Blockchain Application in Remote Condition Monitoring

Abstract

Through advanced sensor technologies, satellite-based authentication, and high bandwidth data networks, Remote Condition Monitoring (RCM) systems are now an essential ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) resource for efficient operation of railway infrastructure. However, the full potential of this big data has yet to be realized. Data is currently collected and used in siloes, with limited visibility of all possible datasets for exploitation. The RSSB on behalf of the UK Rail Industry established a cross-industry research program, T1010, to build stronger cooperation between stakeholders in sharing RCM data. This research builds upon T1010, to explore the use of blockchain and smart contracts to automate, in an auditable and tamper-proof way, the commercial agreements and payment processes for data trading. By removing the limitations of paper-based agreements, our goal is to enable innovation in shared business processes and an IoT data marketplace. Building on existing smart contract-based schemes for trading and sharing IoT data over blockchain networks, this research identifies novel ways to enforce agreements and ensure fair cost attribution between parties, without a Trusted Third Party. The initial design of a blockchain-based framework is presented, oriented around the data provider, consumer, and smart contracts. Blockchain-hosted data access agreement and accounting models are specified in detail. The processors in the efficient permissioned blockchain platforms Hyperledger Fabric, Sawtooth, and Iroha have been analyzed for their suitability for implementation. We then outline our future work to evaluate and validate two industrial use cases: monitoring systems for unattended overhead line equipment and axle bearings.