The Internet of Things (IoT) is increasingly part of daily life. However, the development of IoT applications still faces many problems, such as heterogeneity, complex management, and other difficulties. In this paper, first, the open source technologies of IoT are surveyed. We compare these technologies from the point of view of different levels of technical requirements, such as device management, data management, communication, intelligent data processing, security and privacy protection; we also look at requirements of application development and deployment. Second, an IoT integrated development platform architecture for IoT applications based on open source ecosystem is proposed and evaluated in an industrial setting. We applied P2P technology to distributed resource management and blockchain-based smart contract mechanics for resource billing management. The results show that the IoT gateway based on an open source ecosystem had a stable and reliable system performance with a certain data size and concurrency scale. These conditions satisfy the application requirements of the IoT in most sensing environments.
The revolution of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and wearable technology has opened up great possibilities in remote patient monitoring. To streamline the diagnosis and treatment process, healthcare professionals are now adopting the wearable technology. However, these technologies also pose grave privacy risks and security concerns about the transfer and the logging of data transactions. One solution to protect privacy in healthcare is the use of blockchain technology. However, one of the primary problems with blockchain is its highly limited scalability. In this work here, we propose the utilization of a blockchain based protocol to provide secure management and analysis of data. In this paper we use recently introduced PoW based protocol GHOSTDAG, that generalizes Satoshi's blockchain to a direct acyclic graph of blocks (blockDAG) and provides high throughput while also avoiding the security-scalability problem. We use two blockchains based on the original GHOSTDAG protocol, one that is private and one that is public. Using a private blockchain, we create a system where we use smart contracts to analyze patient health data. If the smart contract for any reason issues an alert for an abnormal reading then the system makes the record of that event to the public blockchain. This would resolve the privacy and security vulnerabilities associated with remote patient monitoring and also the limited scalability problem of Satoshi's original blockchain.
In the traditional educational understanding, individuals follow the path of getting graduate or post-graduate education if they wish, after continuing their education from kindergarten to high school. Today, by getting out of this stereotype, every literate person can choose different learning environments. Now, learning any subject is up to the tip of the fingers of an individual without depending on a school building with four walls or on certain time frame. In this study, it is aimed to verify digital certificates given to the participants at the Turkish stage of the International Informatics and Computational Thinking event by using Ethereum Block Chain based smart contract. The tasks in the event were transmitted to the students in Turkey via using exam module of the Moodle Learning Management System. For this study, first a smart contract was developed in which the certificate information could be stored on the Ethereum blockchain and could be check for control purposes if necessary. Then the certificate module developed by the researcher in 2014 which uses block structure in the Moodle Learning Management System was updated and then provided to work in accordance with the smart contract in the Ethereum blockchain.
Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming necessities of people's daily life and establishing itself as an essential part of future Internet. One of the challenges for using IoT is the security of data collected by trillions of IoT devices and used by millions of services. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) provides a distributed security method which can benefit IoT. Yet challenges are put forward when integrating DLT with IoT, such as scalability and heterogeneous capability of IoT devices. In this paper, we propose a mechanism for integrating DLT in IoT by using edge computing technology, taking the scalability and heterogeneous capability of IoT devices into consideration. IoT devices are clustered dynamically into groups based on various proximity context information.
Distributed Ledger Technologies have promising applications in the Internet of Things. However, scalability and support for micropayments remain problems for blockchain-based applications, therefore other alternatives such as IOTA should be considered. This work reports on an experimental evaluation of IOTA on several different IoT platforms. We show that even though the communication overhead to join the IOTA network can be significantly reduced by adapting a proxy-based architecture, the computational overhead remains high. We conclude that IOTA is not currently suitable for battery-powered IoT devices.
Simona Ibba, Andrea Pinna, Maria Ilaria Lunesu, Michele Marchesi · 5 authors
An ICO (Initial Coin Offering) is an innovative way to fund projects based on blockchain. The funding is based on the selling of tokens by means of decentralized applications called smart contracts written in Solidity, a programming language specific for Ethereum blockchain. The ICOs work in a volatile context and it is crucial that the team is capable of handling constant changes. The Agile methods, proven practices enabling to develop software in presence of changing requirements, could be a means for managing uncertainty. The main goals of this work are to understand software engineering activities related to ICOs, recognize the ICOs developed using Agile methods, and make a comparison between ICOs and Agile ICOs. In addition, we perform a deeper analysis of Agile ICOs concerning project planning, software development, and code features. Our work shows that the roles of the people involved in an ICO can be compared to the typical roles of the SCRUM methodology. The majority of Agile ICOs use tool of testing before storing smart contract on blockchain. Finally, the application of volumetric and complexity software metrics shows that the files of Agile ICOs is on average shorter and less complex than in other smart contracts.
Ramón Alcarria, Borja Bordel, Tomás Robles, Diego R. MartÃn · 5 authors
Resource consumption in residential areas requires novel contributions in the field of consumer information management and collaborative mechanisms for the exchange of resources, in order to optimize the overall consumption of the community. We propose an authorization system to facilitate access to consumer information and resource trading, based on blockchain technology. Our proposal is oriented to the Smart communities, an evolution of Community Energy Management Systems, in which communities are involved in the monitoring and coordination of resource consumption. The proposed environment allows a more reliable management of monitoring and authorization functions, with secure data access and storage and delegation of controller functions among householders. We provide the definition of virtual assets for energy and water resource sharing as an auction, which encourages the optimization of global consumption and saves resources. The proposed solution is implemented and validated in application scenarios that demonstrate the suitability of the defined consensus mechanism, trustworthiness in the level of provided security for resource monitoring and delegation and reduction on resource consumption by the resource trading contribution.
Tomás Robles, Borja Bordel, Ramón Alcarria, Diego Sánchez-de-Rivera
Blockchain enables the creation of distributed ledgers as a type of database that is shared, replicated, and synchronized among the members of a network. In this paper we analyze how distributed ledgers can be used for empowering end-users to self-manage their own data, enabling third parties to access those data under a cryptographic management model. We propose a use case where both blockchain and smart contracts are employed by using cryptographic technology to enable user empowerment of data management in AmI. Finally, we analyze strengths and weaknesses of the proposed scenario.
Cryptocurrency has been a trending topic over the past decade, pooling tremendous technological power and attracting investments valued over trillions of dollars on a global scale. The cryptocurrency technology and its network have been endowed with many superior features due to its unique architecture, which also determined its worldwide efficiency, applicability and data intensive characteristics. This paper introduces and summarises the interactions between two significant concepts in the digitalized world, i.e., cryptocurrency and Big Data. Both subjects are at the forefront of technological research, and this paper focuses on their convergence and comprehensively reviews the very recent applications and developments after 2016. Accordingly, we aim to present a systematic review of the interactions between Big Data and cryptocurrency and serve as the one stop reference directory for researchers with regard to identifying research gaps and directing future explorations.
Blockchain and Tangle are data structures used to create an immutable public record of data insured by a network of peer-to-peer participants who maintain a set of constantly growing data records known as ledgers. Blockchain and Tangle technologies are a decentralized solution that guarantees the exchange of large amounts of trusted messages, among billions of connected IoT devices, which are very valuable as they are valid and complete. This highly encrypted and secure peer-to-peer messaging mechanism is adopted in this project to manage the processing of IoT transactions and the coordination between the devices that interact with the process. To maintain private transactions, secure and trustless, the distributed consensus algorithms are responsible for validating and choosing transactions and recording them in the global ledger. The results showed that the speed of the consensus algorithms can affect the creation in real time of reliable stories that track the events of the IoT networks. After incorporating Complex Event Processing that allows selecting only those high level events, it is possible to get an improvement in many situations. The result is a Middleware system that provides a framework for the construction of large-scale computer applications that use Complex Events Processing and different decentralized ledgers such as the blockchain of Ethereum or IOTA Tangle, for secure data storage.
Blockchain has emerged as a decentralized and trustable ledger for recording and storing digital transactions. The mining process of Blockchain, however, incurs a heavy computational workload for miners to solve the proof-of-work puzzle (i.e., a series of the hashing computation), which is prohibitive from the perspective of the mobile terminals (MTs). The advanced multi-access mobile edge computing (MEC), which enables the MTs to offload part of the computational workloads (for solving the proof-of-work) to the nearby edge-servers (ESs), provides a promising approach to address this issue. By offloading the computational workloads via multi-access MEC, the MTs can effectively increase their successful probabilities when participating in the mining game and gain the consequent reward (i.e., winning the bitcoin). However, as a compensation to the ESs which provide the computational resources to the MTs, the MTs need to pay the ESs for the corresponding resource-acquisition costs. Thus, to investigate the trade-off between obtaining the computational resources from the ESs (for solving the proof-of-work) and paying for the consequent cost, we formulate an optimization problem in which the MTs determine their acquired computational resources from different ESs, with the objective of maximizing the MTs' social net-reward in the mining process while keeping the fairness among the MTs. In spite of the non-convexity of the formulated problem, we exploit its layered structure and propose efficient distributed algorithms for the MTs to individually determine their optimal computational resources acquired from different ESs. Numerical results are provided to validate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms and the performance of our proposed multi-access MEC for Blockchain.
Avelino F. Zorzo, Henry C. Nunes, Roben Castagna Lunardi, Regio A. Michelin · 5 authors
In the last few years, novel approaches for using blockchain to solve Internet of Things (IoT) security and dependability issues have been proposed. Currently, different solutions were applied to Smart Homes, Smart Cities, Smart Grids, Supply Chains, Industry, and Vehicular Networks scenarios. Despite of that, the main advantages on the adoption of different architectures, models and algorithms proposed in the state of art of blockchain in IoT scenarios are not yet clear. This paper presents some discussion about the usage of blockchain technology in IoT environments and proposes a layer model of blockchains for IoT. In addition, we present an overview of the latest research regarding network architectures, consensus algorithms, data management, and applications. Finally, this paper presents open issues and future trends about blockchain in IoT.
A blockchain is a decentralized, disseminated and digital ledger that can’t be altered retroactively without modifying every single blocks and the consensus of the network. Blockchain can be used in smart contracts, Banks, IoT devices, Database management, etc., Due to recent times flaws and leakage of Aadhaar information (Aadhaar which is the largest government databases of the Indian citizens) in Internet the security and privacy of Aadhaar became questionable. In order to ensure the security of Aadhaar, Blockchain has the potential to overcome security and privacy challenges in Aadhaar. In this project we are going to create a Blockchain for Aadhaar database and implement light weight algorithm for efficiency, optimization and scalability along with the Blockchain securing algorithm.
Cryptocurrencies and their foundation technology, the Blockchain, are reshaping finance and economics, allowing a decentralized approach enabling trusted applications with no trusted counterpart. More recently, the Blockchain and the programs running on it, called Smart Contracts, are also finding more and more applications in all fields requiring trust and sound certifications. Some people have come to the point of saying that the "Blockchain revolution" can be compared to that of the Internet and the Web in their early days. As a result, all the software development revolving around the Blockchain technology is growing at a staggering rate. The feeling of many software engineers about such huge interest in Blockchain technologies is that of unruled and hurried software development, a sort of competition on a first-come-first-served basis which does not assure neither software quality, nor that the basic concepts of software engineering are taken into account. This paper tries to cope with this issue, proposing a software development process to gather the requirement, analyze, design, develop, test and deploy Blockchain applications. The process is based on several Agile practices, such as User Stories and iterative and incremental development based on them. However, it makes also use of more formal notations, such as some UML diagrams describing the design of the system, with additions to represent specific concepts found in Blockchain development. The method is described in good detail, and an example is given to show how it works.
Every year lakhs of students graduating from different university, after passing from university different students have different plans. All students who graduated will have different certificate such as marksheets, degree certificate, best performance certificate and etc. Some students have plans to get employed in companies or to do higher studies. Wherever students go they need submit the certificate for important reference. Due to lack of anti-forge mechanism some started to forge the certificate to get the employed or for further steps. In the digital certificate verification based on blockchain done only for the degree certificates. In the proposing system along with the degree certificate entire personality and behaviour activities of the person using personal id will be uploaded in blockchain. Because of unmodifiable property it is stored in block chain. Initially the student request for the e-certificate by uploading certificate or personal id to electronic certificate system. If requesting for e-cert then the system will review certificate from the university or schools or from organization and get the assurance and store the serial number and e-certificate to the block chain. The system will be generating the QR code and send it to the user. when applying for company user will send only the certificate serial number and QR code received from the e-certificate company. Â
Mustafa Al-Bassam, Alberto Sonnino, Vitalik Buterin
Light clients, also known as Simple Payment Verification (SPV) clients, are\nnodes which only download a small portion of the data in a blockchain, and use\nindirect means to verify that a given chain is valid. Typically, instead of\nvalidating block data, they assume that the chain favoured by the blockchain's\nconsensus algorithm only contains valid blocks, and that the majority of block\nproducers are honest. By allowing such clients to receive fraud proofs\ngenerated by fully validating nodes that show that a block violates the\nprotocol rules, and combining this with probabilistic sampling techniques to\nverify that all of the data in a block actually is available to be downloaded,\nwe can eliminate the honest-majority assumption, and instead make much weaker\nassumptions about a minimum number of honest nodes that rebroadcast data. Fraud\nand data availability proofs are key to enabling on-chain scaling of\nblockchains (e.g. via sharding or bigger blocks) while maintaining a strong\nassurance that on-chain data is available and valid. We present, implement, and\nevaluate a novel fraud and data availability proof system.\n
Today, the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in all aspects of life is increasing exponentially. Our cities are getting smarter and informing us about our surroundings in a contextual manner. However, we face significant challenges in deploying, managing, and collecting data from these devices. In addition, we must address the problem of storing and mining that data for higher-quality IoT services. Blockchain technology, even in today's nascent form, has the potential to be the foundation for a common, distributed, trustless, and autonomous infrastructure system. This article describes a standardized IoT infrastructure where data are stored on a distributed storage service that is fault-tolerant and resistant to distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks and data access is managed by a decentralized, trustless blockchain. The illustrated system used LoRa as the emerging network technology, Swarm as the distributed data storage platform, and Ethereum as the blockchain platform. Such a data back end will ensure high availability with minimal security risks while replacing traditional back-end systems with a single "smart contract".
Today, the number of IoT devices in all aspects of life is exponentially increasing. The cities we are living in are getting smarter and informing us about our surroundings in a contextual manner. However, there lay significant challenges of deploying, managing and collecting data from these devices, in addition to the problem of storing and mining that data for higher-quality IoT services. Blockchain technology, even in today's nascent form, contains the pillars to create a common, distributed, trustless and autonomous infrastructure system. This paper describes a standardized IoT infrastructure; where data is stored on a DDOS-resistant, fault-tolerant, distributed storage service and data access is managed by a decentralized, trustless blockchain. The illustrated system used LoRa as the emerging network technology, Swarm as the distributed data storage and Ethereum as the blockchain platform. Such a data backend will ensure high availability with minimal security risks while replacing traditional backend systems with a single "smart contract".
The success of blockchain as the underlying technology for cryptocurrencies has opened up possibilities for its use in other application domains as well. The main advantages of blockchain for its potential use in other domains are its inherent security mechanisms and immunity to different attacks. A blockchain relies on a consensus method for agreeing on any new data. Most of the consensus methods which are currently used for the blockchain of different cryptocurrencies require high computational power and thus are not apt for resource constrained systems.
In this article, we discuss and survey the various blockchain based consensus methods that are applicable to resource constrained IoT devices and networks. A typical IoT network consists of several devices which have limited computational and communications capabilities. Most often, these devices cannot perform the intensive computations and are starved for bandwidth. Therefore, we discuss the possible measures that can be taken to reduce the computational power and convergence time for the underlying consensus methods. We also discuss some of the alternatives to the public blockchain like private blockchain and tangle, and their potential adoption for IoT networks. Furthermore, we discuss the existing consensus methods and blockchain implementations and explore the possibility of utilizing them to realize a blockchain based IoT network. Some of the open research challenges are also put forward.
The success of blockchain as the underlying technology for cryptocurrencies has opened up possibilities for its use in other application domains as well. The main advantages of blockchain for its potential use in other domains are its inherent security mechanisms and immunity to different attacks. A blockchain relies on a consensus method for agreeing on any new data. Most of the consensus methods which are currently used for the blockchain of different cryptocurrencies require high computational power and thus are not apt for resource-constrained systems. In this article, we discuss and survey the various blockchain based consensus methods that are applicable to resource constrained IoT devices and networks. A typical IoT network consists of several devices which have limited computational and communications capabilities. Most often, these devices cannot perform intensive computations and are starved for bandwidth. Therefore, we discuss the possible measures that can be taken to reduce the computational power and convergence time for the underlying consensus methods. We also talk about some of the alternatives to the public blockchain like private blockchain and tangle, along with their potential adoption for IoT networks. Furthermore, we review the existing consensus methods that have been implemented and explore the possibility of utilizing them to realize a blockchain based IoT network. Some of the open research challenges are also put forward.
Rohit Mital, Jack de La Beaujardiere, Rohan Mital, Marge Cole · 5 authors
With the thrust towards multi-sensor satellite architectures for earth and space exploration, such as constellations and swarms, new technologies are required to enable the transition to this future capability. One of the areas of interest is establishing secure, efficient and prioritized data and command communication pathways among ground and space-based sources for such systems. This paper presents early research results on the potential role, capabilities and value of blockchain usage within constellation and swarm satellite architectures. It demonstrates the use of blockchain's smart contract and distributed ledger capabilities for secure and prioritized multi-sensor satellite collaborative data exchanges, as well as the logging and tracking of command and control events. Adapting and utilizing this emerging technology will aid in addressing technology gaps expected from future constellation flight architectures, such as managing collective computational operations (correlation), dynamic and autonomous observation planning, time-critical events, and provenance tied to ground and space-based autonomous operations and control recordkeeping. In this scenario blockchain is applied in encrypted command transmittal to multiple, yet specific, entities enabling acknowledgement transmittals, performance scalability, and automatic event-based triggering.
Marko Hölbl, Marko Kompara, Aida Kamišalić, Lili Nemec Zlatolas
Blockchain technology enables a decentralized and distributed environment with no need for a central authority. Transactions are simultaneously secure and trustworthy due to the use of cryptographic principles. In recent years, blockchain technology has become very trendy and penetrated different domains, mostly due to the popularity of cryptocurrencies. One field where blockchain technology has tremendous potential is healthcare, due to the need for a more patient-centric approach to healthcare systems and to connect disparate systems and increase the accuracy of electronic healthcare records (EHRs). In this systematic review, an analysis of state-of-the-art blockchain research in the field of healthcare is conducted. The aim is to reveal the potential applications of the technology and to highlight the challenges and possible directions of blockchain research in healthcare. First, background information is discussed, followed by a description of the exact methodology used in this paper. Next, an analysis of the results is given, which includes a bibliometric overview, an analysis of gathered data and its properties, and the results of a literature quality assessment. Lastly, there is a discussion of the results from the analysis. The findings indicate that blockchain technology research in healthcare is increasing and it is mostly used for data sharing, managing health records and access control. Other scenarios are very rare. Most research is aimed at presenting novel structural designs in the form of frameworks, architectures or models. Findings also show that technical details about the used blockchain elements are not given in most of the analyzed publications and that most research does not present any prototype implementation or implementation details. Often even with a prototype implementation, no details about blockchain elements are given.