A project at the University of Nevada, Reno is developing a new blockchain-powered autonomous vehicle project, according to a press release published on April 23.

The Intelligent Mobility project, coordinated by the University of Nevada, Reno and the Nevada Center of Applied Research (NCAR), has chosen enterprise blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) firm Filament to develop an autonomous vehicle smart city project.

According to the press release, the new blockchain-enabled initiative is designed to improve safety and communication between driverless connected cars and the surrounding infrastructure.

Carlos Cardillo, director of the Nevada Center for Applied Research, explained that the growing number of connected vehicles on the roads multiplies the amount of various IoT devices, which can potentially create vulnerabilities. As such, blockchain implementation intends to expand data integrity standards, Cardillo said.

As the press release notes, the university will soon launch simulated testing of Filament’s Blocklet technology, a tool designed to empower connected machines with transactive value through distributed ledger technology. The integration of the tech will reportedly enable a trustworthy record of events by enabling attested data exchange via blockchain transactions.

Filament CEO Allison Clift-Jennings said that the university’s test vehicles will accept only Blocklet-attested data transmissions, protecting them from potential bad actors or man-in-the-middle attacks.

Yesterday, Cointelegraph reported that South Korea’s largest car manufacturer, Hyundai Motor Group, will use blockchain in its new tech for pairing electric vehicles with smartphones.

Previously, global tech giant IBM acquired a blockchain patent on a new development to manage data and interactions for self-driving vehicles.