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Towards building a blockchain framework for IoT

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Abstract

Blockchain is a very promising technology that spans many use cases other than cryptocurrencies. For example, its implementation in the Internet of Things (IoT) based networks is still unclear and demands further research. This is mainly due to the limited constraints of IoT devices and the ledger-based design of blockchain protocol. IoT may offer many benefits if blockchain features can be balanced to fit it. As such, many current problems in IoT can be resolved. However, implementing blockchain for IoT may still impose a variety of challenges. In this paper, we provide a recent literature review analysis on blockchain in IoT. In particular, we identify five key components along with their design considerations and challenges that should be considered while creating blockchain architecture for IoT. We also define gaps that hinder creating a secure blockchain framework for IoT. We simulated two different types of blockchain implementation and identified that device to device architecture has comparatively better throughput than gateway based implementations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Abu Dhabi Polytechnic, P.O. Box 111499, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Deepa Pavithran & Jamal N. Al-Karaki

  2. The British University in Dubai, PO BOX 345015, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Khaled Shaalan

  3. Computer Eng. Department, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan

    Jamal N. Al-Karaki

  4. College of Engineering and IT, University of Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Amjad Gawanmeh

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  1. Deepa Pavithran
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  2. Khaled Shaalan
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  3. Jamal N. Al-Karaki
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  4. Amjad Gawanmeh
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Correspondence to Deepa Pavithran.

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Pavithran, D., Shaalan, K., Al-Karaki, J.N. et al. Towards building a blockchain framework for IoT. Cluster Comput 23, 2089–2103 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10586-020-03059-5

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