AlkylVM: A Virtual Machine for Smart Contract Blockchain Connected Internet of Things

Abstract

Blockchain technology and the application of smart contracts allow for automation of verifiable digital processes between any number of parties. The Internet of Things (IoT) has seen great potential in the past decade to revolutionise our day-to-day lives with the aim of automating physical processes by incorporating Internet-connected devices into commodities. By integrating the IoT with blockchain systems and smart contracts it is possible to provide verifiable automation of physical processes involving different parties. The challenge lies in that due to resource constraints, many of the computational devices used within the IoT are not capable of directly interacting with blockchain implementations. In this paper, we describe and give a reference design and implementation of a split-virtual machine, AlkylVM, which allows for resource constrained IoT devices to interact with blockchain systems.