German telematics services provider for the insurance industry Dolphin Technologies has launched a new smartphone application and cryptocurrency that will reward motorists for not using their mobile phone while driving.
Traffic accidents are the most frequent cause of death worldwide for people aged between 5 and 29. In a quarter of all accidents, the mobile phone now plays a role, making it the number one cause of accidents. Traditional approaches such as traffic penalties have proved ineffective due to the deep-rooted psychological nature of the problem, where human curiosity is satisfied by using the phone, which is directly connected with the reward system of the brain. With the aim of improving road safety, Dolphin is exploiting that same reward system to reduce phone usage.
Dolphin has developed the Mobilio app, available for Apple and Android smartphones, that uses the device’s sensors and GPS to detect journeys and allows drivers to collect points for distraction-free driving that can be exchanged for a new cryptocurrency, also called Mobilio (MOB). The currency is minted strictly by drivers who have automatically proven through the app that they are driving distraction free. The digital currency has been designed in a way that the more people use the app, the greater its value.
Mobilio tokens can be used in the so-called ‘Mobilio Marketplace’, which Dolphin is currently setting up together with industry partners. The currency can be used to pay for products and services supplied by insurance companies, retailers and other marketplace participants. The MOB token will be traded on cryptocurrency exchanges within the next few months, giving it a tangible value in the ‘real’ world. To ensure security and transparency, the Mobilio ecosystem is created and operated on the Ethereum public blockchain.
“We are relying on reward instead of punishment,” explained Harald Trautsch, CEO of Dolphin Technologies. “With the Mobilio app you receive points for not using your mobile phone while driving. Those points convert to Mobilio tokens so, in effect, anyone can ‘mint’ the currency simply by distraction-free driving. This democratization of the distribution of Mobilio tokens has important implications for its future use and value. The vision that the Mobilio token could one day have a similar performance to Bitcoin and creates a strong incentive to drive safely.”
