Of IOT and The Blockchain: Making Machines Communicate The Decentralized Way

in iot-blockhain •  7 years ago  (edited)

Surprise!!
Yet another Record. It’s a season of ‘fairytales’ in crypto land. Yesterday, IOTA made record has one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency ever. Added for trading to the infamous BitFinex exchange at 13:00 GMT, IOTA shot to the top 10 list hitting $1.5bn market cap in less than 2 hours.

Why is this special?
Over the past 2 articles, I’ve been putting the spotlight on some record-breaking ICOs and the amazing technologies fueling their rapid growth. Here, I will be taking a brief look at how we got here and why IOTA ushers in the dawn of something amazing.

The Dawn of IOT and 5G

IOT and 5G. Two buzzwords that have resulted in billions of dollars being spent by companies looking to either consolidate their leading positions or disrupt existing markets.

Interestingly, the two terms are my favorites. And I’ve written quite a number of articles on them in the past. If you’ve got spare time and want to dive in the rabbit hole, check out: Of 5g and Cloud Robotics: Changing Communities With Futuristic Technologies .

At the Mobile World Congress earlier this year, 2017 was dubbed the year of IOT and 5G. This was in recognition of the massive level of innovation going on in that space.

Every Thing Going Smart

Slap the ‘smart’ tag on any device and watch its price soar. But, this is beyond a fad. IOT technology enables devices to communicate with each other rendering human interference unnecessary. Business Analysts project that IOT will be worth trillions of dollars in few years to come becoming the largest device market.

Perhaps the greatest reason why multi-billion dollar companies like Amazon, IBM and other have invested into this tech is that it reduce cost and helps massively scale production.

From Barcode scanners in retail markets to use cases in the medical industry, IOT applications can be used cut costs, reduce human errors and automate inefficiencies.

How IOT has evolved

Ways Blockchain Improves IOT


At first, one would be surprised at how an advanced tech can help improve another constantly-revolving technology. But like in previous articles, a little research will reveal that the blockchain technology can be applied to all other industries and tech due to unique qualities – transparency, interoperability and cryptographically secure.

ADEPT in communication

One of the foundations of IOT tech was the propagation of machine to machine peer communication. However, in doing this, a centralized point is needed to coordinate this communication. Blockchain can help change this.

It was this that spurred IBM and Samsung to co-build the private blockchain, Autonomous Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Telemetry. Built on existing BitTorrent, Ethereum smart contract, and a peer to peer messaging platform Telehash, ADEPT makes it easy for devices to communicate with one another without needed any central hub. For example, Samsung smart devices can communicate with nearby devices to accentuate efficiencies.

The IBM Watson IOT Platform with blockchain also helps tracks automated peer to peer transfer of data in a secured manner. It can be effectively used in keeping logs and speeding the supply chain.
Filament also raised quite a large sum of money to make communication seamless between devices through a sensor package called Tap.

Ensuring Cyber Security


With billions of projected IOT-enabled devices in the foreseeable future, it is highly likely that there will be security breaches. Already, researchers are already positing that IOT devices should expect massive DDOS attacks soon.

The existence of several IOT protocols and the centralized nature also gives cyber-attacks on IOT devices higher chances of being successful.

Instead of something like this (as portrayed by datafloq)

Blockchain can create something like this making decentralized peer to peer communication possible: .

Startups like HYPR and Telstra are solving these IOT potential security risks by using blockchain apps to provide password-less authentication and identity protection management.

Other Use Cases

M2M Data Monetization like in the case of TilePay; Supply chain management like the case of Chain of Shipping (created by the Chain of Things consortium) are some of the numerous use cases of IOT-blockchain combination.

What’s IOTA?

IOTA is an open-source distributed ledger protocol that goes 'beyond blockchain' through its core invention of the blockless ‘Tangle’. The IOTA Tangle is a quantum-proof Directed Acyclic Graph, with no fees on transactions & no fixed limit on how many transactions can be confirmed per second in the network. Instead, throughput grows in conjunction with activity in the network; the more activity, the faster the network. Unlike blockchain architecture, IOTA has no separation between users and validators; rather, validation is an intrinsic property of using the ledger, thus avoiding centralization. IOTA is initially focused on serving as the backbone of the emerging Internet-of-Things (IoT).

For visual learners:

What’s special about this?

Blockchain less?
The idea of a blockchain less based coin ain't a new idea. Coins like BYTEball make no blocks and instead rely on substitutes like DAG (Directed Acrylic Graph) as used by the Tangle too.

Or No fees?
With increasing rise in transaction fees, it’s quite normal for people to seek for no-fees based cryptocurrencies. Coins like XRB are receiving more interest due to the attendant surge of IOTA too.

But IOTA is beyond that, it packs all these nice qualities plus a couple more (like scalability and enabling micropayments) in an interesting manner aiming to improve a revolutionary technology: Internet of Things.

With a total supply of 2779Ti of IOTAs, the tangle is built to be lightweight and fast. Exactly what is needed for a seamless M2M communication.

Conclusion


Both IOT and Blockchain(less) technology are in their nascent stages. It’s expected that there will be attendant challenges like security, legal issues, and computational costs.

However, with all conviction, IOT is the future. And when decentralized Internet of Things and decentralized ledger meet, many more fairytales will be birthed.

It will interesting to see how many more use cases develop from this marriage and if truly they meet the goal of truly making the world a better place to live.

Sources:
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IOT and 5G will both be tremendous for Cooperative Agorism.

It won't be long frankly, before "blockchains" become normal and even considered part of the old guard.

I COMPLETELY agree. I wouldn't be surprised if blockchains become normalized within the next few years, as well as the IOT. We're already seeing huge strides on both fronts. Definitely upvoted and followed @infovore and @the-ego-is-you. Keep up the great work!

The new Internet!! And it's just slowly gaining mass adoption.

Very interesting post .. there is a prediction that by around 2030 there will be more devices generated internet traffic entering our homes than human generated. Blockchain brings in interesting possibilities to IOT. Sounds like a cool marriage..

Thanks for sharing ..

Spot on. Year 2000 sci-fi is the future's possibility.

Wait, so you're saying my "smart" underwear, isn't so special after all?!

cat-meme-i-cannot-brain-today-dumb.jpg

Aha! As long as it can convert farts' energy to mine e-gold!

I agree, I also can't deal with today...

currently down almost 20% LOL

No crypto is permanently dead. What goes down goes up

Thanks for the info, does sound very promising! Does this mean it would make blockchain coins like Steem eventually redundant?

Funnily enough i thought IoT wouldn't work all that well with traditional blockchains, and there here it is - IOTA. Pretty impressive stuff, certainly interested to see how it plays out widescale. Security is still a big issue for the tech.. Have you gotten any yourself?

Yeah. Got mine a.couple of months ago. Im fascinated with the tech

Thanks for that one - I am in IOTA, let us see how it will perform

Looking forward to that too.

And when decentralized Internet of Things and decentralized ledger meet, many more fairytales will be birthed.

This. Much like in the industrial revolution we could not fathom the possibilities of Steel + engine, right now we are witnessing something that even our wildest imagination will fail to grasp.

And it's all like a dream. Slowly, we're getting used to see innovation we never thought we would see a few years ago.

Indeed. Almost like a sci-fi future.

Great post! Some very interesting things are going on in the blockchain space!

Really.. Really interesting space.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

AI,IOT and Blockchain are going to change the way we interact and will come with technologically advanced devices , a complete paradigm shift is expected because of this great inventions.

i was thing same you. i hope future will light with IOTA

@infovore, this is innovation at its best. The good thing with knowing about these ICOs investing early is that you can grow with the success and thus make lots of money. On the other hand, things can move in the negetive direction hence due dilligence is needed.Very good post -keep it up. Following you for more.

Thanks for the follow. You're right. Everything is all risky in the crypto world. Massive gains. Massive losses

You are welcome, thanks for your comment and keep up the good posts...more success. Dont forget to keep in touch

Its a big deal my friends! Everything will be connected to internet, even your clothing.

thank you for this layout. i bought IOTA, and it is wonderful to understand a lot more with this post. cheers!

However, with all conviction, IOT is the future. And when decentralized Internet of Things and decentralized ledger meet, many more fairytales will be birthed.

We look forward to see more of innovations. Very interesting ☺️

whoa 0 transaction fees sound nice, I've got to look into this. Is it on the poloniex exchange yet? Thanks again for posting!

that "FREE" part has my full attention; am jotting it down now

I said the same thing haha 😂

yet only bitfinex ...

Got it! Thanks!

This is very promising

Congratulations @infovore!
Your post was mentioned in my hit parade in the following categories:

  • Upvotes - Ranked 10 with 659 upvotes
  • Pending payout - Ranked 2 with $ 1742,89

lol theres so many IMG_2758.PNG

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

This is a beginning of a new era gentlemen. Settle down.Wait.And...

its still the beginning of crypto era, still long way to go. it could beyond our imagination few years later :)

no doubt about it ! but eventually that what's gonna happen anyways . With our development we are capable of consuming more and more 😉

hope more markets would list IOTA in the future.

Good post. IoT and blockchain are the present. We are merely trying to catch up. Key is to determine where these trends are going and be there.

Thank you for the very detailed post!

IOT and Blockchain will take the world by storm. I hope we all fasten our seatbelts!!!
Thanks for sharing @infovore

I bought 40 IOTA tokens.

very nice , i like the direction cyrptocurrency is heading

Wow!!!... So i'll be able to communicate with my appliances even if i'm on vacation in another country. Awesome times we're living in. Thanks for sharing.

Incredible how people invest in ideas, because this is only an idea for the moment if i'm not mistaken.
upvote, reply, resteem and follow @victorvazco, thank you, you're awesome!

Great post. Resteemed and following you now @infovore - thanks!

on the paper looks good, let's see how good will be implemented, thanks for great info's.

They talked to me about various things at the University. Excellent.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

"Yet another Record. It’s a season of ‘fairytales’ in crypto land. Yesterday, IOTA made record has one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency ever. Added for trading to the infamous BitFinex exchange at 13:00 GMT, IOTA shot to the top 10 list hitting $1.5bn market cap in less than 2 hours."

WRONG, IOTA was an ICO before it hit the market, and it had raised that much money for weeks before. It didn't miraculously JUMP to $1.5 billion in 2 hours. Please get your facts straight.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Get your facts straight too. There was never an ICO. Just a crowdsale and internal trading. I got in too. But it didnt hit any exchanges which means their value was not publicly acknowledged until BFX traded them.

Btw, it was about $500m market cap before public trading. Hitting $1bn in few minutes was fast!

We should invest in Iota now and we will get rich

Thank you for sharing this information.

I see there is a big push on iota now

I've not seen the tangle technology before

IOT and Blockchain will take the world by storm. I hope we all fasten our seatbelts!!!
Thanks for sharing @infovore

A lot of info, good info.

IOT and Blockchain will take the world by storm. I hope we all fasten our seatbelts!!!
Thanks for sharing @infovore

This looks interesting.

Informative and thought-provoking​.

Woooooow! What an eye opener

Yeah these are awesome news!

really enjoy to read yr post thanks

Quite informative

Awesome posting. 0 Transaction fees means more profit when the trade on poloniex.

Thanks for this, will definitely be taking a closer look at IOTA. Upvoted and following you for more.

my Mom ( she is 72 yrs old ) asked me what I'm reading and I just started reading this article to her, and what she said was : after all those years you are still into science fiction books ? lol

Woow !! You Gave me Good Explanation about the iota i am actually having investment in it but not much understand ...only know that no fees for transaction but now i understand that this technology much more than that !! Thanks Buddy!!

Very informative!

Thank for posting, Infovore!

good technology this, it could be in Iconomi assets.

very informative Article
crypto Guru !!!

thank you for good posting ~

interesting post

Awesome explanation of the blockchain

With all these tech the future looks both scary and exciting. Making these tech secure will be quite a hurdle.

pekerjaan yang sangat bagus post

Nice read & this shows steemians do provide wonderful contents on such topic. Learnt a lot and glad following u. Upvoted. Keep it up

Well said, @infovore. Thanks for recapping an exciting week for all of us iota fans in such a way that is easy to grasp. Exciting times indeed!

wow!!! amazing

I totally agree with you. If IoT shakes hands with descentralized technology, we will see a revolution. One can only hope there will be no extern factors to influence the natural development and unlock the huge potential of this technologies. Congrats for the article!

Any body know where can i get some IOTA ? :) Thanks Awesome article, i followed and retsteeted!

Great post @infovore

Hey @infovore, great post. I'm a new Steemer who recently joined the platform. I would love it if you would check out my latest post and follow me if you enjoy my stuff. Much appreciated!

Anybody know when it will start hitting other exchanges or will we only be able to buy off BitFinex for now?

Geat work my dear so I vote you plz you interested in nature and tourism visit my page to support me thanks again

Reaaly amazing h vote you plz you interested in nature and tourism visit my page to support me thanks again

Still fairly new to this but clearly still a lot I have to learn any info or tips much appreciated

IOTA! IOTA! this is the future