Industrial Blockchain of Things: A Solution for Trustless Industrial Data Sharing and Beyond

Abstract

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is regarded as a promising transformation technology for manufacturing industry. We expect the information flow through along the process of material flow, gauging and collective devices feed IIoT platform with essential data. AI and big data analytical techniques can then be used to process the data to support a series of decision-making. Users at both managerial and operational levels can take actions accordingly, which significantly improve management efficiency in one organization, enhance supply chain coordination, and attract investment, etc. Powerful as bigdata and AI technology, they cannot operate without data. In centralized, third-party-managed IIoT platform, few manufactures are willing to share their critical data. This study extends IIoT framework with blockchain technology to provide a solution for trustless data sharing. The solution embeds encrypted ledger to avoid credential data tampering, employs m-in-n-out smart contracts to secure data exchange, and utilizes consensus mechanism to improve cyber security. The proposed framework integrates blockchain with IIoT to operate the entire industrial data exchange in a decentralized network, namely Industrial Blockchain of Things (IBoT).