On Using Blockchains for Safety-Critical Systems
It addresses the problem of enhancing safety and reliability in cyber-physical systems for industries like automotive and energy, but is incremental as it reviews and proposes rather than implements.
This paper analyzes the application of blockchain ideas to safety-critical systems such as self-driving cars and smart energy, presenting potential benefits and outlining a research agenda for remaining challenges.
Innovation in the world of today is mainly driven by software. Companies need to continuously rejuvenate their product portfolios with new features to stay ahead of their competitors. For example, recent trends explore the application of blockchains to domains other than finance. This paper analyzes the state-of-the-art for safety-critical systems as found in modern vehicles like self-driving cars, smart energy systems, and home automation focusing on specific challenges where key ideas behind blockchains might be applicable. Next, potential benefits unlocked by applying such ideas are presented and discussed for the respective usage scenario. Finally, a research agenda is outlined to summarize remaining challenges for successfully applying blockchains to safety-critical cyber-physical systems.