ProdezLo

As part of the HANSEBLOC project, a technology was developed to monitor the transport of goods using a network of sensors, the so-called sensorchain, and to store them in a forgery-proof manner on a blockchain.  

An initial gateway prototype was developed during the HANSEBLOC project for communication between the sensors and the HANSEBLOC interface. The goal of the Calls for Transfer project "Prototype decentralized logistics platform" is the further development of this gateway.  

The gateway will include functions such as a connection to the Internet for data transfer to the blockchain, as well as the integration of sensors. In order to increase the safety of freight transport, the gateway will be further developed and set up in the form of a tablet, so that the sensor data can also be monitored from the driver's cab of the truck and warnings can be given of limit value violations with the help of notifications and acoustic signals.  

For this purpose, the FTZ DiWiP is developing its own board based on a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 in order to combine all the necessary hardware requirements in the smallest possible format. The gateway is centrally supplied with the sensor specifications and freight documents at the logistics company and accompanies the entire transport. Thanks to its flat and lightweight design, the gateway can be easily returned to the logistics company by mail after delivery.  

The long-term goal of the project is to replace the currently still mandatory printed waybill with the HANSEBLOC system in the long term and to be able to monitor all relevant data of a delivery transport as required with the help of a modular sensorchain. 

In accordance with the FAIR criteria (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable), detailed use cases have been analysed and described that use a blockchain solution to certify research data, initiate quality control, and enable reputation management.

Bloxberg, the first blockchain for science and research, serves as the basis for previous developments. Accordingly, a Bloxberg node has been put into operation on a server at the Digital Business Processes Research and Transfer Centre. With this, it is now possible to transfer the created use cases into software and test them. An initial version of the API has already been released and will be extended to include additional features.

In March 2021, the project team also won the Best Paper Award at the EAI DIONE 2021 conference for their work entitled 'Fostering Open Data Using Blockchain Technology'.