I can almost guarantee 100% in almost of my IoT Talks, the question regarding IoT security will be asked by the audience. It has been such a hot topic in the areas of research. When the first blockchain was conceptualized by an anonymous person or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 with the introduction of Bitcoin, everyone seems to get excited how it can be implemented in other ways.

Forrester’s Dan Bieler (an analyst at Forrester co-authored the report “Disentangle Hype From Reality: Blockchain’s Potential For IoT Solutions) mentioned blockchain’s potential for IoT solutions. In a nutshell:

“As Internet of Things applications are by definition distributed it’s only normal that the distributed ledger technology, which blockchain is, will play a role in how devices will communicate directly between eachother (keeping a ledger and thus trail of not just devices but also how they interact and, potentially, in which state they are and how they are ‘handled’ in the case of tagged goods).

Blockchain is designed as a basis for applications that involve transaction and interactions. These can include smart contracts (smart contracts are automatically carried out when a specific condition is met, for instance regarding the conditions of goods or environmental conditions) or other smart applications that support specific Internet of Things processes. This way blockchain technology can improve not just compliance in the IoT but also IoT features and cost-efficiency.” – Dan Bieler

Nicolas Windpassinger, author of ‘Digitize or Die‘, an IoT book for digital transformation leaders, wrote about the practical aspects blockchain can address in IoT and how blockchain can accelerate the evolution of IoT.

“Blockchain technology promises to be the missing link enabling peer-to-peer contractual behavior without any third party to “certify” the IoT transaction. It answers the challenge of scalability, single point of failure, time stamping, record, privacy, trust and reliability in a very consistent way.” – Nicolas Windpassinger

The three benefits of blockchain for IoT, according to IBM: building trust, cost reduction and the acceleration of transactions.

You might want to read a good plain English version of “What is Blockchain?” written by PixelPrivacy.

Three key benefits of using blockchain for IoT according to IBM – source IBM infographic

Why blockchain is a game changer for IoT according to the IBM infographic

Let’s take a look at some of the application scenarios where Blockchain can revolutionize Internet of Things (IoT).

“In the scope of blockchain and IoT it’s interesting to look at the combination of blockchain and the Internet of Things as it’s used in insurance and will increasingly be, moving beyond the pure telematics model to the connection of real-time IoT data in various perspectives for various intelligent automated insurance policy applications.” – [1]

This Internet of Things depends on a Ledger of Things to track everything, ensure its reliability, and pay for its contribution. [2]

Transportation. Autonomous vehicles will get us safely wherever we need to go. They will intuitively take the fastest route, avoid construction, handle tolls, park all on its own, negotiate passing rates with other vehicles on the road, and communicate with traffic lights.

Infrastructure. We will use smart devices to monitor the integrity and other critical factors of road, rail lines, power and pipelines, bridges, runways, ports, and other public and private infrastructure to detect problems and initiate a response both rapidly and cost-effectively.

Energy, waste, and water management. Traditional utilities can use blockchain-enabled things for tracking production, distribution, consumption, and collection. New entrants without infrastructure are planning to create new markets such as the neighborhood energy microgrid.

Resource extraction and farming. This technology can help make expensive, highly specialized equipment available for just-in-time usage and cost recovery, improve worker safety, and compile “infinite data” analytics to identify new resources or advise on best practices. Sensors could help environmental protection agencies to regulate land usage.

Environmental monitoring. Weather sensors will make money collecting and selling air, water, and tremor data, giving people advance warnings of natural disasters, rising levels of pollutants, and monitoring lightning strikes and forest fires—all to increase emergency response time, save lives, and improve our predictive capability.

Health care. Blockchain-enabled hospitals could link the devices that manage medical records, inventory, equipment and pharmaceuticals to monitor and manage disease and improve quality control. Smart drugs could track themselves in clinical trials and present untampered evidence of their effectiveness.

Financial services and insurance. Financial institutions could use smart devices and the IoT to tag, track, and trace their claims on physical assets—like an air traffic control for priceless objects, antiquities, jewelry, the stuff of museums, anything ever handled by Sotheby’s and insured by Lloyd’s.

Smart documents. Like smart contracts, the coding of all documentation related to a particular thing—a patent, deed, warranty, provenance, registration, insurance, and inspection certification—could control the operation of that thing. If a vehicle has failed a safety inspection or its liability insurance has expired, the vehicle will not start.

Real estate management. Digital sensors can create marketplaces for vacant assets by enabling real-time discovery, usability, and payment. In the evenings, a conference room could moonlight as a classroom for neighbourhood youth.

Industrial operations. The global factory of things needs a global ledger of things. Factory managers will use smart devices and offer software services for monitoring customer demand, production lines, warehouse inventory, distribution, quality, maintenance, and performance data.

Household management. Numerous products and services are entering the market to allow automated and remote home monitoring beyond the “nanny cam” to include access controls, temperature adjustments, lighting, and restocking the pantry, the bathroom, and the garage. The smart home will optimize energy and the in-house experience.

Retail. Retailers will be able to personalize products and services to identifiable customers as they walk in or drive by, based on demographics, known interests, purchasing history, and whether those customers gave retailers permission.

“Leveraging blockchain to improve workflow and provide instant overviews. Example: Shipping Industry – Leveraging blockchain to improve workflow, provide instant overviews and keep track of paper trails. The transparency of the system will reduce fraud and mistakes, as well as improve inventory management and enhance the overall process saving the industry millions.” – [3]

“Managing asset life cycles on a blockchain – For example, an aircraft has a typically long life cycle with various owners and changing parts. It is imperative to know which parts have been replaced and when. By combing IoT, instrumentation and device authentication, an irrefutable provenance can be established for every part in an incontrovertible record. This allows reliability and safety to be traced by both passengers and prospective buyers.” – [3]

“Guaranteeing the safety and reliability of the food supply chain – Consumers are becoming increasingly aware and concerned about the origins of store bought food. Blockchain can be used to track and trace ingredients from multiple sources on a single, distributed ledger. This can simplify a complex and multifaceted process by permitting an instantaneous overview of every step in the chain.

This has consequences particularly for processed foods, where the provenance of ingredients is widespread. By implementing each step as a transaction in a blockchain, if there is a quality issue, the source can be pinpointed precisely and action can be taken quickly.” – [3]

“Secure from Botnets attack – Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, are taking a different approach to blockchain-based IoT security. In their model of a blockchain-secured smart home, a high-powered block miner replaces the usual internet router or media center to manage all local network transactions. This device not only manages the internal blockchain but also controls communication between home-based IoT devices and the outside world. It also authorizes new IoT devices and could curtail or cut off devices that are behaving badly. In this model, even if a lightbulb is captured by a botnet, the miner would see that the lightbulb is trying to attack an outside server and block its packets from leaving the home.” – [4]

Check out “Ultimate Privacy Guide” by Jared Clarke [6]

REFERENCES

[1] Blockchain and the Internet of Things: the IoT blockchain opportunity and challenge

[2] The Internet of Things Needs A Ledger of Things

[3] 4 key areas where blockchain can transform IoT

[4] How Blockchain Could Revolutionize The Internet Of Things

[5] What is the Blockchain? The Plain English Version.

[6] Ultimate Privacy Guide (How to Stay Safe Online)

This will be my personal view regarding IoT in Malaysia for 2018. It’s now the end of the year 2017 and much has been said about IoT in Malaysia. In fact, my IoT related talks for this year reached the highest i.e. 32 Talks as Keynote, Invited Speakers, Invited Lectures, etc (not including as Panel moderator). Even the conference theme on Industrial Revolution 4.0 has superseded Smart Cities themes. You can take a look at what has happened in 2017 in my previous article “IoT in Malaysia – 2017 In Review“. What do we have in store for 2018? Here’re some of my predictions:

1. IoT will take a back seat to make way for IR 4.0 – Malaysia is now harping on a new theme i.e. “4th Industrial Revolution“. Mainly due to the nation’s interest in developing a new Blueprint/Framework and was allocated a budget as announced in Malaysia’s 2018 Budget recently. Of course, Industrial Revolution needs to be taken seriously. Many companies can become obsolete if they are not aware or not ride the same wave. In many cases, the SMEs in the rural area are still at Industrial Revolution 2.0. Not many have adopted ICT (except marketing online) but not their operations. IR 4.0 comprised of several important technologies such AI, VR, 3D, Robotics, BDA, and IoT. It will be a mistake if they ignore IoT as part of the equation.
2. Year of Education and Talent Development – As much as we want to jump into the running train and enter the IR 4.0 by leaps and bound, without the right talent, we can’t go much further. Education is key and preparing for the Jobs of the Future is also key. We must quickly refresh contents in the University. It seems approval process for the IPTA (Public Universities) is much slower than the IPTS (Private Universities). We do not deny to have strong fundamentals but we need to quickly update and upgrade with tools and technology. We need to reduce the talent gap between what’s required by the industry and what was produced by the Universities.
3. IoT Entrepreneurs Will Mushroom – Gartner predicts that by 2017, 50 percent of IoT solutions (typically a product combined with a service) will originate in startups that are less than three years old. Malaysia also have their own IoT Ecosystem. Even the Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau urged the public to support local entrepreneurs, stating that confidence needs to start from home before going global. The recent Global Entrepreneurship Community (GEC) Summit, proves that the Malaysians are eager to become Job Creators. We need to nurture and support them. Think Malaysian product/technology first, give them the opportunity to trial. Provide them with funds to ease their pain of entry to the market and giving them a longer runway to sustain before real market traction.
4. From Product-based to Service-based to Outcome-based Business Model – It’s not going to be selling silo products based on its features. It’s no longer about subscription-based or pay-per used based. We will see the full strength of IoT when it can develop an Outcome-Based Business Model whereby we pay the services based on the outcomes such as an increase in new revenue streams, costs savings, customer loyalty, new creative products developed etc. (Note: This topic will be covered in detail in the future article).
5. IoT Will Focus on Transportation, Insurance, and Health – We will see Startups such as Katsana, REKA and Jom Parking in providing creative IoT solutions for Transportation segment. Favoriot, Teleme, GetDoc, and Doctor2U are startups that will focus on Health and Insurance too. There’s going to be many more Malaysian IoT startups that are eager to offer their solutions for Malaysia market or globally.

About the Author

Dr. Mazlan Abbas the Co-Founder of FAVORIOT Sdn Bhd. He is an IOT Evangelist and a Thought Leader. He received an award as 50 Most Impactful Smart Cities Leaders by World CSR 2017. He is ranked No. 20th Thought Leader in IOT by 2014 Onalytics Report – “The Internet of Things – Top 100 Thought Leaders”, ranked Top 10 in IoT Top 100 Influencers by Postscapes 2016/2017, ranked Top 100 in Smart Cities Top Experts by Agilience Authority Index May 2016. You can reach him on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Check all his presentation slides HERE.

Here’s some the wishlist I collected so far:

“(1) A directory of all IOT company & startups and products in Malaysia (2) An app using IoT that can decide on what developers can and should or should not be done in a township or local area.”– Rajendran

“I wish that relevant gov. agency will provide financial assistance for local IoT Device Makers (commercial type, not hobbies or hackton type) to develop, certify, manufacture locally made IoT End Devices that connect to Malaysia own middleware such as FAVORIOT, and local clients/startup use this device & platform to create #ConnectedSolutions, I understand the invention will be expensive , the specification will not be top notch, but in time our local device maker will become mature, device quality, performance will become world quality and remember the money keep circulating internally.” – Pathmanathan Muniandy.

“Need projects to fund the ecosystem.” – Tzer Man.

“Intelligent Traffic Controller using Fuzzy Neural Expert System inside a vehicle, avoid an accident, brake automation even at high speed.” Aziz Shah Sulaiman.

“The city of tomorrow requires collaboration across every layer of the public, private sector and government agencies. By digitizing our mindset with cutting-edge technology like FAVORIOT platform, we believe this group is further evolving our commitment to pursue and created a technology that provides wider reliable coverage, safe, more usable capacity and scalability, full-featured value, and decades of network longevity in Kuala Lumpur and across every community in Malaysia.” – Aizat

“The whole engineering education should evolve by having seamless integration between hardware & software without differentiating between engineering and computing using IoT.” – Noor Iziddin

“Remote acquisition, signal conditioning, immersive computing such as AR and VR, embedded system running machine language algorithm ..are a necessity for industrial IoT development.” – Mohamad Safri Mohd Dali (JTMi)

If you want your wishlist to be submitted here, please in the following form: