Contracts have long created headaches for the business community. Traditionally authorized by third parties such as banks and courts, business contracts can be expensive and time consuming, in addition to often ending in disputes — or even lawsuits. However, blockchain technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) could allow for “smart contracts” that eliminate the need for third parties in order to make contracts far easier and less expensive.
How Do Smart Contracts Work?
Unlike traditional contracts, smart contracts exist as unalterable digital code on the blockchain, a decentralized digital ledger of transactions that records data in a way that prevents hacking and altering of data by duplicating transactions and dispersing them to “nodes” across the network. Furthermore, the physical goods associated with these contracts, such as shipping containers, can be automatically traced with IoT devices and sensors, making them easy to trace and document.
After conditions are met between the various parties involved, the smart contract automatically executes, and begins next steps in the process. Because everything in the contract exists as code, it eliminates potential for human error and added fees. And since the terms are all predetermined and automatically enforceable, they cannot be manipulated or misinterpreted.
What Are The Benefits of Smart Contracts?
As we discussed in a previous post, this seamless integration of contracts could revolutionize the way businesses operate. There are many ways smart contracts will improve businesses in the future. According to the legal site JDSUPRA, these include:
- Automation: Smart contracts will allow businesses to automate the contract process, and trigger next steps without any human interference. “They can also send notifications and automate processes such as dispute resolution, document reconciliation, and discrepancy identification.”
- Risk management: Smart contracts eliminate the possibility for mistakes often made in the process of drawing up big contracts in which many conditions have to be met, and save time in the process. Instead, both parties agree on the release of payments once certain milestones are met. “This way, the service provider has incentive to make sure they maintain the agreed upon schedule and the paying party can have assurance they will not have to pay for work that has not been completed.”
- Time and money: Smart contracts allow for seamless money exchange, so that costly and time-consuming bank transfers and direct deposits are unnecessary.
- Confidence: Businesses can rest assured knowing that smart contracts are securely tracked and recorded on the blockchain. This mitigates concern that terms of their contracts may have been altered before they were signed, as well as reducing the potential for disagreements and legal battles.
- Simplifies the job of human resources: Because smart contracts are traceable and seamless, they make it much easier for employees, businesses, and HR departments “to satisfy their obligations and comply with company policies and regulations.”
- Creates certainty: Because smart contracts leave “no room for interpretation,” they will help eliminate long negotiation periods, contract breaches, legal disputes, and disagreements over whether terms were met. “All parties can see the terms set forth in the code, whether conditions have been satisfied, and what dispute resolution process corresponds to each step of the contract. As a result, there is no doubt what will happen.”
Smart contracts do come with some potential pitfalls. Examples include the potential for flawed code or data, and the inability of parties to reverse any mistakes made in the original contract once it is initiated. With smart contracts, there is simply no room for error of ambiguity. However, given their vast benefits, there is little doubt that many organizations will eventually adopt smart contracts.
Enterprise Blockchain for Your Industry
What industries can benefit from blockchain technology? Get Enterprise Blockchain for Healthcare, IoT, Energy, and Supply Chain, a five-course program from IEEE, to find out. Developed by leading experts in blockchain technology, this advanced program provides business use cases across key industries and sectors. It’s ideal for managers, professional engineers, and business leaders.
Contact an IEEE Content Specialist to learn more about how this program can benefit your organization.
Interested in getting access for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) today!
Resources
(14 July 2021). 6 Reasons Why Employers Need to Join the Blockchain Revolution and Consider Smart Contracts. JD SUPRA.
Edge computing for business can increase the speed of data processing and analysis. The Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to grow significantly, predicted to reach about $1.6 trillion USD by 2025. Edge technology can help process the copious amounts of data that this surge in IoT-enabled devices will produce.
Because edge computing processes data at the location where the data is being generated, it stores, processes, analyzes and informs actions of users instantaneously. The benefits of edge computing over cloud computing is the speed at which data is analyzed and acted on. See a few ways it can transform a business in the next year.
Real-Time Data Analysis
Data is normally sent to one central location so that it can be analyzed in order to take proper action. However, edge computing allows for the data analysis to take place near the area where it is created. With edge technology, the data can be kept close to its origin point, which is optimal for nearly real-time decision making.
Augmented Reality
Edge computing has the chance to improve augmented reality. Users will gain a more vivid and realistic augmented reality (AR) experience. By taking advantage of this technology early on, technology firms can be one of the first to provide this upgraded experience to their customers.
Smart Manufacturing
Manufacturing companies can improve their production floors with edge technology. With almost real-time data analysis, it helps improve efficiency and margins. Companies can help avoid line shutdowns by identifying problems while edge computing allows analyzes the collected data.
Security Systems
Large organizations need fast and accurate security systems to help keep their information and buildings safe. Edge computing makes security systems more efficient when operating at a lower bandwidth. Data from security cameras are frequently collected and stored in the cloud through a signal. Edge computing allows each device to have an internal computer that is able to transfer footage to the cloud when it is needed.
Lowered Operational Costs
Because edge computing helps collect data, it does not require a central server to determine what action should be taken. This helps reduce operational costs by needing less storage to hold the information.
Get Close to the Edge with Customized Solutions
Not many organizations know what edge computing means or what impact it can have on their business. For one company, it could mean installing on-site servers that are capable of nearly real-time IoT data analysis. For another company, it could mean reducing organizational costs by using smaller deployments. One key benefit to edge computing it that is can be customized to meet the company’s needs.
Prepare your organization for edge computing integration. Designed to train your entire team to support edge computing, IEEE Introduction to Edge Computing is an online five-course program. The on-demand courses included in this program are:
- Overview of Edge Computing
- Practical Applications of Edge Computing
- Research Challenges in Edge Computing
- Designing Security Solutions for Edge, Cloud, and IoT
- Tools and Software for Edge Computing Applications
To learn more about getting access to these courses for your organization, connect with an IEEE Content Specialist today.
Interested in the course for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) to learn more.
Resources
(23 December 2019). 13 Ways Edge Computing Can Benefit Businesses. Forbes.
Lital, Marom. (13 December 2019.) Enter A New Era Of Edge Computing. Forbes.
With the booming Internet of Things (IoT) device market, many people expect to be connected at all times. While it is unrealistic to be online 24/7 with no drops in coverage or speed—especially while travelling—losing connection can be a significant problem for organizations.
Businesses rely on devices and technology such as Wi-Fi and the cloud to remain connected to their data and customers. However, what happens when a business cannot connect? If employees are unable to even check their email inboxes, will productivity grind to a halt?
A possible solution that could help create a permanent connection for IoT devices involves sending data over sound. While this solution involves newer data-over-sound technology over the air, transmitting data via sound is an established practice. The characteristic whines and beeps of the dial-up modem was a form of data-over-sound using wires rather than over the air.
What is Data-Over-Sound?
Companies have been investing in new ways of transmitting data through their devices to ensure they are always securely connected. Sound waves would allow devices to interconnect without the use of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The evolution of data-over-sound technology has the real possibility to create network-independent IoT environments with uninterrupted connectivity.
Who Offers Data-Over-Sound?
Organizations that are currently working on data-over-sound solutions include Sonarax and Stimshop. Sonarax, an ultrasonic communication technology company, revealed its new standard in machine-to machine (m2m) connectivity. It enables devices to communicate with one another via sound waves. The protocol is the most extensive global infrastructure install base, and it operates on any device that has a built-in speaker or microphone.
Sonarax’s solution addresses three main areas:
- Ultrasonic Payments: Helping create secure connections for mobile payments and contactless ATM interaction. Pilot programs for this feature have been deployed at major global financial institutions.
- Ultrasonic Authentication: Providing a safe identification solution that can be integrated and used by any third party application.
- Ultrasonic Indoor Positioning: Allowing indoor positioning in buildings, such as shopping malls and hospitals, where GPS stops working. Sonarax is working to implement its technology for novel indoor navigation functionality at a later date.
Stimshop, an agency in France, offers data-over-sound technology via its protocol Wi-Us. Stimshop’s Wi-Us technology can turn speakers or sound systems into a vehicle for wireless communication, detection, authentication, and geo-location. The company also states that its technology can be used in environments incompatible with radio waves such as explosive environments or those with electromagnetic scrambling issues.
Security Concerns
What are the security concerns when it comes to transferring data via sound? Experts worry that there are apps that can acquire the information sent through the sound waves.
However, Sonarax CEO Benny Saban states that over-the-sound verification between two devices restricts man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. This type of attack involves hackers trying to interfere with the communication between two devices.
“As in all communication protocols, encrypted data is converted to ultrasonic data and reaches its destination–unchanged–through the same encrypted method by which it was sent,” says Saban. “Essentially, the ultrasonic communication protocol adds an additional layer of security to the first layer of encryption. This means that in order to hack the data, one needs to intercept the sonic data, decipher it, and then decipher the encryption used.”
Preparing for Evolving IoT Technology
Find out what new IoT developments could impact your industry. Prepare your organization with the IEEE Guide to the Internet of Things, a series of eight training courses led by top researchers in the field. This program is designed for professionals working in engineering, IT, computer science, and related disciplines across all industries.
Connect with an IEEE Content Specialist and receive a custom quote for your organization today.
Resources
Chandler, Simon. (18 October 2019). How Data-Over-Sound Will Ensure A Permanently Connected IoT World. Forbes.
(27 February 2019). Sonarax Unveils a Novel Ultrasonic Device-to-device Communication Protocol. PR Newswire.
(10 January 2018). When Wi-Fi Won’t Work, Let Sound Carry Your Data. Wired.
Stimshop Mobile Interactions and Data Transfers. Stimshop.
The Internet of Things (IoT), the ability for devices in our everyday environment to connect and share information, offers amazing potential for positive impact in government, education, finance and transportation, as well as nearly endless consumer applications.
Companies are working to deploy billions of connected devices – from personal health and fitness trackers, to remote home monitoring and management systems, to community data sharing portals – that not only send alerts to your smartphone, but communicate with each other to maximize practicality and productivity. For example, imagine a fire alarm that doesn’t just beep, but shuts off your gas appliances and wakes you with an alert sent to your household phones.
However, as computing power increases, battery life becomes a problem, limiting IoT potential.
Eliminating the Limits
Extending battery life is a must for continued innovation. With the number of IoT devices projected to grow to more than 20 billion in just the next couple of years, energy conservation is critical. The trick lies in balancing power consumption with the performance of future networked devices exclusively dependent on battery power.
In order for IoT technology to flourish, especially in situations where it’s infeasible or impractical to frequently replace batteries (think pacemakers and other medical devices), a reduced need for frequent recharging or replacement of batteries is essential.
A low-power, low-latency solution will allow devices and sensors to last longer and become infinitely more useful.
Enter: Wake-Up Radio
Wake-Up Radio removes the need to compromise between power savings and latency by reducing the significant energy waste that wireless devices cause during their idle communication mode. The radio consumes minute amounts of power while still being in a constant active or listening state. Wake-Up Radio goes into sleep mode with regular intervals in which it will wake up to sample the channel for activity.
Incorporating the additional tiny radio, which runs over Wi-Fi and uses less power, allows the main battery to last significantly longer, by up to 694 days. According to Adrian Stephens, chair of the Wake-Up Radio standards task group, the technology “is suitable for a new class of battery-powered devices that will drive innovation and exciting new applications in the market.”
Get the Report
Academic researchers have worked on wake-up receivers for close to a decade. Now, with Wake-Up Radio, innovation in IoT devices is limitless.
To learn more about the specifics of how Wake-Up Radio works and some potential uses, check out the IEEE Technology Report on Wake-Up Radio, crafted to help stakeholders better understand the potential of the technology and market. This insightful report is available for purchase at a 50% discount for a limited-time only via IEEE Xplore.
Resources
(16 Nov 2017). IEEE Releases Report on Wake-Up Radio Technology Aimed at Increasing Battery Life for Wireless Devices. everything RF.
Brogan, Chris. (2 Apr 2018). Learn about IoT with IEEE. Making the Brand: Customer Experience with Chris Brogan.
Mackenzie, Craig. (1 March 2014). Internet of Things device battery life optimization: Engineering design considerations. Embedded Computing Design.
Sharma, Manoj. (October 2017). Wake-Up Radio Systems: A New Perspective. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Engineering & Technology.
Wilhelmsson, Leif and Sundman, Dennis. (18 Dec 2017). Wake-Up Radio – A key component of IoT? Ericsson Research Blog.
An Internet of Things. Postscapes.