Cisco, Bosch Reveal New Details on IoT-Blockchain Projects

Following a formal unveiling in January, members of a consortium focused on the intersection of blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT) are revealing new details about their work.

Announced today, the unnamed group, which includes Bosch, BNY Mellon, Chronicled, Filament and other startup and enterprise firms, has created an API that supports technologies offered by ethereum, JP Morgan's Quorum and the Linux-led Hyperledger project.

"The protocol allows users to register multiple kinds of weaker identities, including serial numbers, QR codes, and UPC code identities and bind them to stronger cryptographic identities, which are immutably linked across both physical and digital worlds using blockchain technology," the release reads.

The software development kits (SDKs) are currently in beta, and are available via the Chronicled and Hyperledger libraries on GitHub.

As explained by Skuchain founder Zaki Manian, the tools now enable the same key pair to represent a cryptographic identity compatible with both blockchains.

Further, Cisco and Bosch offered new information about how they are using blockchain technologies in proof-of-concept projects.

Cisco, a release from the group said, is exploring how it could register device identities using the API, while Bosch is said to have completed a trial centered on linking odometer readings to a blockchain system.

Consortium members are currently working to develop a formal non-profit to support the work, with updates expected later this year.

Car odometer image via Shutterstock