The unmanned aircraft system, autonomous vehicle, and financial
technology (FinTech) industries are each in their fledgling stages,
but forging ahead at a rapid pace. While the relative growths of
these industries are on parallel paths, those paths are beginning
to diverge as companies explore how developments in one industry
can benefit the other.
For example, Wal-Mart recently applied for a patent application entitled "Unmanned
aerial delivery to secure location" through which Wal-Mart
could automate delivery drone logistics by using blockchain
technology. Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that
enables the creation of an immutable record of transactions to
share with multiple participants in a business network. Many
consider blockchain to be a game-changing technology: it can be
used across many different types of industry verticals due to the
technology's high level of security and no need for a central
authority to approve transactions.
