Probably you've heard something about how smart objects/ internet of things, and blockchains will be tied together in the near future...

... But what makes Blockchains so are attractive to IoT makers?

1 - Blockchains writes are immutable

When you sign a transaction and send it to a blockchain, you cannot modify it. It remains there forever, exactly as you sent it.

Imagine a smart counter that measures electricity consumptions. It might be super precise and almost impossible to hack, but if that device writes something into a central database, that content can be changed using the credentials stored in the device.

If you use a blockchain instead of a database, nobody can modify what you write.

That's great for usage counters. Admission tickets, or anything that must be tamperproof end-to-end.

2 - Blockchains are peer-to-peer

This is great for IoT. If you operate a blockchain you're essentially running a huge p2p network.

In a p2p network you can always reach a node that will relay your transaction to the rest of the nodes.

So there is no single point of failure, and If you can connect to the internet, you can send transactions.

The alternative is not simple.

The beauty of blockchain technologies is they have a P2P network "for free".

And the cost of adopting a blockchain technology is much lower that the cost of building a network from scratch robust enough for your robots and devices.

3 - Smart contracts are sexy

Traditional Blockchains were just about sending and storing money.

Modern Blockchains work on top of smart contracts.

What is this and why does it matter for robots?

Imagine you want your brand-new connected car to be serviced.

You'll buy a "service token" on the manufacturer website, that'll be it a contract to go to the mechanic you want to service the card. As an end user, this will be invisible to you, but...

... when go to the mechanic, they will see you have a token for the service...

... and when they change oil, refill liquids, pass diagnostics, your car will send a transaction to the blockchain.

Finally, when the mechanic does all the service checks, the smart contract will be automatically activated and the mechanic will receive his payment.

The good part for the consumer (you) is that you make sure you will receive everything you paid for.
The mechanic also will secure payment for the service. Also if he discover something wrong in the car, he can be credited for the need-to-fix service (and probably will get some compensation for it).
For carmakers this is also good because they will know which cars are still working, where they are serviced, need spare parts, and will keep contact with the car owner years after they made the car sale.

This is just an example.

Can you imagine more?