I have two questions, kindly comment them:
1. What's the advantage to use blockchain in IoT, we can do it well without blockchain and some companies already have solutions of IoT, e.g. smart home, smart grid.
Company located in China:
http://www.shuncom.com/plus/list.php?tid=2582. Do you have a plan to build a company which will focus on IoT solutions.
Thanks for the questions and it is great to see your interest in GadgetCoin.
We started to work on the solution in July and IBM announced something similar on 7 September, which was a very encouraging feedback. To think that IBM are having the same trains of thought as us indicated that we are indeed going in the right direction. We were trying to find a solution for an existing problem and IBM thought a block chain enabled solution is perfect for hardware management because one relatively simple, easy to use and flexible application can handle device
a) Security
b) Configuration
c) Provisioning
d) Firmware upgrade
e) Payment services
To answer your question of why we believe that a blockchain application is the correct infrastructure to address IoT requirements, we think a blockchain architecture system could dramatically simplify the security, configuration, provisioning, firmware upgrade and payment service aspects of device management. Currently there are closed source, bespoke applications for each of the aforementioned tasks – the GadgetCoin system will provide users users with tools to address all requirements using one relatively simple concept and system.
The GadgetCoin smart contract application is lot more than a simple hardware control i.e. opening a garage door. A better use case is to open a security vault that is described in our white paper. Using this technology allows a more secure and simplified hardware management. As we speak there are dozens or perhaps hundreds of bespoke systems being designed, all of them using a custom written technology. What IBM and we are trying to achieve is to provide hardware integrators with an application that can handle the most challenging aspects of device management. IBM wouldn't enter into the business if there was no potential for a multibillion dollar market. I understand that we should not pull numbers like this multibillion dollar market from the air, but there will be 50 billion internet connected devices by 2020 and all of those devices need an application that addresses security, configuration, provisioning and upgrade requirements. Without addressing these requirements none of these devices can operate. Therefore, IBM came to the conclusion just like we did, that perhaps the most ingenious invention of the last decade - the block chain - and smart contracts could address all those requirements.
The beauty of blockchain and smart contracts from device management viewpoint that its underlying PPKI (public-private key infrastructure) security enables an elegant and robust security policy implementation on devices. Even application development that must comply with complex security standards like HIPAA could be dramatically simplified using the GadgetCoin blockchain enabled, smart contract system.
Apart from the security company we mentioned in this thread, we have signed a partnership agreement with a medical device manufacturer and it seems our application will be used to manage the full life cycle of their wearable medical device. The block chain technology would mean the wearer of the device can be authenticated by their doctor as they are on the same peer to peer private network. The data is fully encrypted with the PPKI keys, meaning that it is protected from any malicious and external threats. Then comes the provisioning aspect – each device must be assigned to a patient by the doctor, and then re-assigned on a constant basis if there is a leasing model in place. Smart contracts handle this aspect easily. After this another complex business problem presents itself – firmware updates. How do you update thousands of devices that are deployed with the touch of a button? Again, smart contract technology does this without making it a logistical nightmare. Then comes authentication, the peer to peer network for the clinic or the doctor has to be secure and private enough to transmit medical data. The need for complex server infrastructure is bypassed with our solution. The resulting combination of factors gives this technology alone the potential to revolutionize the data transfer of modern medicine – it all comes down to hardware integration.
Please refer to our white paper for more information on how GadgetCoin aims to address IoT requirements.
As for the question about building a business, yes absolutely, the developers aim to build a business to offer application development, consultancy and infrastructure services for GadgetCoin hardware integrator businesses.
As for the company in China, yes we are aware of many IoT companies but none of them offers such comprehensive solution what GadgetCoin will, not even Thingworx nor Xively which are large publicly listed companies.
