact that technologies such as blockchains can create new opportunities. Coupled with other emerging advances, such as green power and wireless communications, this has the potential to be a game changer. Let me know your thoughts.

Author Kelly BrownAbout Kelly Brown

Kelly Brown is an IT professional and assistant professor of practice for the UO Applied Information Management Master’s Degree Program. He writes about IT and business topics that keep him up at night.