Blockchain Field Device Evaluation System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for certifying component properties of field devices in industrial plants are inefficient, as they rely on laboratory tests that do not accurately represent real-world conditions, and lack global uniformity, making it difficult for customers to ensure the devices' performance in their specific environments.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing blockchain technology to create a tamper-proof evaluation system where field device component properties are assessed and validated by a network of subscriber nodes, allowing real-world experience data to be stored and shared, ensuring data integrity and security through checksums and validation processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If laboratory tests are used to certify component properties, then certification can be performed with standardized procedures, but the test results do not accurately represent real-world environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a blockchain-based evaluation system as an intermediary between laboratory certification and real-world performance. Multiple evaluating entities (customers, system integrators, operators) act as mediators who provide feedback on actual component performance in real environments. This decentralized evaluation network bridges the gap between controlled lab conditions and unpredictable real-world conditions, providing more reliable assurance without replacing standardized certification.
Solution Approach 2:
The blockchain evaluation system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it stores certification data, collects real-world performance feedback, validates component properties across different environments, and provides globally accessible verification. This multi-functional platform allows the same system to support both standardized certification and real-world performance tracking, resolving the contradiction between ease of certification and reliability of assessment.
2Adaptability or versatility
If regional certificates are issued by single test centers, then certification can be performed with localized expertise, but uniform global certificates are not established
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges regional certification data from multiple test centers into a single unified blockchain system. Evaluation results from different regions are combined and stored together on the distributed ledger, creating a comprehensive global view of component performance. This integration maintains the benefits of localized expertise while establishing global uniformity through a shared evaluation platform that all regions contribute to and access equally.
Solution Approach 2:
The global certification system is segmented into independent evaluating entities that each contribute their local expertise and data. Rather than a single centralized authority, multiple independent evaluators (customers, integrators, operators) provide region-specific assessments that are then aggregated on the blockchain. This segmentation allows regional adaptability to be preserved while achieving global uniformity through the unified ledger that consolidates all regional inputs.
3Reliability
If blockchain technology is used to store evaluation data, then data integrity and security are improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses blockchain technology to create immutable copies of evaluation data that are distributed across multiple nodes. Each evaluation record is copied and stored on the decentralized ledger, ensuring data integrity through cryptographic verification. This copying mechanism provides reliable, tamper-proof storage without requiring complex centralized security infrastructure, as the distributed nature of blockchain inherently provides security and integrity guarantees.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for the tamper-proof evaluation of at least one component property of at least one field device (F1, F2) in a facility (A1, A2, A3) operating by means of automation technology, said method comprising: the creation an evaluation relating to the component property of the field device (F1, F2) by at least one facility operator, where the evaluation assigns each component property an applicable label or a non-applicable label; and transmission of the created evaluation to a first service platform (SP) and storage of the created evaluation in the first service platform (SP), the first service platform (SP) being operated in a decentralised manner by means of a Distributed Ledger or Blockchain technology and consisting of a plurality of subscriber nodes (TK1, TK2, TK3, TK4), the subscriber nodes (TK1, TK2, TK3, TK4) each comprising at least one data bank (DB); creation of data blocks by the subscriber nodes (TK1, TK2, TK3, TK4), where a data block (BL1, BL2, BL3) links at least one evaluation with the field device type of an evaluated field device (F1, F2), whereby a plurality of evaluations of different field devices (F1, F2), preferably of a plurality of facility operators, is contained in the plurality of subscriber nodes (TK1, TK2, TK3, TK4).