A Proposal for the Next Generation of Courier Delivery and Storage in the Shared Economy

Abstract

In the past few months we increasingly read and discussed about blockchain technologies, especially in conjunction with the Internet of Things. Among other things, we thereby asked the following questions: Why exactly do we need blockchain technologies? Which existing services can be improved with blockchain technologies and what are the limitations of blockchain technologies? Where does the blockchain fit in the Internet of Things technology stack? We set out to write this paper, and try to answer these questions by using the Internet of Postal Things as case study. Our focus is the smart mailbox, a general purpose mailbox, that can be shared, monitored, and monetized using Internet of Things and blockchain technologies. Blockchain technologies provide a distributed shared ledger in a heterogeneous environment and thus the link in the Internet of Things technology stack for proof and trust. However, blockchain technologies are not to render existing database and security solutions irrelevant. As we understand, blockchain technologies are another step, albeit a crucial one, in an ever more decentralized and democratic Internet of People and Things.