What happened?
Volkswagen partners with blockchain startup Hivemapper to introduce Bee Maps, built collaboratively by drivers, providing real-time street view information needed for self-driving cars, transforming maps from static to dynamic, and allowing for instant updates as streets change.
Even with multiple sensors on Volkswagen's self-driving cars, they still struggle with unexpected road conditions. Through the edge, construction, and pick-up/drop-off point data provided by Bee Maps, Volkswagen can enhance vehicle navigation and positioning capabilities in complex scenarios.
Hivemapper is a representative project in the DePIN track, incentivizing the public to contribute map data through crypto rewards. This model has been applied in self-driving, logistics, and ride-hailing services, becoming an important bridge connecting blockchain and the real world.
How does Hivemapper's map service operate?
As self-driving cars enter the city, a real-time, precise map becomes a key piece of equipment. Recently, the self-driving technology division of the German automotive giant Volkswagen, 'Volkswagen ADMT,' partnered with blockchain startup Hivemapper to introduce the Bee Maps street view mapping service into Volkswagen's self-driving fleet 'Robotaxi.'
Traditional self-driving cars heavily rely on map information for positioning and decision-making, but these maps are often slow to update and unable to quickly respond to rapid changes in urban streets. Volkswagen chose to collaborate with Hivemapper, drawn by its focus on a 'real-time, decentralized, crowd-sourced' map system.
The operation logic of Bee Maps is to have drivers around the world install Hivemapper's specialized 'Bee' dashcam in their vehicles, uploading captured street view images to the platform, where AI models automatically identify lane markings, construction areas, traffic signals, and other spatial elements to create timely and location-accurate map data.
Contributors earn a cryptocurrency token called HONEY as a reward for every segment of valid map data they complete. This model, which introduces blockchain reward mechanisms into map-making, has allowed Hivemapper to successfully create 'the world's most up-to-date map data.'
This is a transition from static maps to 'living maps'. Hivemapper CEO Ariel Seidman stated, 'True self-driving operations rely on high-quality data that can change in sync with street changes.'
Why does Volkswagen need real-time map data?
Volkswagen's ADMT self-driving division currently operates about 30 ID.Buzz self-driving electric vehicles in Hamburg, Germany, and plans to expand its services to Los Angeles, USA, by the end of 2026 in partnership with Uber, achieving a driverless ride-hailing service.
These vehicles can produce about 5 GB of sensor data per second, including information collected by 13 cameras and 9 radars. Although they possess strong perception capabilities, they still struggle to operate independently in adverse weather or unexpected construction scenarios.
Therefore, Volkswagen will integrate Bee Maps as an external map source, providing data including curb alignment and precise pick-up/drop-off point identification, assisting the ADMT team in verifying navigation algorithms in various special scenarios without the need to dispatch manual surveying vehicles, enhancing the decision-making ability of self-driving cars.
It is understood that the map data provided by Bee Maps can be integrated into the vehicle's positioning and route planning systems through an API interface, adopting a usage-based payment model rather than a traditional licensing contract, making cooperation more flexible.
DePIN is the connection point between blockchain and the real world.
The collaboration between Volkswagen and Hivemapper is one of the best examples of the application of DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network). This structure represents mobilizing the public to participate in the collection and establishment of physical world data through blockchain technology and crypto rewards, serving traditional industries or facilitating new applications.
In addition to Volkswagen, ride-hailing platform Lyft has also begun using Hivemapper's map data to mark pick-up and drop-off points, while logistics providers utilize the data to detect height restrictions, construction, or newly established speed limit areas.
Unlike in the past, when map information was solely reliant on official or specific companies, the emergence of DePIN has made 'maps' a decentralized, open-source, and real-time updated infrastructure, enhancing the flexibility and coverage to respond to dynamic streetscapes.
In the field of smart transportation, maps are no longer just auxiliary tools for navigation, but the neural hub that allows vehicles to 'understand the world' and make real-time decisions. Such demand has perfectly found an ideal foothold for DePIN.
Data sources: CryptoSlate, CoinDesk
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