Today, the majority of your administrative procedures are digitized, in order to facilitate procedures and save time. In this process of digitization, the car maintenance book, too, is getting started to dematerialize official documents in this digital age.
The maintenance log is a document given to you when you purchase the vehicle and which attests to the follow-up of the various repairs and revisions implemented on your vehicle. It allows you to keep track of all the modifications and work carried out on the car.
In the event of a problem, it is possible to download and print an online service book template. Thanks to the digitization and NFTs as well as Blockchainit is now possible to have a digital car maintenance log.
What are NFTs and Blockchain?
At the very basis of the secure digitization of your vehicle’s maintenance document, NFTs and blockchain are two technologies that should be explained in order to understand how this new format for vehicle health records works.
Blockchain
Driven by the phenomenon of cryptocurrency, the blockchain is above all digital technology which allows data and information to be transmitted in a decentralized, transparent and secure manner. It uses an infallible protocol that transmits information by blockchain, hence its name.
The blockchain can be used in different ways:
- To realize financial exchanges direct from one account to another, even facilitating transfers from one country to another
- For better traceability of assets (securities, shares, etc.) and products.
- To run automatically contracts through storage technology and supply chain
Today, it shows its efficiency in the realization and signing of all forms of contracts. Its transparent database has a high level of security. Each information entered in it cannot be modified or falsified thanks to the traceability of the data.
She presents herself as a database, but has the particularity of being shared simultaneously with all its users in a fast way. One of the advantages is also at the level of security, because it does not depend on any central body.
This exploration service is heavily used in the few forms of cryptocurrency wallets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum… Its development towards data, information and statistics served as models for the creation of the NFT.
NFT
NFT, an acronym for Non-Fungible Token, stands for non-fungible token in French. It is a unique object, which cannot be modified or copied, and which is not interchangeable. NFTs are based on a particular blockchain, the best known being the Ethereum blockchain. It is based on a portfolio of cryptocurrencies, making the virtual exchange.
Like blockchains, it guarantees security, with owner’s digital certificate. He will have the rights to the design of a unique object, thanks to the secret code (the token). It can be all kinds of objects: drawing, music, image, photo… car maintenance document! All the information concerning the document is shared: its author, its date, its value, its owner.
There is a charge for creating an NFT, as does registering it on the blockchain. All the exchange is done in cryptocurrency, i.e. digital currency. Its value varies according to the attention it receives from users, as well as feedback received. NFTs are unique, they have no equivalent value and depend on market variation.
But what does this have to do with the digital health record of your vehicles? We explain to you.
The digital car maintenance book, advantages and disadvantages
Digitization of the notebook would be such that: modifications, maintenance and upkeep of the vehicle generate an NFT specific to your car. This concept allows vehicle tracking to easily visualize mileage, accidents, etc. Thereby, no information may be falsified or omitted. Thanks to Non-Fungible Tokens and the blockchain, information can be communicated quickly, in real time and in an ultra-secure way.
The advantages of the concept
A digitized document to assess the state of health of your car saves you from looking for its maintenance history, while being sure that the information is reliable. This makes reselling the car easier, not only for the time-saving seller, but also for the buyer. The information cannot be falsified or modified, thus avoiding information asymmetry and scams.
The car transaction is done with this document which has been automatically updated with each modification. This system is indeed a guarantee of security for potential buyers, often victims of moral hazard. The second-hand car market will be much less feared thanks to this verification which will guarantee an optimal lifespan of the car, as well as its parts: no bad surprises for the buyer who opts for a vehicle that has already been driven well. !
In addition, with the digitized vehicle health record, you will be able to scan administrative documentssuch as the gray card for example.
The administrative follow-up of the vehicle is automated and notifies you directly if a revision is necessary. Deadline reminders will let you know if a garage appointment needs to be made. This will simplify your life, because in this way, you will not have to manage these additional tasks in an agenda that is already overwhelmed! A simple notification on your smartphone will suffice.
Indirectly, a digital service book has economic advantages. Your car is better maintained and will retain good condition over a longer period of time. NFTs will then enable a larger market, with more buyers and sellers, which will make the much more prolific marketby allowing supply to better match demand.
The inconvenients
The concept of the NFT nevertheless presents some drawbacks, the first at the time of its conceptualization. It is not modifiable, which means that it will be necessary to generate one with each intervention. A point that quickly becomes harmful, not only economically, because it constitutes a cost, but also environmentally because of its energy consumption.
In addition, the NFT and Blockchain system does not seem infallible since data may never have been communicated. One of the examples is the move to marble of a vehicle that has had an accident.
This technique is quite well known: it consists of straightening the chassis of the car which has suffered a major shock, and yet will be invisible, because it will regain a shape without denting. It will not seem visible, however it will not be in the same state as before.
The NFT cannot be generated automatically by the vehicle if the information is not communicated. The intervention should be indicated for follow-up in the maintenance log. Nevertheless, the system becomes vulnerable because it relies on human intervention. The NFT is the original key, but in this case its traceability has no value.
Conclusion
The automobile is a field in constant evolution. Its progress is at the same rate as all the progress observed during the century. It is therefore in the order of things that digitization is gradually interfering in the sector. Within a few years, it’s a safe bet that driving licenses, vehicle registration documents and maintenance books will be completely digitized.
The NFT and the Blockchain present a lot of opportunities to facilitate exchanges thanks to their many advantages. Now what about the disadvantages listed above? Will we really see our car service books digitize in the years, or even the months to come?
To go further, some additional explanations on the Blockchain.