Image-based Proof of Work Algorithm for the Incentivization of Blockchain Archival of Interesting Images
This work addresses a niche problem for blockchain and image processing communities, but it is incremental as it adapts existing proof-of-work concepts to a specific application.
The authors tackled the problem of incentivizing image processing by proposing a blockchain proof-of-work algorithm that rewards miners for identifying 'interesting' images based on entropy analysis, with efficacy tested on small datasets and storage implications analyzed mathematically.
A new variation of blockchain proof of work algorithm is proposed to incentivize the timely execution of image processing algorithms. A sample image processing algorithm is proposed to determine interesting images using analysis of the entropy of pixel subsets within images. The efficacy of the image processing algorithm is examined using two small sets of training and test data. The interesting image algorithm is then integrated into a simplified blockchain mining proof of work algorithm based on Bitcoin. The incentive of cryptocurrency mining is theorized to incentivize the execution of the algorithm and thus the retrieval of images that satisfy a minimum requirement set forth by the interesting image algorithm. The digital storage implications of running an image- based blockchain are then examined mathematically.