Integrating the Internet of Things and Blockchain-Enabled Applications: Current Practices, Opportunities and Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

The Internet of Things (IoT) applications and blockchain technology are driving Industry 4.0, and their integration seems almost mandatory for the years to come. Various weaknesses of IoT-related applications such as security vulnerabilities, data privacy and confidentiality issues could be tackled by the non-repudiable and forensics-by-design nature of blockchain technology. Arguably, blockchain-enabled applications could serve as a trusted environment for intra- and intersystem IoT communications and foster the development of fine-grained access control mechanisms of IoT data and services. Other benefits of integrating blockchain and IoT applications, particularly through smart contracts, include data integrity, forensics and chain-of-custody for IoT devices and sound identity management schemes.

Integrating, however, IoT sensors and blockchain-enabled applications might be a daunting task, especially when considering that such integration should occur within current enterprise resource planning (ERP) or cloud-based systems widely applied in all domains of global business and industry. The advent of 5G technologies also creates new challenges for successfully integrating IoT and blockchain. In particular, 5G-enabled IoT applications call for high data rates, network scalability and a massive number of device connectivity, technical requirements that challenge current blockchain platforms’ scalability features. Additionally, lack of interoperability and standardization heavily affect blockchain platforms’ potential to be fully integrated with IoT-related applications.

In this Special Issue of Sensors, we invite submissions focusing on the symbiotic relationship and integration potential of IoT-related applications and blockchain technology. We welcome submissions that offer important technical, conceptual and empirical insights into how IoT and blockchain could be successfully integrated within current ERP or cloud-based systems, particularly by tackling the various technical, security, operational and regulatory issues prevalent in today’s business context. Of particular interest are papers focusing on integrating blockchain and IoT in specific sectors such as industrial manufacturing, logistics, finance, health, energy, etc.

Dr. Thomas K. Dasaklis
Dr. Fran Casino
Dr. Rachaniotis Nikolaos
Guest Editors

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