Blockchain and Industry 4.0

 “Blockchain is the tech. Bitcoin is merely the first mainstream manifestation of its potential.”—Marc Kenigsberg, founder of Bitcoin Chaser (Thanks to https://bernardmarr.com/23-fascinating-bitcoin-and-blockchain-quotes-everyone-should-read/ )

As a librarian with 40 years of experience in researching technical topics, I confess that I am not an expert on BLOCKCHAIN. However, I am an expert on searching for expert information on any topic, including BLOCKCHAIN.  Which is the whole point of this blog, i.e., helping you refine your online search strategies, no matter what specific technology you are researching.

In the popular imagination, Blockchain is associated with cryptocurrencies. But as Kenigsberg suggests, Blockchain technology has the potential to transform entire industries, beyond Bitcoin.

So here is a taste of what you will find online when you research Blockchain and Industry 4.0.

STEP ONE … what is Blockchain, anyway?

HINT: There are BLOCKS on a CHAIN.

TIP: Google: Blockchain for dummies
One result that made sense to me …
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Blockchain Explained: What is blockchain? | Euromoney Learning
Blockchain is a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system.
A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchain. Each block in the chain contains a number of transactions, and every time a new transaction occurs on the blockchain, a record of that transaction is added to every participant’s ledger. The decentralised database managed by multiple participants is known as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
Blockchain is a type of DLT in which transactions are recorded with an immutable cryptographic signature called a hash.
This means if one block in one chain was changed, it would be immediately apparent it had been tampered with. If hackers wanted to corrupt a blockchain system, they would have to change every block in the chain, across all of the distributed versions of the chain.
source: https://www.euromoney.com/learning/blockchain-explained/what-is-blockchain
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STEP TWO: What does Blockchain have to do with Industry 4.0?

Well, again, what the heck is Industry 4.0?

TIP: Google: what is blockchain industry 4.0

I found the following quote helpful …

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Blockchain technology applications for Industry 4.0: A literature-based review
Industry 4.0 involves innovations with upcoming digital technologies, and blockchain is one of them. Blockchain can be incorporated to improve security, privacy, and data transparency both for small and large enterprises. Industry 4.0 is a synthesis of the new production methods that allow manufacturers to achieve their target more rapidly.
source: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcra.2021.100027
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STEP THREE: Get specific … how does Blockchain help Industry 4.0?

Here is a description of how Blockchain can be applied to industrial control systems to enhance the ability to withstand cybersecurity attacks …

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Blockchain and Smart Contracts Towards Decentralized Applications in Industry 4.0
Description

Current industrial control systems in the Industry 4.0 era usually suffer from a variety of security issues, and important manufacturing data and instructions are vulnerable to attacks or tampering, for instance, tampering with product performance data during quality inspection. These counterfeit products are then used in many fields, causing unprecedented severe security problems. Another typical event is attacks on companies using viruses, which spread to other equipment and can eventually lead to the shutdown of production lines across factories. These events expose the fragility and weak information security of industrial control systems in the Industry 4.0 era. Current industrial control/management usually relies on a centralized platform, which suffers from inadequate interoperability between heterogeneous equipment, weak collaboration among operations, inadequate traceability of information, and weak robustness against system failures. Implementing tamper-proof security of product lifecycle data and industrial control systems in the Industry 4.0 era is a crucial problem and an essential way to improve transparency and brand credibility.

Blockchain is known as a new generation of secure information technology for realizing business and industrial sustainability. Much research on blockchain-empowered, smart, and sustainable manufacturing in the Industry 4.0 era has been conducted from technical, commercial, organizational, and operational perspectives. However, the progression and promotion of these blockchain applications have been fundamentally impeded by various issues in scalability, flexibility, and cybersecurity. Blockchain-empowered transformation of the manufacturing paradigm is still in its early stages. Many manufacturers have not progressed their blockchain solutions beyond proof-of-concept. Deploying blockchain-based intelligent applications is still difficult for manufacturers. Moving into a new technology space has always been a dilemma for conservative spaces. Challenges in the areas of techniques, social barriers, standards, and regulations impede progress, for example, the development of computationally efficient algorithms for real-time responses, the security of blockchain, and how to build a digital twin of the physical asset in blockchain-based service networks (BSN). Privacy protection issues in blockchain applications are also major concerns for users. There is an urgent need for breakthroughs and innovations in methods, technologies, and platforms for blockchain, smart contracts, and decentralized applications.

This Special Issue aims to collect state-of-the-art blockchain theories, models, methods, intelligent applications, and practical advances for achieving smart and sustainable manufacturing in the Industry 4.0 era, enhanced by advanced cryptographic mechanisms, networking protocols, machine learning techniques, and data analytics.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

    Secure multi-party computing in large-scale blockchain applications
    Robust and highly efficient consensus algorithms
    Formal verification and debugging of smart contracts
    Middleware interfaces for multi-blockchains
    Digital twins of physical assets in the blockchain
    Big data analytics in blockchain applications
    Machine learning algorithms in blockchain applications
    Security models of blockchain
    Decentralized autonomous manufacturing
    Blockchain-secured digital twins
    Smart contract-enabled distributed digital twins
    Blockchain-based smart manufacturing systems
    Blockchain-based product lifecycle management
    Blockchain in Industry 4.0
    Blockchain as a service
source: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/scn/si/459740/
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Wrapping up this post, let me leave you with two additional TIPS …

TIP: When tasked with researching a technology you are not well versed in, find a source that can define the technology in a way that makes sense to you.

FINAL TIP: Use that source to find key words that can help create search strategies for in depth online research.

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Google® Better!
Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian, Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he performed for Aramco.

Follow Jean’s blog at: http://desulf.blogspot.com/ for continuing tips on effective online research
Email Jean at research@jeansteinhardtconsulting.com with questions on research, training, or anything else
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