PFI-RP: Building a Modular, Reliable, Scalable, and Secure Internet of Things Infrastructure

这个创新研究伙伴关系（PFI-RP）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是显着提高传统区块链对更广泛用例的适用性，从而使美国经济和社会受益。该项目建议通过构建和增强入侵容忍许可区块链系统，并将该PFI计划重点放在高价值应用上：模块化、可靠、可扩展和安全的物联网（IoT）基础设施，以改善美国区块链生态系统，从而实现这一目标。此外，该团队将开发新的区块链课程，涵盖区块链的技术，道德和经济方面。该团队将招募本科生和未被充分代表的少数民族，并向马里兰大学巴尔的摩县迈耶霍夫学者项目伸出援手。巴尔的摩县网络安全中心和国家科学基金会网络军团：服务项目奖学金。拟议的项目提供了一种新的基于区块链的物联网基础设施，预计将比现有的基于云的解决方案更安全可靠，并且在支持的服务器和物联网设备方面更具模块化和可扩展性。新基础设施的智能优点包括一个新的许可区块链协议，一个支持大规模物联网设备的新物联网架构，以及一个易于使用的移动应用程序。许可区块链协议提供了1)模块化权衡，不仅为底层共识协议，而且还提供机密性和访问控制，以及2)通过设计新的可靠分布式系统和加密原语的服务器可扩展性。新的物联网架构使用许可区块链作为服务器，行业边缘节点作为即时代理，以大规模支持各种物联网设备。它使用容错和加密技术来确保边缘节点正常运行，而不会引入额外的故障点或漏洞。该应用程序支持主要的物联网功能（传感器、移动路由器、摄像头、物联网交换机），为物联网设备提供实时警报、物联网数据分析和异常检测。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact /commercial potential of this Partnership for Innovation- Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) project is to significantly improve the applicability of conventional blockchains to a wider array of use cases, thereby benefiting the United States economy and society. The project proposes to accomplish this objective by building and enhancing an intrusion-tolerant permissioned blockchain system and focusing this PFI program on a high-value application: modular, reliable, scalable, and secure Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure to improve the United States blockchain ecosystem. In addition, the team will develop new curriculum on blockchains, covering technical, ethical, and economic aspects of blockchains. The team will recruit undergraduate students and underrepresented minorities and reach out to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Meyerhoff Scholars program, University of Maryland. Baltimore County Center for Cybersecurity, and the National Science Foundation CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service program. The proposed project provides a novel permissioned blockchain-based IoT infrastructure that is expected to be more secure and reliable than existing cloud-based solutions and also more modular and scalable in terms of both servers and IoT devices supported. The intellectual merit of the new infrastructure includes a new permissioned blockchain protocol, a new IoT architecture supporting IoT devices at scale, and an easy-to-use mobile app. The permissioned blockchain protocol provides 1) modular trade-offs for not only the underlying consensus protocols but also confidentiality and access control, and 2) server scalability by designing new reliable distributed systems and cryptographic primitives. The new IoT architecture uses permissioned blockchain as servers and industry edge nodes as immediate brokers to support miscellaneous IoT devices at large scale. It uses fault-tolerant and cryptographic technologies to ensure edge nodes function correctly, without introducing additional points of failure or vulnerabilities. The app supports major IoT functions (sensors, mobile routers, cameras, IoT switches), provides real-time alerts, IoT data analysis, and anomaly detection for IoT devices.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.