One of the flagships of the industry of computer systems and is an active researcher blockchain IBM filed a patent application that will use the technology of distributed registry for the solution of problems related to privacy and security of information obtained when working with the drones, which are becoming more.
According to the document published by the U.S. patent and trademark office (USPTO), IBM first applied in March last year. The system refers to the use of drones for both commercial and recreational applications.
In the application described in detail, as the registry of the blockchain can be used to store data relating to flights of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), “especially when the security threat is considered relatively high.” So, it is about ensuring inspectors of airspace and regulators an opportunity to oversee the drones, whose number is constantly growing.
As the authors of the document, blocks may include many different data values associated with all aspects of drone flights, namely their location, manufacturer and model, any unusual behavior, weather conditions and proximity to the areas where the restrictions.
“The chain can be seen as a chronicle of the path of the UAV in time. When a transaction is carried out, respective parameters sent to the UAV one or more computing nodes in the system validation. One or more computing nodes is established the authenticity of the transaction, then generated a new block. As soon as the unit is designed, it can be added to the UAV-the blockchain the interested sides,” the authors explain.
They pay attention to other advantages of such a system is that “the use of the infrastructure of the blockchain helps in finding drones, functioning disorders, plenty of parties, and such activity is recorded in the registry, which can not be changed”.
Also, under the proposed system exclusive blockchain (eng. permissioned blockchain) may include a function of notifying on a significant change of conditions with which the drone encountered during the flight. For example, if a recreational drone gets too close to the zone of limited flights, it can signal about it, providing the controllers of the airspace and, if available, the operator enhanced data.
On the other hand, a drone carrying medical supplies in an emergency situation, may obtain special permission to fly across the territory of the closed airspace. In turn, the regulators, the tracking data of the blockchain, you see, access is allowed.
As reported, these methods of risk assessment may be assigned to analytical algorithms or machine learning model outside the chain and interact with the registry of the blockchain via a smart contracts.
Recall that IBM is not the only company that sees the blockchain as a possible solution to the problems regarding the increased number of drones or other unmanned vehicles. Recently, the patent and trademark office published a patent application from Walmart, which plans to use blockchain technology for the safe transportation of goods through the supply chain using robots and drones.
