In the previous article we covered a high level overview of blockchain and IoT taken together. In this post, we will take a closer look at three use cases for IoT on the blockchain, through different prototype implementations from three different technology companies.
Two in the list are start-ups Slock.it and Filament while one offering is from technology giant IBM.
An interesting fact is that they all have Samsung in the mix; either as partner or as investor.
Use Case: Fully Autonomous Rentals with Slock.it’s Ethereum Computer
Technology Stack: Ethereum, Ubuntu, Wireless Protocols, Swarm/IPFS for storage
Partners: Samsung, Canonical, RWE, Microsoft
We have covered Slock.it’s DAO in this series, aimed at bringing into production by 2017, a solution called the Ethereum Computer that will allow autonomous rentals on the Ethereum blockchain.
Slock.it envisions a disintermediated rental or sale use case applicable to any object such as accommodation, real estate spaces, smart devices or even spare resources such as wi-fi routers or disk space. Slock.it’s proposition for the Ethereum Computer is to bring blockchain technology into every home by activating a "Universal Sharing Network".
The role of the Ethereum computer is to act as a blockchain hub for IoT enabled devices in the vicinity. A conventional smart home hub such as Samsung’s SmartThings is designed to allow different smart objects to communicate with one another and also, function as a central controller for multiple objects. Smart home hubs are not designed for billing or payments use case.
The Ethereum Computer on the other hand, allows connected devices to communicate with the blockchain and negotiate billing smart contracts. On payment of a digital token fee, the device unlocks for use.
First demonstrated at Ethereum Devcon 1 last November, the company, in partnership with Canonical and Samsung, demonstrated a working prototype of the Ethereum Computer at Mobile World Congress in 2016.
Slock.it’s implementation at MWC consisted of a full Ethereum node on Snappy Ubuntu Core, with the complete Ethereum stack of Homestead, Mist and Whisper protocol integrated with Samsung’s Artik IoT platform. The prototype operated door locks and smart lights which were activated by completing a payment transaction on Ethereum.
Other use cases that Slock.it has described are autonomous self-renting electric vehicles. Slock.it has also partnered with RWE, a German energy company for a solution using Ethereum Computer, that will allow electric vehicles to charge from smart sockets making payments via the Ethereum blockchain. Another more futuristic use case is micro-transactions, where connected vehicles can recharge at a smart traffic light, using an embedded Ethereum Computer hub and Whisper protocol for communication.
Use Case: Machine to Machine Supply Chain for Smart Home with IBM and Samsung’s ADEPT (Autonomous Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Telemetry)
Technology Stack: IBM BlueMix, Telehash, Ethereum, BitTorrent
Partners: Samsung
At CES in January 2015, IBM and Samsung unveiled a proof of concept that demonstrated a decentralized IoT framework called ADEPT, using peer to peer messaging, file sharing (such as device logs and marketing videos) and blockchain. IBM describes the outcome as “device democracy”.
In the ADEPT prototype, three smart home use cases for self-sustaining devices using these protocols were implemented.
A smart washing machine was able to negotiate smart contracts to order detergent refill, place repair service order for a fault part under warranty and also collaborate with other devices on energy usage.
Billing and payment transaction and contract terms were made via Ethereum blockchain, while TeleHash was used for device to device communication and BitTorrent to exchange files such as diagnostic logs and marketing videos.
Billing and payment transaction and contract terms were made via Ethereum blockchain, while TeleHash was used for device to device communication and BitTorrent to exchange files such as diagnostic logs and marketing videos.
The value proposition of device democracy is to give security and privacy back in the hands of the user through trustless, peer to peer encrypted transactions between machines with blockchain at the core.
Use Case: Decentralized Industrial IoT networks using Filament’s Distributed Sensor Transactions, or DIST
Technology Stack: Filament Tap, Bitcoin, BitTorrent, TMesh (low power mesh networking), Telehash, JOSE (JSON Object Signing And Encryption contract management protocol)
Investors: Bullpen Capital, Verizon Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Samsung Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Haystack, Working Lab Capital, and Techstars
Filament is an industrial IoT solutions provider that provides drop-in decentralized wireless and radio mesh network technology to connect devices such as low power sensors. Filament has integrated its technology with Bitcoin blockchain and Telehash messaging protocol, with BitTorrent for file sharing. Describing these combined protocols as device independence in their "Declaration of Device Independence" Filament brings data sharing and micro-transactions to industrial IoT. TeleM uses Filament’s stack to create a mesh network of distributed devices on the fly.
At O’Reilly Solid Conference held in June 2015 in San Francisco, the company demonstrated use of their solution by connecting multiple Taps sensors at different locations in the Fort Mason venue. Conference participants could access information such as noise levels and ambient temperature, to identify quiet zones, using Filament’s sensor as a service payments model.
Filament’s Taps work as trans-receivers connecting low power physical assets over short range wireless or over long range radio frequencies upto a distance of 10 miles. The Telehash protocol is used for secure encrypted communication between two endpoints.
Filament uses the Bitcoin blockchain for secure device registration and identification. In addition , Filament has also built pennyback, an over the top application on the Bitcoin blockchain that will be used for micro-transactions for exchange of value, through use cases such as billing and selling data for analytics.
No comments:
Post a Comment