Ruffchain | Capturing the full potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) through blockchain technology

jobscenar (45)in #internetofthings • 6 years ago (edited)

Part 01 | An introduction to Ruffchain

The Internet has changed how we live and work

The internet is by far the most transformational technology in human history, having impacted the educational, social and political spheres of our existence through borderless access to information. However, there is a belief that blockchain technology will have a greater impact on our socioeconomic and political systems by redefining trust in our everyday interactions by reducing the reliance on intermediaries to achieve decentralization.

To readers who aren't familiar with blockchain technology, it essentially works as a public ledger (database) which is viewable and verifiable by anyone with internet connection. Anyone can add to the information, or contribute to the maintenance of the ledger. Once a transaction is registered on the blockchain, it is locked in with a timestamp which makes it tamper proof. As such, blockchains eliminate the reliance on intermediaries for trust by providing a transparent, immutable and decentralized ledger.

Communal innovation, and to some extent speculative interests have driven the blockchain industry from its inception in 2008 as a public transaction ledger for cryptocurrency to a global industry that is currently worth billions of dollars. Since then, blockchain technology has gained numerous industry applications outside the currency use case. Ironically, the decline in the total market cap of cryptocurrencies from the all-time high of January 2018 has diminished the belief blockchain technology as a speculative investment tool and forced investors to reexamine the true utility of the underlying technology. In this context, the emergence of the Internet of Things, driven by digitization and networking, presents one of the best use cases of blockchain technology.

The Value of Internet of Things (IoT)

In the simplest terms, the Internet of Things encompasses all the devices that can connect to the internet to collect, send and receive data. Connecting things to the internet is not new, however, there is a new wave of the digitization of "dumb" devices, exclusive of computers and mobile phones (devices that were originally not connected to the internet) and their integration into computer-based systems. Technological advancements, particularly the ease and low cost of setting up wireless networks and low-cost processors are the primary drivers of the new digitization wave that is IoT. It is estimated that there will be 30 Billion connected devices by 2020. The common example application of the Internet of Things are wearable devices that help a user monitor his wellness and health through his/her smartphone.

The pillars of the Internet of Things ecosystem are network, devices and data. In an article, Joe McKendrick posits that the real value of IoT is the insight that can be gained by capturing and analyzing the data from devices. Instead of the common model where data is first collected, then analyzed in hindsight, IoT provides real-time information that can be used to make quick analysis and predictions which improves system efficiencies remarkably. The implications of IoT on the way we live and work will be tremendous.

It is therefore estimated that IoT will incrementally gain market value. A report by Reasearchnesterwith an estimated compound annual growth of 13.2% annually and total market valuation of USD 724.2 Billion by 2023. Most of the other estimates consistently fall within this range. Considering the staggering numbers of devices to be connected and the gigantic amounts of data that will be generated, certain problems arise;

Fragmentation in the IoT industry can be attributed to closed networks. The value of networking is lost if data is kept within closed systems, for example, analyzed data from one isolated source cannot provide a comprehensive insight into the general state of things.

"What is needed is the introduction of an operating system and middleware concepts, compatibility with the fragmented spectrum IoT hardware devices, and a unified programming interface". Excerpt from Ruffchain Whitepaper

Standardization: On the physical level, most Internet of Things devices and computer systems have standardized parts for connection. However, on the application side of things, there is no standardization. Even if a machine were able to connect to another machine, if they don't share the same programming language, they can't communicate. The problem is compounded by the fact that even within a single device, there may be different apps based on different protocols which amount to more connectivity issues.

Security: With more devices being added to the internet of things, they form new nodes on the network which gives malicious actors new attack points. With the rush in the industry to capitalize on IoT, developers do not deploy sufficient security measures in their devices before selling them to the public.
Connectivity issues: Although the present centralized cloud servers can handle the needs of the thousands of devices connected today, billions of devices are projected to join the internet of things in the next five years. To avoid bottlenecks in the ecosystem, centralized cloud servers would need high-end resource consumptive computers which are unlikely to be sustainable. The only viable solution is a shift towards decentralization.

Blockchain and Internet of Things share fundamental aspects through the distributed characteristics of their networks. Simply, Ruffchain is at the center of the two most revolutionary technological innovations of our era, namely blockchain technology and the Internet of Things. Initially, the developers behind Ruffchain intended to provide an Android platform for IoT app developers, but industry insight revealed that the biggest challenge in the IoT industry was the gap between the software and hardware. The developers have since shifted their focus to bridging this gap through Ruffchain an opensource blockchain platform that utilizes distributed ledger technology to provide a solution that will unleash IoT's full commercial potential.

Contextually, the greatest factor that undermines the mass adoption of blockchain technology is its inability to scale to meet the transactional demands of its industrial applications. The role of the Internet of Things in the global eCommerce, backed by big data, will demand robust platforms that can support high transactional needs of millions of users while guaranteeing the security of user data. Ruffchain adopts the Delegated Proof of Stake (DPos) consensus mechanism which has been proven to be quite scalable.

The Ruffchain architecture is composed of a distributed operating system and the main chain. Essentially, Ruffchain provides an operating system that makes it easier to develop applications for the Internet of Things industry with the same ease of developing mobile apps in popular operating systems such as Android.

RC provides users a JavaScript runtime as well as a hardware abstraction layer to skip the hardest part of developing an app for this industry.

When there is a standard application layer protocol between nodes, it will enable communication between the nodes at a sufficiently abstract level that supports devices interactions such as payments, requests and verifications. It is also noteworthy that with bigger variation between applications, a higher level of abstraction will be needed to maintain some level of communication between devices.

So far, the ease of use of Ruffchains OS programming code has gained some adoption from over 7000 engineers worldwide purchasing the Ruff board and deploying code by December 2017. With increasing adoption, the standard application layer protocol will form an industry standard in IoT. The Ruffchain protocol can then unify standards at the application layer for the Internet of Things. This protocol will provide the first step towards the interoperability and interconnectivity of all Internet of Things.

Ruffchain provides a standard API that can be used on any device, drive or protocol. The distributed ledger aspect of the blockchain provides trust, transparency, communications networks, and acts as a store of ownership rights.

Take Away

This is my introductory piece on Ruffchain, and the value proposition it offers users by leveraging blockchain technology to achieve consistency and security of the IoT industry. Stay tuned for my next article, In which I will discuss how Ruffchain will provide reliable interoperability between IoT devices.