Hardware Unique Key Minting for Blockchain Device Identity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current blockchain technologies are not effectively tied to specific hardware devices, making it difficult to verify and audit transactions associated with physical equipment, such as meters, in a secure and efficient manner.
Innovation Solution
A system that generates a unique key pair upon initialization of a physical computing device, allowing it to create a blockchain-based audit trail, which is used to securely track and meter the performance of physical equipment, enabling remote service providers to verify and record transactions through a digital certificate and blockchain ledger.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If blockchain technology is used for digital wallets with public and private keys, then cryptographic security and transaction verification are improved, but the ability to tie blockchain records to specific hardware devices is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the blockchain identification system into two parts: a hardware-unique key stored in secure element of the physical device, and a corresponding public key/address recorded on the blockchain. This segmentation allows the private key to remain securely tied to hardware while the public key enables blockchain interaction, resolving the contradiction between security and hardware association.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hardware-unique key as an intermediary that bridges physical hardware and blockchain. This unique key acts as a mediator that is both physically bound to the device and cryptographically linked to the blockchain address, enabling hardware identification on blockchain without exposing private keys.
2Ease of operation
If digital wallets are made decentralized and not tied to specific hardware, then ease of operation and portability are improved, but the ability to verify and audit transactions for specific physical equipment is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-provisioning each physical device with a hardware-unique key during manufacturing. This unique key is used to generate a blockchain address that is permanently associated with the device before deployment, enabling both portability and auditability without requiring hardware binding during operation.
3Reliability
If a physical computing device generates a key pair upon initialization, then device-specific identification and audit trail creation are improved, but device complexity and initialization process are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The physical computing device performs self-service by automatically generating its own hardware-unique key and corresponding blockchain address pair during initialization. The device independently creates its cryptographic identity without requiring external intervention, simplifying the overall system while maintaining high identification accuracy.
4Reliability
If an immutable blockchain record is created for tracking physical equipment, then transaction integrity and audit capability are improved, but system complexity and computational requirements are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential cryptographic elements (hardware-unique key and public address) needed for blockchain interaction, leaving the complex blockchain consensus and storage mechanisms to run separately on dedicated blockchain infrastructure. This extraction allows physical devices to participate in blockchain without bearing the full computational complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Minting a physical computing device based on unique key generation, wherein the key generation is configured to create a private-public key pair. In implementations, the key pair may be generated upon initialization of the physical computing device, such that the physical computing device is minted with the key pair. The key pair may be utilized as a token for supply-chain billings, payments, auditing, etc. associated with the physical computing device.