Featured image generated using Kadinsky 2 using the following prompt: T-800 from Terminator 2 holding a cryptopunk in his robotic arm. ( ) is the foundational concept upon which the fourth industrial revolution ( ) is being built. Essentially, it refers to the technical capability of small-scale devices (which could be anything from a machine, sensor, worker, raw material, cargo container, or even a smartwatch as an end product) that make up the various sectors of industry (regardless of whether they are in the production or service sectors) to communicate with each other at internet speeds. By giving micro units of objects the ability to communicate with each other at internet speeds, IoT is transforming the way we do business. The Internet of Things IoT Industry 4.0 With IoT, each micro unit of work can be tracked, and micro-level decisions can be made quickly and sometimes automatically. This communication infrastructure also paves the way for industries that can self-manage with the power of autonomous systems ( ). This marks a new era of industrial efficiency and innovation. such as AI-based decision makers + robot arms in production or AI-based chatbots + warehouse robots in service On the other hand, Another one of today’s most popular technologies is blockchain, which actually has its roots in the 80s and was further developed by Nick Szabo’s famous paper in 1992, where he described the concept of “ ” as self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement between ( ) and ( ) being directly written into lines of code. Smart Contracts buyer receiver seller sender In the late 90s, this concept combined with cryptographic proof technologies and led to the emergence of digital currency and distributed wallet concepts. Simply put, . blockchain is a database technology that uses cryptographic principles to facilitate decentralized communication It’s not too difficult to see the between these two technologies when they are described side by side. Both and are centered on “ ”. According to our definitions, while IoT is primarily concerned with producing and outputing information, blockchain is focused on the secure transfer and storage of data. The intersection of these technologies presents numerous opportunities. In this article, I will explore the role that blockchain, particularly NFTs, can play within the context of IoT. connection IoT Blockchain communication At its core, blockchain provides two things: and . While this process is not unfamiliar to us, as it is essentially a database infrastructure, blockchain distinguishes itself in three key ways: validation of information transfer & storage of validated information : Traditional databases are centralized and owned by a single entity. In blockchain, all data can be stored in a decentralized manner, with ownership and validation rights equally distributed among all decentralized units. Decentralization : Thanks to its decentralized structure, data can move transparently and without the need for authority approval between data structures. Transparency Since there is no central authority, new decentralized nodes can be set up in a permissionless manner. Permissionless and Easy Participation: Today, database services enhanced by cloud technologies, have evolved to provide the storage and flow of data with near-flawless efficiency and in a completely integrated ecosystem with environmental devices. However, in cases where of the distinctions above are required, blockchain can serve as a viable substitute to conventional database infrastructure. one or more While there are additionaly solutions available that merge blockchains and traditional databases, it’s important to remember that we’re discussing this conceptually. Continuing on this level, A straightforward answer to this question is: “ . In other words, blockchain can be utilized to share data that needs to be transparently shared to the public or a specific community. To be even more specific: hybrid in what situations might a blockchain be necessary as a database? When parties without an unconditional trust relationship require a means of communication” For example, in an formed with the participation of farmers, it is possible to keep common and transparent accounts using blockchain. agricultural insurance pool Or, two companies can transparently track and execute approval steps for shared between them on a private chain with equal ownership of the data. logistics data Or, communication between can be maintained on the blockchain through medical data of all patients in a country. healthcare institutions When considering these examples with the power of IoT, use cases get even more interesting. Imagine in the first example, and are installed in the regions where the fields are located, collecting climatic data, and this data is automatically transferred to the . In a system where communication is ensured with this transparency, the insurance premium payable from the common pool to farmers who have lost their products due to floods or frost can be automatically paid through a smart contract without the need for additional control by any authority (see ). imaging systems other sensors blockchain Lemonade Or, in the third example, imagine that devices producing regular for diabetic patients can write their data to the instantly, and this data can be transparently tracked by authorized parties such as personal doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, state institutions (see ). blood sugar measurements blockchain Healthnet There is a blockchain developed with the aim of expanding all these usage areas of IoT + Blockchain and establishing a connection between the real world and Web3: . There are dozens of IoT-focused platform and device projects in the IoTeX ecosystem, and over have been connected to Web3 through these projects. These projects include: IoTeX 18K physical assets device, which provides traceability to real world assets on Web3 by pushing the various sensor and GPS data it collects directly to the blockchain, Pebble , a blockchain-based security camera, UCam , which aims to provide a security-oriented distributed storage infrastructure for medical IoT device data. Healthnet Stage of the NFTs If we briefly define NFTs in relation to our topic, they can be described as . NFTs can be used in two main use cases: a metadata format that can contain multiple pieces of information in written or visual formats within the blockchain They can be used as an unforgeable key function for the wallet they belong to, acting as a signature or an access card. In this way, authorization processes within IoT systems running on the blockchain can be ensured through NFTs. Verified Credential: In accordance with the definition we have made above, NFTs can be directly used as a metadata format that contains data in different formats. With , this data can be updated dynamically according to various situations. For example, in the case of agricultural insurance, field parcels can be defined as NFTs, and data such as sensor data, ownership, and insurance history collected from the field can be recorded based on this NFT. Dynamic Data Format: Dynamic NFTs Of course, when we talk about NFTs, it’s not possible to refer to just one definition. As of the date this article was written, there are different NFT standard developments and extensions published as . For example, the standard we discussed in the allows for , while the standard, which was developed with the aim of direct use in the IoT field and was introduced at the end of 2021, establishes a , by adapting the concept of “usability” in addition to “ownership” from the most commonly used NFT standard, . With ERC-4519, the owner of the NFT has a kind of over the physical product, and can distribute user permissions for the use of the product. 19 Ethereum Improvement Proposals ERC-998 previous blog post NFTs that can own other fungible and non-fungible tokens ERC-4519 relationship based on usage rights between NFTs and physical assets ERC-721 administrative right As a conclusion, with their inherent ability to secure ownership and transferability of digital assets, NFTs can be utilized to create digital twins of physical assets, track and manage supply chains, enable secure and efficient data sharing between machines and systems, and facilitate smart contract automation & integration. Although it is difficult to give a concrete example of NFTs being directly integrated into a physical industrial system , it can be said that many developers working on blockchain technologies focused on IoT also have NFTs on their agenda. As we move towards the future, it is possible that the term “NFT” may eventually become outdated or evolve into new aliases. However, as the standards that offer NFTs’ functionalities continue to be customized for various applications and needs, we can expect to witness an increasing integration of with the ecosystems. yet Web3 & NFTs Industry4 & IoT Also published . here

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