Zou Chuanwei: In-depth analysis of "blockchain + Internet of Things" and new infrastructure

Original title: zouchuanwei: in-depth analysis of the "blockchain + Internet of things" and new infrastructure | cloud atlas trend of thought

Original text by: & NBSP; PlatON, Wanxiang Blockchain Chief economist Zou Chuanwei & NBSP;

According to the definition of "new infrastructure" by the National Development and Reform Commission, block chain belongs to new technology infrastructure, while Internet of Things belongs to communication network infrastructure. As a representative of the "new infrastructure", what sparks may be generated between the blockchain and the Internet of Things, and what hardware and software support is required? This is the question of this article.

The core issue of "blockchain + Internet of Things"

Blockchain has the functions of information Internet and value Internet, and corresponds to the two application directions of blockchain. Moreover, it has many combination points with the Internet of Things.

Block chain is applied to supply chain management, anti-counterfeiting, precise traced poverty alleviation, health, food safety and public welfare and social relief scenes, mainly block chain as the function of the information on the Internet, sharing books is used to record blocks outside the chain of the flow of goods, medicine, food and money, let the upstream and downstream, the different link check each other, through the information "islands", make the whole process management.If the information outside the blockchain cannot be guaranteed to be true and accurate at the source and in the writing process, writing inside the blockchain only means that the information cannot be tampered with, without improving the true accuracy of the information. Therefore, the core problem to be solved in this application direction is how to make the out-of-chain information fidelity on the chain.

As the Internet of value, blockchain involves the transfer of assets and risks. Value comes from real-world assets and is linked to tokens within the blockchain through economic mechanisms. Blockchain plays the role of financial infrastructure, with the advantages of transaction namely settlement, automatic and intelligent clearing. With the development of the central bank's digital currency and stability currency, the application scenario of blockchain as the Internet of value will be more and more abundant.

"Blockchain + Internet of Things" needs to discuss the following core issues:

First, how does the data generated by iot devices link up? How to guarantee the authenticity and accuracy of these data in the source and link?

Second, data analysis methods and application scenarios in "Blockchain + Internet of Things".

Third, can Internet of Things devices participate in digital currency transactions and invoke intelligent contracts within the blockchain?

The feasibility of "blockchain + Internet of Things"

Internet of Things devices constantly acquire data such as geographical location, temperature and humidity, speed and height from surrounding areas. Internet of Things data source distortion, at the end of the main two types of attack means.

The first is to steal the physical device, tamper with its internal and external connections, and make it collect wrong data and mistake it for correct data and upload it (refer to uploading to the cloud or block chain, the same below).

The second is to steal device keys, crack communication and authentication mechanisms, logically impersonate devices that actually exist, or forge devices that don't exist, and upload forged data. Accordingly, there are two types of anti-attack methods. The first is physical security, such as the use of detachable housing and installation measures that self-destruct or alarm. The second is through the security element (SE) and trusted execution environment (TEE) and other technologies, sensitive information such as the secret key is properly protected, especially so that each device's secret key is not the same, even if a device is cracked, it is not helpful to crack another device.

From the perspective of Internet of Things devices actually deployed at present, the security protection level of devices involving the financial sector or countries with mandatory regulations is relatively high. Consumer devices have limited security, but they are not easily cracked by the average person. Therefore, the true accuracy of iot data at source is guaranteed to a considerable extent.

As long as wireless communication module is installed, Internet of Things devices can realize wireless communication and become wireless Internet of things devices. The so-called wireless communication module, essentially wireless communication of the main chip, and peripheral radio frequency, power and shielding components, such as shielding, welded to the printed circuit board.

Internet of Things devices have two ways of integrating wireless communication modules. The first is the MCU (microcontroller or upper computer) design. The whole Internet of Things device is centered on MCU, and the wireless communication module only serves as the communication channel of MCU. The second is the "Open CPU" design. Wireless communication modules open necessary software interfaces to iot devices so that the latter's business processing software can run in the former's processor.

Whether it's an MCU design or an "Open CPU," the computing, storage, and networking capabilities of Iot devices will vary greatly depending on the software and hardware.

First, most Iot devices are capable of running blockchain computations such as hash algorithms and public-private key signatures. At present, the processor of wireless communication module is based on ARM, risC-V is developing rapidly. Processors range from single-core tens of MHz to eight-core two GHz and even those with Gpus.

Second, iot device manufacturers select different devices according to specific application scenarios to realize different network connectivity capabilities, ranging from those that occasionally transmit a small amount of data to those that continuously transmit data at a high speed. For example, the on-board Telematics BOX typically USES a medium-performance MCU, or a 4G module for the CAT.4 or Cat.1, rather than a GPU. Even without blockchain, Internet of Things data will still go to the cloud. The increased traffic on the chain is generally much less than the data on the cloud itself. And because blockchain capacity is limited, iot data is linked in many cases as hash summaries rather than raw data, with less traffic added.

Thirdly, the behavior of wireless communication modules is preprogrammed and deterministic. Internet of Things devices can participate in digital currency transactions and invoke intelligent contracts within the blockchain as long as the module software is designed to automatically initiate transactions on the chain based on specific trigger conditions. For example, the driverless taxi can automatically find charging piles to charge the car. After the driverless taxi finds the charging pile, it carries out information exchange through the data line on the charging plug. The driverless taxi first tells the charging pile that it needs to charge a degree of electricity, and the charging pile feedback that it needs to pay B digital currency to its address XXX. The driverless taxi initiates the transfer transaction of B digital currencies according to the payment requirement of the charging pile as the trigger condition, and then transfers the transaction voucher (such as the hash summary of the transfer transaction). Check whether the charging pile arrives on the chain, and charge the driverless taxi if it arrives. All of this can be done programmatically.

Fourthly, the storage capacity of different Iot devices varies greatly, ranging from tens of kB to tens of GB. Depending on the storage performance, some iot data can be stored on iot devices, and some iot data can be uploaded to the cloud. On the data chain, a small amount of structured data can be directly written into the block chain, and most of the data is linked in the form of hash summary. In the analysis of Internet of Things data, due to the limitation of computing performance on the block chain, complex analysis is generally not conducted through the intelligent contract in the block chain, but mainly under the chain.

The first is the cloud, especially when the analysis algorithm is complex and the data uploading and data analysis are conducted asynchronously or with a large time difference. The second is edge calculation. After data are collected at the end of iot devices, near-field or other local communication methods are adopted to transmit the data to the edge, and the edge will upload the analyzed information to the cloud. Finally, if the data does not leave the local device of the Internet of Things, it is generally combined with federated learning or multi-party secure computing to realize the data does not go out, but the information can be controlled out. In these data analysis scenarios, the blockchain primarily provides an interface for querying the data on the chain (that is, a hash summary of the original data or the results of the analysis).

Based on the above analysis, most of the Internet of Things can run hash algorithm and public-private key signature operation. Internet of Things data is mainly stored in the cloud and local devices of the Internet of Things. A small amount of structured data can be directly written into the block chain, and most of the data is linked in the form of hash summary. The security measures of iot devices can guarantee the true accuracy of data source to a certain extent. Automatic data link, reduce human intervention, help to ensure the true accuracy of data link link. The data link of the Internet of Things in the upstream and downstream as well as in different links can also be verified to a certain extent to ensure the true accuracy of the data link. The analysis of Internet of Things data is mainly conducted under the chain, including cloud, edge and local channels of Internet of Things devices. The blockchain basically provides an interface for querying the data on the chain. As long as programmable design is done for the application scenario, iot devices can participate in digital currency transactions and invoke intelligent contracts within the blockchain.

A basic requirement for the combination of "blockchain + Internet of Things" is to introduce a unique ID, or digital identity (public and private keys), to iot devices through modules or more complex chip technology, which can not be tampered with in the underlying hardware. The IDS of iot devices are widely used in iot data recording, cloud, on-chain and digital currency transactions. In this way, data storage, transmission and mining, and value interaction in the Internet of Things can be conducted in a trusted manner. The function of blockchain as distributed trust infrastructure is mainly reflected in two aspects. First, improve the security and credibility of Internet of Things data, which is applicable to data existing in the cloud and local devices of the Internet of Things, as well as a small amount of data written into the blockchain. Second, it provides the infrastructure for digital currency transactions between devices connected to the Internet of Things.

The underlying innovation of "blockchain + Internet of Things"

In May 2020, Unisplendour, Wanxiang Blockchain, Molian Technology and Guanghetong jointly launched the underlying trusted digital solution based on "Internet of Things chip + blockchain" (Figure 1). This scheme revolves around Unicare's CAT.1 chip product -- Chunteng 8910DM and BoAT (Blockchain of AI Things), a Blockchain application framework independently developed by Morena Technology, which is carried on the cellular Internet of Things platform.

BoAT supports trusted data linking for Iot devices. BoAT can not only realize identification equipment chain generation and data on the chain, also support the use of cellular Internet platform security ability and the root of trust, implement equipment chain chain of data correlation verification and approval, and paid by iot machine, the Internet and networking equipment management to use assets management of the three scenarios do application test. Spring cane dm 8910 to become the world's first chain technology support blocks of the 1 bis iot chip platform, based on the spring cane 8910 dm iot devices have the ability to access block chain and call intelligent contracts, ensure the data uploaded to the cloud at the same time the data features on the value chain (mainly based on the hash chain), implement "chain - cloud" data corresponding to the trust. Based on this scheme, FIbocom launched the world's first Cat.1 block chain module, L610, which will innovate new business models in intelligent agriculture, Internet of vehicles and other industries [1].

Integrated blockchain protocol for the Internet of Things chips

conclusion

"Blockchain + Internet of Things" will play an important role in the new infrastructure.

In the near future, the number of Devices connected to the Internet of Things will far exceed the number of mobile Internet devices. Abundant economic activities will take place between devices of Internet of Things. Through the introduction of central bank digital currency and stability currency as payment tools between machines in the Internet of Things, it is helpful to realize the application scenario of machine economy. Please see the research on this issue:

Internet of Things data will far exceed Internet data, and will become an important part of the data factor market. "Blockchain + Internet of Things" will provide the security credibility of Internet of Things data, and will lay a solid foundation for the analysis and utilization of Internet of Things data.

The significance of "blockchain + Internet of Things" will go far beyond storage and traceability. Every advance in the digital migration of human society will bring new industrial changes and business opportunities. With the development of e-commerce and social media, people's behaviors in consumption and social situations can be recorded. With the support of technologies such as electronic payment and AI, a wave of fintech has been generated. Blockchain plus the Internet of Things will bring no less changes.

Note: [1] In December 2019, nine mainstream domestic manufacturers of cellular modules (Moyuan, Guanghetong, Youfang, Meige, Gao Xinxing, Moxuntong, Moke, Domo, And Lierda) jointly launched the blockchain module alliance.

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