In the final session of his The Bitcoin Masterclasses in Slovenia, Dr. Craig Wright asked attendees to think of practical ways to utilize blockchain, IPv6, multicast, and the other technology covered in the Masterclasses to build applications that revolutionize their respective industries.
Quick recap on what has been covered so far
Dr. Wright asks the attendees to recap what they’ve learned in this Bitcoin Masterclasses so far. What applications did the various groups come up with?
They covered a lot of industries, including food, travel, and insurance. They also learned about key management, the magic of IPv6, Distributed Hash Tables, how to structure decentralized, distributed systems, using listeners to ensure data is received when a user is offline and much more.
Dr. Wright reiterates that, when designing distributed applications, we need to think out the design carefully. IPv6 allows for a lot of redundancy as there’s no shortage of IP addresses to go around.
“When you take away the scarcity that exists because of IPv4, suddenly the model changes,” he said.
Group one: Tracking goods in the transport industry
Many people recognize the potential of blockchain and IoT devices to revolutionize supply chains. This group thought of using the technology to track goods, particularly those being transported by train.
The IoT devices, all with unique IPv6 addresses, could be used to communicate with receivers, customs officials, and more as they move from location to location, are offloaded and reloaded, etc.
Dr. Wright then asks the group to split into four further sub-groups. One will be tasked with explaining how a system to manage this should be built (with alerts), another will do inventory management, a different group will do accounting, tracking, and logistics, and the last group will figure out a system to determine where containers are, how full they are, etc.
The group focused on a solution to improve the flow of goods. IoT devices could be used to track containers and even activities within them, such as the opening of crates. Data would automatically be updated on the blockchain, allowing all interested parties to know exactly what happened and where. This system would also prevent fraud, theft, and other issues. These same IoT devices can pull useful information, such as temperatures within containers, how far they have traveled, etc.
Dr. Wright asks if law enforcement might be interested in this technology. The group spokesperson says yes, as it would be easier to pinpoint the nexus of activities like smuggling, helping law enforcement to catch those concerned.
Group two: Controlling access to houses and buildings
Group two tackled the problem of using keys to access houses and buildings. Keys should be linked to certificates that prove ownership of the key. For example, owners could use these certificates to prove ownership of keys before having them duplicated by a locksmith.
He asks this group to split into three. One should develop a sharing system utilizing smart doors to control access to different rooms, cupboards, etc., within a house. Another should track and monitor inventory within the house. The last group should consider maintaining the house’s smart components, including how service people might bill for the maintenance.
The group returned with a key system for controlling access to a property for regular and non-regular visitors. Keys should work on certain days and hours for both parties based on their agreed access to the property with the owner. For non-regular visitors, the access should not be recurring, whereas it should be for regular visitors.
Dr. Wright notes that systems like this could disable stolen keys and could mean they only work within a certain range.
Group three: Smart gadgets
The third group thought of smart gadgets, such as watches that communicate and give alerts when stolen; they also considered smart fridges that order goods when running low, smart cars that alert upcoming potential problems and ensure the authenticity of replacement parts, and smart parking that allows us to only pay for the time we’ve used.
Dr. Wright asks this group to split into three small groups. He instructs them to focus on one smart item. The first group should concentrate on manufacturing. The second should focus on resales, updates, and related issues. The final group is tasked with customer engagement, communication, and alerts.
The group focused on car manufacturing, detailing how they would prevent a car manufacturer from producing more cars than there is demand for. Every time a batch of cars is finished, the firm could spend a UTXO. This same approach could be used for producing components. Resales would use the same UTXOs, updating with service history, mileage, etc. If a car was recalled, the multicast group would handle the alerts.
Dr. Wright is satisfied with these solutions but points out that even the different car components can have other multicast groups assigned to them. This could help prevent issues such as the mass recall of vehicles that don’t require new components but are part of a batch in which a fault has been detected.
Group four: Recalling dangerous or faulty goods
This group thought about recalling purchased goods. Goods like food, technology, and others often need to be recalled. They hadn’t yet thought of a solution but identified the problem; communication with those who had bought the items and alerting them to the potential dangers of using them.
Dr. Wright splits this group into two. He asks one group to think about the devices where things like food are kept and how those devices might communicate with other elements of the smart system, such as the history of the food on the supply chain. The second group should consider utilizing tokens in such smart systems.
The group identifies that tracking things like food from the moment they are ready is crucial. Everything that happens to it before it is ready for consumption needs to be known. This data can be hashed, and only the data that indicates something is wrong needs to be shared.
Dr. Wright takes these ideas further, saying that multicast IPv6 groups enable us to communicate information in real-time to everyone involved in the life cycle of a given item. This same technology allows us to send alerts instantly when anomalies are detected, potentially stopping a faulty good or spoiled food item from reaching an end consumer.
Watch: The Bitcoin Masterclasses 2 with Craig Wright Day 1
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