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

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Internet of Things".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Thomas K. Dasaklis
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Management and Technology, University of Piraeus, 185 34 Piraeus, Greece
Interests: supply chain management; operational research; humanitarian logistics/disaster response; data analysis and blockchain technology
Dr. Fran Casino
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Address: 1. Athena Research Center, 151 25 Athens, Greece
Address: 2. Department of Informatics, Piraeus University, Piraeus, 185 34 Piraeus, Greece Greece
Interests: pattern recognition; data management; privacy; cybersecurity; recommender systems; smart health; supply chain and blockchain
Dr. Rachaniotis Nikolaos
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Management and Technology, University of Piraeus, 185 34 Piraeus, Greece
Interests: supply chain management; mathematical modeling; scheduling deteriorating jobs with time-dependent parameters; humanitarian logistics/epidemics logistics; decision support systems

Special Issue Information

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

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Development and implementation of integrated IoT and blockchain architectures
  • Security and privacy aspects of IoT and blockchain integration
  • 5G-enabled IoT applications and blockchain integration
  • Fog computing and IoT–blockchain integration
  • IoT-related industrial automation and blockchain integration
  • Blockchain-enabled access control mechanisms for IoT Big Data
  • Reliable and secure system design of IoT and blockchain-related architectures
  • Data interoperability and governance in IoT and blockchain-related architectures
  • Scalability issues of IoT and blockchain architectures
  • Real-world case studies relevant to IoT and blockchain integration approaches
  • Critical success factors for integrating blockchain and IoT
  • Conceptual research uncovering the barriers, drivers and concepts associated with integrating IoT and blockchain

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
Blockchain-IoT Sensor (BIoTS): A Solution to IoT-Ecosystems Security Issues
Sensors 2021, 21(13), 4388; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21134388 - 26 Jun 2021
Viewed by 427
Abstract
Sensor devices that act in the IoT architecture perception layer are characterized by low data processing and storage capacity. These reduced capabilities make the system ubiquitous and lightweight, but considerably reduce its security. The IoT-based Food Traceability Systems (FTS), aimed at ensuring food [...] Read more.
Sensor devices that act in the IoT architecture perception layer are characterized by low data processing and storage capacity. These reduced capabilities make the system ubiquitous and lightweight, but considerably reduce its security. The IoT-based Food Traceability Systems (FTS), aimed at ensuring food safety and quality, serve as a motivating scenario for BIoTS development and deployment; therefore, security challenges and gaps related with data integrity are analyzed from this perspective. This paper proposes the BIoTS hardware design that contains some modules built-in VHDL (SHA-256, PoW, and SD-Memory) and other peripheral electronic devices to provide capabilities to the perception layer by implementing the blockchain architecture’s security requirements in an IoT device. The proposed hardware is implemented on FPGA Altera DE0-Nano. BIoTS can participate as a miner in the blockchain network through Smart Contracts and solve security issues related to data integrity and data traceability in an Blockchain-IoT system. Blockchain algorithms implemented in IoT hardware opens a path to IoT devices’ security and ensures participation in data validation inside a food certification process. Full article
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Article
Beacons and Blockchains in the Mobile Gaming Ecosystem: A Feasibility Analysis
Sensors 2021, 21(3), 862; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21030862 - 28 Jan 2021
Viewed by 498
Abstract
We explore the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), such as blockchains, in mobile gaming, focusing on ecosystem expansion and diversification, customer attraction and retention, exploitation of context sensitive and personalized advertisements, and improved monetization of in-game [...] Read more.
We explore the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), such as blockchains, in mobile gaming, focusing on ecosystem expansion and diversification, customer attraction and retention, exploitation of context sensitive and personalized advertisements, and improved monetization of in-game assets. We evaluate the cost and transaction delay of DLTs in a location-based mobile game ecosystem using two types of blockchains (permissioned and permissionless or public), based on defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Our evaluation shows the advantages of using both types of blockchains as well as interledger technologies that combine them. Permissioned blockchains enable high performance, e.g., in terms of throughput and delay, and low cost, while permissionless (public) blockchains, through their transparency, immutability, and openness, support trust and facilitate interactions among unrelated parties. Finally, we show that the combination of IoT devices and DLTs in mobile gaming offers new business opportunities and enables innovative business models for both traditional mobile gaming companies and other participants in the ecosystem, e.g., game players, cafes, malls, and similar establishments, advertising companies, and independent programmers. Full article
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