Brandenburger Tor
Nov. 15–16, 2018 – Fraunhofer FOKUS, Berlin, Germany

Blockchain IoT-Broker

Blockchain-based Asset Management

Blockchain is the digital and decentralized ledger that records all transactions tamper-proof and verifiable. Blockchain and related technologies will play a crucial role in digitization. But can it also help to keep sensitive physical assets safely, such as contracts or medicines, whether stationary or mobile in logistics?

Within this demonstrator we illustrate the safekeeping of assets in a smart security box using the decentralized Hyperledger blockchain as a superordinate layer for the secure asset management and IoT technologies to control the box and connect to sensors.

For the practical demonstration, a smart, lockable cabinet was designed as security box, which communicates with the blockchain on the basis of the single-board computer Raspberry Pi that acts as IoT gateway. Vibrations and environmental data are registered by the gateway and dynamically recorded in the blockchain infrastructure where data is protected against data tampering. This allows, for example, to register an unauthorized opening attempt.

An NFC-enabled smartphone is used to authenticate with the security box and unlock it. A smartphone application serves as the central management tool of the user. It interacts with the box to query data of the box via NFC and to communicate with both the blockchain and the IoT gateway. The required access rights are previously assigned and managed via smart contracts in the blockchain.

The prototypical implementation can be transferred to a wide range of applications, such as car and bike sharing or IoT marketplaces.