Blockchain Consensus Using Timestamp Ordering
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current consensus systems for distributed ledgers, such as proof-of-work and proof-of-stake, are inefficient in terms of energy consumption and require dedicated hardware, making it difficult for devices like IoT devices and smartphones to participate in blockchain maintenance without significant computational power, memory, and disk space.
Innovation Solution
A consensus system that allows network-connected devices to participate in maintaining and extending a distributed ledger by announcing their intent, waiting for a predetermined period or number of blocks, and submitting data blocks based on calculated conditions, using public/private key pairs and hash functions to determine eligibility and priority, without requiring dedicated hardware or significant resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If proof-of-work consensus system is used, then security and tamper-resistance are improved, but energy consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the consensus parameter from computational difficulty (proof-of-work) to timestamp-based ordering (proof-of-elapsed-time). Instead of requiring intensive hashing computations, the system uses readily available timestamp data from blockchain blocks to determine consensus, dramatically reducing energy consumption while maintaining security through the immutability of the blockchain structure itself
2Use of energy by moving object
If proof-of-stake consensus system is used, then energy consumption is reduced, but objectivity and determinism deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a copy of the blockchain data itself (specifically timestamps from blocks) as the consensus criterion. Instead of relying on external factors like stake ownership or random selection, the system copies and analyzes timestamp data already present in the blockchain structure, ensuring that consensus is both objective (based on actual blockchain data) and deterministic (same data produces same result)
3Use of energy by moving object
If proof-of-elapsed-time consensus system is used, then energy consumption and hardware requirements are reduced, but dedicated trusted execution environment hardware is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the blockchain system self-sufficient by using data already contained within the blockchain structure (timestamps from blocks) to achieve consensus. Instead of requiring external trusted hardware or additional components, the system serves its own timestamp data as the basis for consensus, eliminating the need for dedicated TEE hardware while maintaining low energy consumption
4Reliability
If practical Byzantine fault tolerance consensus system is used, then security against malicious nodes is improved, but computational overhead and disk space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential consensus function from the complex PBFT protocol. Instead of implementing full PBFT with its multiple voting rounds, signature calculations, and message exchanges, the system extracts only the necessary element (timestamp ordering) and uses it directly for consensus, dramatically reducing computational overhead and disk space requirements while maintaining security through blockchain's inherent immutability
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus is presented for reaching consensus on adding data to a distributed ledger system in which no central trusted authority is available, comprising sending an announcement message by a network connected device to a plurality of network connected devices over a peer-to-peer network, said message providing an identification of the network connected device using a public key of a public/private key pair, a unique address identifier, and a hash. Subsequently, after a waiting period measured in, for example, time or blocks of data, the network connected device may submit data for inclusion in the distributed ledger. If the announcement message and preceding data in the distributed ledger satisfy a predetermined condition, the plurality of network connected devices may include the data in the distributed ledger. If the network connected device fails to submit the data when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the announcement message may be canceled.