Blockchain-Based Trusted Property Transactions in the Built Environment: Development of an Incubation-Ready Prototype
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. The Potential Application of Blockchain in the Built Environment
2.1.1. Title Transfer of Real Estate Assets
2.1.2. Construction Supply Chains
2.1.3. Building Information Modelling (BIM)
2.2. Need for Blockchain in Enabling Trusted Property Transactions in the Built Environment
3. Research Method, Design and Tools
4. The Proof of Concept
4.1. The Business Scenario
4.2. System Overview
4.3. System Architecture
4.4. System Implementation
4.5. System Evaluation
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Thakur, V.; Doja, M.; Dwivedi, Y.K.; Ahmad, T.; Khadanga, G. Land records on blockchain for implementation of land titling in India. Int. J. Inf. Manag. 2020, 52, 101940. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Vadgama, N. Distributed Ledger Technology in the Supply Chain; UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies: London, UK, 2019. [Google Scholar]
- FIBREE. Global Industry Report “Blockchain Real Estate”; FIBREE: Vienna, Austria, 2020. [Google Scholar]
- Niranjanamurthy, M.; Nithya, B.; Jagannatha, S. Analysis of blockchain technology: Pros, cons and SWOT. Clust. Comput. 2019, 22, 14743–14757. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Davies, E.; Kirby, N.; Bond, J.; Grogan, T.; Moore, A.; Roche, N.; Rose, A.; Tasca, P.; Vadgama, N. Towards a Distributed Ledger of Residential Title Deeds in the UK; University College London: London, UK, 2020. [Google Scholar]
- Perera, S.; Nanayakkara, S.; Rodrigo, M.; Senaratne, S.; Weinand, R. Blockchain technology: Is it hype or real in the construction industry? J. Ind. Inf. Integr. 2020, 17, 100125. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hewavitharana, T.; Nanayakkara, S.; Perera, S. Blockchain as a project management platform. In Proceedings of the 8th World Construction Symposium: Towards a Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Built Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 8–10 November 2019; pp. 137–146. [Google Scholar]
- Rodrigo, M.N.N.; Perera, S.; Senaratne, S.; Jin, X. Potential application of blockchain technology for embodied carbon estimating in construction supply chains. Buildings 2020, 10, 140. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Paulavičius, R.; Grigaitis, S.; Igumenov, A.; Filatovas, E. A decade of blockchain: Review of the current status, challenges, and future directions. Informatica 2019, 30, 729–748. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Yli-Huumo, J.; Ko, D.; Choi, S.; Park, S.; Smolander, K. Where is current research on blockchain technology?—A systematic review. PLoS ONE 2016, 11, e0163477. [Google Scholar]
- Hijazi, A.A.; Perera, S.; Alashwal, A.; Calheiros, R.N. Blockchain adoption in construction supply chain: A review of studies across multiple sectors. In Proceedings of the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) World Building Congress—Constructing Smart Cities, Hong Kong, China, 17–21 June 2019. [Google Scholar]
- Li, J.; Greenwood, D.; Kassem, M. Blockchain in the built environment and construction industry: A systematic review, conceptual models and practical use cases. Autom. Constr. 2019, 102, 288–307. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hijazi, A.A.; Perera, S.; Calheiros, R.N.; Alashwal, A. Rationale for the integration of BIM and blockchain for the construction supply chain data delivery: A systematic literature review and validation through focus group. J. Constr. Eng. Manag. 2021, 147, 03121005. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Institution of Civil Engineers. Blockchain Technology in the Construction Industry: Digital Transformation for High Productivity; Institution of Civil Engineers: London, UK, 2018. [Google Scholar]
- Belotti, M.; Božić, N.; Pujolle, G.; Secci, S. A vademecum on blockchain technologies: When, which, and how. IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutor. 2019, 21, 3796–3838. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Singh, S.K.; Sharma, P.K.; Pan, Y.; Park, J.H. BIIoVT: Blockchain-based secure storage architecture for intelligent internet of vehicular things. IEEE Consum. Electron. Mag. 2021. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bordel, B.; Alcarria, R.; Martin, D.; Sanchez-Picot, A. Trust provision in the internet of things using transversal blockchain networks. Intell. Autom. Soft Comput. 2019, 25, 155–170. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ølnes, S.; Ubacht, J.; Janssen, M. Blockchain in government: Benefits and implications of distributed ledger technology for information sharing. Gov. Inf. Q. 2017, 34, 355–364. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Lemieux, V.L. Evaluating the use of blockchain in land transactions: An archival science perspective. Eur. Prop. Law J. 2017, 6, 392–440. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Graglia, J.M.; Mellon, C. Blockchain and property in 2018: At the end of the beginning. Innov. Technol. Gov. Glob. 2018, 12, 90–116. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lemieux, V.L. A typology of blockchain recordkeeping solutions and some reflections on their implications for the future of archival preservation. In Proceedings of the 2017 IEEE International Conference on Big Data, Boston, MA, USA, 11–14 December 2017; pp. 2271–2278. [Google Scholar]
- Centre of Digital Built Britain. Year One Report: Towards a Digital Built Britain; Centre of Digital Built Britain: Cambridge, UK, 2018. [Google Scholar]
- ARUP. Blockchain and the Built Environment; ARUP: London, UK, 2019. [Google Scholar]
- Kinnaird, C.; Geipel, M. Blockchain Technology: How the Inventions Behind Bitcoin are Enabling a Network of Trust for the Built Environment; ARUP: London, UK, 2017. [Google Scholar]
- Love, P.E.; Edwards, D.J. Forensic project management: The underlying causes of rework in construction projects. Civ. Eng. Environ. Syst. 2004, 21, 207–228. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bankvall, L.; Bygballe, L.E.; Dubois, A.; Jahre, M. Interdependence in supply chains and projects in construction. Supply Chain Manag. Int. J. 2010, 15, 385–393. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Thunberg, M. Developing a Framework for Supply Chain Planning in Construction. Ph.D. Thesis, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden, 2016. [Google Scholar]
- Cha, J.; Singh, S.K.; Pan, Y.; Park, J.H. Blockchain-based cyber threat intelligence system architecture for sustainable computing. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6401. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- FIBREE. Global Industry Report “Blockchain Real Estate”; FIBREE: Berlin, Germany, 2021. [Google Scholar]
- Deng, Z.; Ren, Y.; Liu, Y.; Yin, X.; Shen, Z.; Kim, H.-J. Blockchain-based trusted electronic records preservation in cloud storage. Comput. Mater. Contin. 2019, 58, 135–151. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Veuger, J. Dutch blockchain, real estate and land registration. J. Prop. Plan. Environ. Law 2020, 12, 93–108. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- McNamara, A.J.; Sepasgozar, S.M. Developing a theoretical framework for intelligent contract acceptance. Constr. Innov. 2020, 20, 421–445. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Mason, J.; Escott, H. Smart contracts in construction: Views and perceptions of stakeholders. In Proceedings of the FIG Conference, Istanbul, Turkey, 6–11 May 2018. [Google Scholar]
- Nanayakkara, S.; Perera, S.; Bandara, H.D.; Weerasuriya, G.T.; Ayoub, J. Blockchain technology and its potential for the construction industry. In Proceedings of the 43rd Australasian Universities Building Education Association (AUBEA) Conference: Built to Thrive: Creating Buildings and Cities that Support Individual Well-Being and Community Prosperity, Noosa, QLD, Australia, 6–8 November 2019; pp. 662–672. [Google Scholar]
- Drescher, D. Blockchain Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction in 25 Steps, 1st ed.; Apress: Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 2017. [Google Scholar]
- Androulaki, E.; Barger, A.; Bortnikov, V.; Cachin, C.; Christidis, K.; De Caro, A.; Enyeart, D.; Ferris, C.; Laventman, G.; Manevich, Y. Hyperledger fabric: A distributed operating system for permissioned blockchains. In Proceedings of the 13th EuroSys Conference, Porto, Portugal, 23–26 April 2018; pp. 1–15. [Google Scholar]
- Hyperledger. Hyperledger Fabric. Available online: https://hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io/en/release-2.0/whatis.html (accessed on 26 June 2020).
- Cocco, S.; Singh, G. Top 6 Technical Advantages of Hyperledger Fabric for Blockchain Networks. Available online: https://developer.ibm.com/technologies/blockchain/articles/top-technical-advantages-of-hyperledger-fabric-for-blockchain-networks/ (accessed on 28 July 2020).
- Nawari, N.O. Blockchain technologies: Hyperledger fabric in BIM work processes. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Computing in Civil and Building Engineering, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 3–4 February 2020; pp. 813–823. [Google Scholar]
- Kundu, D. Blockchain and trust in a smart city. Environ. Urban. ASIA 2019, 10, 31–43. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Catalini, C.; Gans, J.S. Initial Coin Offerings and the Value of Crypto Tokens; National Bureau of Economic Research: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2018. [Google Scholar]
- Lemieux, V.L. Blockchain and distributed ledgers as trusted recordkeeping systems. In Proceedings of the Future Technologies Conference (FTC), Vancouver, BC, Canada, 29–30 November 2017. [Google Scholar]
- Rodrigo, M.; Perera, S.; Senaratne, S.; Jin, X. Blockchain for construction supply chains: A literature synthesis. In Proceedings of the ICEC-PAQS Conference, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 18–20 November 2018. [Google Scholar]
- Hijazi, A.A.; Perera, S.; Alashwal, A.; Calheiros, R.N. Enabling a single source of truth through BIM and blockchain integration. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Innovation, Technology, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (ICITEE), Manama, Bahrain, 24–25 November 2019; pp. 385–393. [Google Scholar]
- Nanayakkara, S.; Perera, S.; Senaratne, S. Stakeholders’ perspective on blockchain and smart contracts solutions for construction supply chains. In Proceedings of the CIB World Building Congress, Hong Kong, China, 17–21 June 2019. [Google Scholar]
- Nanayakkara, S.; Perera, S.; Senaratne, S.; Weerasuriya, G.T.; Bandara, H.M.N.D. Blockchain and smart contracts: A solution for payment issues in construction supply chains. Informatics 2021, 8, 36. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sigalov, K.; Ye, X.; König, M.; Hagedorn, P.; Blum, F.; Severin, B.; Hettmer, M.; Hückinghaus, P.; Wölkerling, J.; Groß, D. Automated Payment and Contract Management in the Construction Industry by Integrating Building Information Modeling and Blockchain-Based Smart Contracts. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 7653. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lamb, K. Blockchain and Smart Contracts: What the AEC Sector Needs to Know; Centre for Digital Built Britain: Cambridge, UK, 2018. [Google Scholar]
- Mason, J. The BIM fork—Are smart contracts in construction more likely to prosper with or without BIM? J. Leg. Aff. Disput. Resolut. Eng. Constr. 2019, 11, 02519002. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Shergold, P.; Weir, B. Building Confidence: Improving the Effectiveness of Compliance and Enforcement Systems for the Building and Construction Industry across Australia; Australian Institute of Building Surveyors: Gordon, NSW, Australia, 2018. [Google Scholar]
- Yapicioglu, B.; Leshinsky, R. Blockchain as a tool for land rights: Ownership of land in Cyprus. J. Prop. Plan. Environ. Law 2020, 12, 171–182. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Mintah, K.; Baako, K.T.; Kavaarpuo, G.; Otchere, G.K. Skin lands in Ghana and application of blockchain technology for acquisition and title registration. J. Prop. Plan. Environ. Law 2020, 12, 147–169. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ranjith, V.; Sathyajith, R.; Naveen Kumar, U.; Pushpalatha, M. A performance comparison of different security hashing in a blockchain based system that enables a more reliable and SWIFT registration of land. Int. J. Adv. Sci. Technol. 2020, 29, 1-06. [Google Scholar]
- Kaczorowska, M. Blockchain-based land registration: Possibilities and challenges. Masaryk Univ. J. Law Technol. 2019, 13, 339–360. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Nasarre-Aznar, S. Collaborative housing and blockchain. Administration 2018, 66, 59–82. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Sajana, P.; Sindhu, M.; Sethumadhavan, M. On blockchain applications: Hyperledger fabric and Ethereum. Int. J. Pure Appl. Math. 2018, 118, 2965–2970. [Google Scholar]
- Cachin, C. Architecture of the hyperledger blockchain fabric. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Distributed Cryptocurrencies and Consensus Ledgers, Chicago, IL, USA, 25 July 2016. [Google Scholar]
- FIBREE. Global Industry Report “Blockchain Real Estate”; FIBREE: Paris, France, 2019. [Google Scholar]
- Sherrell, L. Evolutionary prototyping. In Encyclopedia of Sciences and Religions; Runehov, A.L.C., Oviedo, L., Eds.; Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2013; p. 803. [Google Scholar]
- Rodrigo, M.N.N.; Perera, S.; Senaratne, S.; Jin, X. Systematic development of a data model for the blockchain-based embodied carbon (BEC) estimator for construction. Eng. Constr. Archit. Manag. 2021. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Nanayakkara, S.; Rodrigo, M.N.N.; Perera, S.; Weerasuriya, G.T.; Hijazi, A.A. A methodology for selection of a blockchain platform to develop an enterprise system. J. Ind. Inf. Integr. 2021, 23, 100215. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Moges Kasie, F. Combining simple multiple attribute rating technique and analytical hierarchy process for designing multi-criteria performance measurement framework. Glob. J. Res. Eng. 2013, 13, 15–29. [Google Scholar]
- NSW LRS. eConveyancing in NSW. Available online: https://www.nswlrs.com.au/eConveyancing (accessed on 24 June 2020).
- NSW LRS. Find Records. Available online: https://www.nswlrs.com.au/Find-Records (accessed on 24 June 2020).
- Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ). Real Estate Agents and Property Advertising. Available online: https://www.anz.com.au/personal/home-loans/tips-and-guides/agents-and-advertising/ (accessed on 24 June 2020).
- Shuaib, M.; Daud, S.M.; Alam, S.; Khan, W.Z. Blockchain-based framework for secure and reliable land registry system. Telkomnika 2020, 18, 2560–2571. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ). Property Settlement: What Is It and How Does It Work? Available online: https://www.anz.com.au/personal/home-loans/tips-and-guides/property-settlement-what-is-it-how-does-it-work/ (accessed on 24 June 2020).
- NSW Government. Exchanging Contracts and Settlement. Available online: https://www.nsw.gov.au/life-events/living-nsw/buying-residential-property-nsw (accessed on 24 June 2020).
- Hyperledger. Transaction Flow. Available online: https://hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io/en/release-2.1/txflow.html (accessed on 15 July 2020).
- Hyperledger. Glossary. Available online: https://hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io/en/release-2.2/glossary.html (accessed on 15 July 2020).
- Lemieux, V.L. Blockchain recordkeeping: A SWOT analysis. Inf. Manag. 2017, 51, 20–27. [Google Scholar]
- Cheng, M.; Liu, G.; Xu, Y.; Chi, M. When blockchain meets the AEC industry: Present status, benefits, challenges, and future research opportunities. Buildings 2021, 11, 340. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Hyperledger Wiki. Land and Property Management. Available online: https://wiki.hyperledger.org/display/LMDWG/Land+and+Property+Management (accessed on 20 May 2021).
Main Research Focus | Issues in Maintaining Records for Property Transactions | Proposed Framework/Software Prototype | Type of Blockchain Platform Recommended | Challenges and Limitations | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The usage of blockchain for land records management in India. (Conceptual and framework research) |
|
| Hyperledger Fabric, as it offers a number of Software Development Kits (SDKs) to support various applications. |
| [1] |
To discuss the use of blockchain as a land registration tool in Cyprus. (Horizon scanning research) |
|
| Not mentioned. |
| [51] |
The potential of blockchain application in title registration in Ghana (Exploration and conceptual research) |
|
| Not mentioned. |
| [52] |
An analysis of previous blockchain publications targeted on The Netherlands (Exploration research) |
|
| Not mentioned. |
| [31] |
The potential of blockchain to enable reliable registration of land in real estate (focusing on performance of hash functions in blockchain) (Conceptual and framework research) |
|
| Ethereum as it is the first public blockchain platform supporting smart contracts. |
| [53] |
An analysis of blockchain-based land registration possibilities and challenges (Exploration and conceptual research) |
|
| Not mentioned. |
| [54] |
The potential of blockchain to enable reliable registration without intermediaries (Horizon scanning research) |
|
| Ethereum, as it is the first public blockchain platform supporting smart contracts. |
| [55] |
Criteria | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | Total | Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weight for Criterion | 10 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | |||
Hyperledger Fabric | Weight | 8 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 1 | |
Calculated Value | 80 | 80 | 64 | 36 | 90 | 45 | 54 | 49 | 54 | 552 | ||
Corda | Weight | 7 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 2 | |
Calculated Value | 70 | 32 | 56 | 40 | 100 | 30 | 60 | 35 | 60 | 483 | ||
NEM | Weight | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 3 | |
Calculated Value | 40 | 40 | 72 | 32 | 80 | 15 | 48 | 63 | 42 | 432 | ||
IBM Blockchain | Weight | 6 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | |
Calculated Value | 60 | 24 | 64 | 28 | 80 | 40 | 54 | 42 | 30 | 422 |
Term | Description |
---|---|
Ledger | An immutable and sequenced record of all transactions within the prototype. The ledger consists of a blockchain and world state [70]. |
Blockchain | Consists of blocks, with a sequence of transactions, that are cryptographically linked together [70]. The blockchain will be stored in the file system of each peer connected to the prototype. |
World state | Represents the latest values for all keys in the transaction log of the blockchain. A state database is used to store world state data, such as LevelDB and CouchDB. LevelDB is the default state database which stores chaincode data as key-value pairs. Chaincode data is modelled as JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) in CouchDB [70]. This prototype implementation used CouchDB as it allows rich queries of the JSON content. |
Chaincode (Smart contract) | Program code installed on peers that implements the application logic, which is invoked by external client applications [70]. The prototype includes internal chaincode for property transactions and external chaincodes to simulate the functionality of connecting to external databases. |
Client | An application external to the blockchain network that connects to the network to perform business transactions [70]. All authorised users of the prototype will access the blockchain through the graphical user interfaces in the client application. |
Peer | An entity on the blockchain network that maintains the ledger. A subset of peers called endorsing peers run chaincode to execute transaction proposals. A leading peer communicates with the ordering service and distributes blocks to peers when blocks are received from the ordering service [70]. All peers in the prototype have been defined as endorsing peers. |
Ordering service (Orderer) | Performs ordering of transactions into a block and distributes the blocks to connected leading peers. Orderers do not execute or validate transactions [70]. The prototype contains a single ordering service node. |
Test Scenario ID | Property Search–3 | Test Case ID | Property Search–3A | ||
Test Case Description | User searches for property on sale with advanced search criteria | Test Priority | High | ||
Pre-Requisite | Successful login to the user portal | Post-Requisite | N/A | ||
Test Execution Steps: | |||||
S. No | Action | Inputs | Expected Output | Actual Output | Test Result |
1 | Go to Marketplace page | http://landblocks.online/marketplace | Marketplace page | Marketplace page | Pass |
2 | Input advanced search criteria and click the Search button | City: Penrith Property Type: Townhouse Number of bedrooms: 2 Parking capacity: 2 | Display all properties on sale in Penrith with type Townhouse, 2 bedrooms, and parking capacity of 2. | Display all properties on sale in Penrith with type Townhouse, 2 bedrooms, and parking capacity of 2. | Pass |
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Perera, S.; Hijazi, A.A.; Weerasuriya, G.T.; Nanayakkara, S.; Rodrigo, M.N.N. Blockchain-Based Trusted Property Transactions in the Built Environment: Development of an Incubation-Ready Prototype. Buildings 2021, 11, 560. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11110560
Perera S, Hijazi AA, Weerasuriya GT, Nanayakkara S, Rodrigo MNN. Blockchain-Based Trusted Property Transactions in the Built Environment: Development of an Incubation-Ready Prototype. Buildings. 2021; 11(11):560. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11110560
Chicago/Turabian StylePerera, Srinath, Amer A. Hijazi, Geeganage Thilini Weerasuriya, Samudaya Nanayakkara, and Muhandiramge Nimashi Navodana Rodrigo. 2021. "Blockchain-Based Trusted Property Transactions in the Built Environment: Development of an Incubation-Ready Prototype" Buildings 11, no. 11: 560. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11110560