Use blockchain technologies efficiently and securely for industrial applications
Founding
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Motivation
The blockchain is a relatively new technology and gained worldwide attention with the advent of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. However, the blockchain is more than just the technology behind Bitcoin.
Blockchain technologies are currently initiating changes in various markets and industries whose business models, products and services are based on network transactions. Manufacturing and logistic processes are also increasingly networked in the industrial environment: machines interact autonomously with each other and exchange valuable information. Ensuring data and process integrity is of particular importance. Properties of blockchain technologies such as decentralization, the use of cryptography and consensus-based decision-making can offer advantages here.
In order to fully leverage the potential of blockchain technologies for industrial applications, there are still a number of challenges to be overcome. The complexity in developing blockchain protocols and applications is still comparatively high. For example, there are conflicting goals regarding efficiency, scalability and security that need to be resolved.
Goals and procedure
The objective of the project is to comprehensively and systematically research solutions based on blockchain technologies for industrial applications.
The project team analyzes and evaluates both the technical and the economic fundamentals. Suitable blockchain protocols and smart contracts are being examined. Smart contracts are contracts in the form of programs that are automatically executed when certain criteria are met.
Of particular importance when using smart contracts is that the interface between the data in the blockchain and the real world is implemented safely. To integrate external data into the network of a blockchain, so-called orcales are required. A central part of the project is the development of secure and trustworthy hardware-based smart oracles. The results of the project are implemented in demonstrators and evaluated with regard to their technical realization for industrial applications. They should ensure a high level of IT security and should also be cost-effective, resource-saving and scalable.
Innovations and perspectives
Blockchain technologies offer the prospect of sustainably changing and renewing business models, processes and transactions in both the industrial and public sectors. The project results will help to answer technological and economic questions that are still open from today's perspective.
