The month of August has seen several developments in the integration of blockchain and IoT that have included separate initiatives of Chronicled, Terepac and the Isle of Man government.
This week, San Francisco-based startup Chronicled announced the launch of its Open Registry for IoT as a step forward in the growth and interoperability of consumer IoT. Sitting on the Ethereum blockchain, the registry stores the identities of physical items, such as consumer goods and collectibles embedded with BLE and NFC microchips.
The registry provides secure, interoperable digital identities of goods and makes new, proximity-based consumer engagement opportunities become possible. Chronicled has open sourced the project under the Apache License, and is collaborating with ecosystem partners that include Ambisafe, Blue Bite, Cellotape, Identiv, Origin Labs, Silicon Labs, SmartTrac, and Viper Design.
In Canada, agile technology company Terepac Corporation revealed a partnership with a startup called Nuco to use blockchain technology to roll out a suite of services that provide secure communications among IoT devices. Terepac has developed devices for detecting leaks in water systems, monitoring moored vessels, and wireless sensors that enable remote monitoring of equipment.
The new service, Terepac Blockchain Data Reliance as a Service, will use blockchain technology to ensure the data is reliable and trustworthy without requiring third party verification. Toronto-based Nuco was set up in June 2016 by three former members of Deloitte's Rubix blockchain division.
Earlier in the month, the government of the Isle of Man disclosed that it plans to develop a blockchain platform that will permit identification and authentication of IoT devices. To achieve a Proof of Concept and perhaps beyond, the Isle of Man has partnered with Credits, a blockchain platform provider based in London's Level 39 accelerator. The Manx government hopes to test whether the blockchain can provide a secure environment for everyday objects, "from watches to washing machines", to be brought online.