Advancing Innovation in Blockchain & IoT.
Chain of Things is exploring integrated blockchain+IoT solutions to solve IoT's issues with identity, security, and interoperability. We are leveraging the nexus between blockchain and IoT to deploy environmental, humanitarian, security, fraud, & efficiency related applications.
The Potential.
The Problem(s):
IoT suffers from potential systemic failures as it scales with disastrous consequences. Without an openly stress tested baseline protocol standard for trusted IoT interaction, fundamental security risks will become exponentially worse as 50-200 billion cheap connected devices come online by 2020. Conventional wisdom also suggests a standards war will fragment the industry into a series of proprietary protocol sandboxes, slowing development and pricing out many startups entering the sector. The process begins with a universal standard of device identity, which will unlock security and interoperability.
IDENTITY
"With machine-to-machine communication, how does one validate “identities” and secure data at such massive scale. In the first wave, identities related to people, in the second wave it now includes sensors and devices."
-Manufacturing Tomorrow, 2016
SECURITY
"80% of organizations agree that over the next three years, the proliferation of connected devices, the ‘Internet of Things’ and ‘Big Data’ will make them more vulnerable to a serious cyber-attack."
-The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2017
INTERPEROPABILITY
"Interoperability between IoT systems is critically important to capturing maximum value; on average, interoperability is required for 40 percent of potential value across IoT applications and by nearly 60 percent in some settings."
McKinsey Global Institute, 2016
Maru
Chain of Things (CoT) is developing Maru - a full stack integrated blockchain+IoT Hardware as a Service (HaaS) platform to address IoT's primary issues with IDENTITY, SECURITY, and INTEROPERABILITY. Maru can be utilized for a variety of brand new applications.
Why Blockchain+IoT?
It’s basically a distributed & immutable ‘Google Spreadsheet’ of devices and events. The blockchain is an evolution of the network server model in that it is a distributed database structure with a secure write-forward authentication system for adding data and without a single point of failure evident in traditional database structures. With the blockchain, any computer, server or device that participates in the network gains a copy of the ledger. These blockchain devices form the points of the network and can be described as ‘nodes’. Through nodes, users can update or input information into the ledger without going to a third party, giving much more power and flexibility to individual participants in the network.
Broader Objectives
Chain of Things has a comprehensive approach for targeting higher level industry goals that will focus and enable the business model. This process will see developmental support and advocacy for globally accepted blockchain based Internet of Things (IoT) standards of IDENTITY, SECURITY, and INTEROPERABILITY. Chain of Things does not necessarily need to establish the standards on its own, but seeks to encourage development of such standards through collaboration from developers and industrials from the global community.
The Chain of Things ‘Maru’ sensor platform, a Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS), is currently being developed to embrace these standards. Based on these new standards that allow greater trust of devices and data, brand new applications will then be developed to leverage them. These applications will be developed for corporate solutions, joint ventures, and internally developed concepts.
ESTABLISH STANDARDS
Chain of Things is pushing for the establishment of blockchain based IoT standards through collaboration with the global community. We encourage the foundation of consortiums and experimentation with practical PoCs as the best means to solve these issues in an open manner.
DEVELOP PLATFORM
To embrace these standards, Chain of Things is developing ‘Maru’ - a full stack hardware, software, and blockchain based platform that will establish strong qualities of device identity from birth as means to unlock true security and interoperability for the Internet of Things as it will establish a new level of trust in data.
DEPLOY APPLICATIONS
Once true device identity unlocks security and interoperability, a huge variety of new applications, not previously safe or accessible, will be made available for the first time. Chain of Things will pursue these applications through traditional corporate partnerships, internal innovation, and joint venture projects.
Joint Ventures
Chain of Things is currently engaged in an initial Joint Venture partnership.
Case Studies
Over the past 12 months, Chain of Things and partners have conducted case study research into various industrial IoT verticals as to better understand the practical utility of blockchain in context of IoT. These studies have facilitated conversation across industry layers and established a clearer focusing on device identity as the baseline key to unlock IoT security and interoperability.
Get Involved
If you are interested in working with Chain of Things any of the Case Studies above or if you are interested in initiating a new Case Study please fill in the form below.
Note that by default ALL of our Case Studies are open and shared with all partners within the group with the results of the Case Study made available to the public.