Distributed Ledger Segmentation for IoT Resource Constraints

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional distributed ledgers are vulnerable to malicious attacks and require significant resources, making them unsuitable for devices with constraints such as IoT devices, which face challenges in processing power and storage.

Innovation Solution

A distributed ledger system with a master version managed by a ledger device or network service, allowing for partial versions on IoT devices, and a consensus process to validate and update data blocks, ensuring security and resource efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a conventional distributed ledger is implemented on IoT devices, then security and decentralization are improved, but processing power and storage requirements increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesecurityVSAvoidprocessing power

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The distributed ledger is segmented into a master version stored on ledger devices and partial versions stored on IoT devices. Each IoT device stores only relevant data blocks for its specific context rather than the complete ledger, reducing storage and processing requirements while maintaining security through cryptographic hashing and consensus validation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If a conventional distributed ledger is implemented on IoT devices, then security and decentralization are improved, but storage requirements increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesecurityVSAvoidstorage

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If the distributed ledger is validated by checking all data blocks, then security is improved, but processing time and resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesecurityVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Data blocks are pre-validated by ledger devices before being added to the distributed ledger. The consensus process validates blocks before inclusion, and IoT devices receive only validated blocks, eliminating the need for each device to perform exhaustive validation of all blocks, thus reducing processing time while maintaining security.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20200218815A1Systems and methods for distributed ledger management

Publication Date: 2020.07.09 COMCAST CABLE COMM LLC

AI summary

Methods and systems are described for managing a distributed ledger. A user may manage permissions and other settings for devices associated with an account by adding transactions to the distributed ledger. Versions of the distributed ledger may be stored by the devices. A master version of the distributed ledger may be managed by a ledger node configured to add data blocks to the master version of the ledger. A consensus process may be used to determine an approved version of the distributed ledger if a condition, such as an error condition or an inconsistency, is detected for the distributed ledger.