Everything you need to know about IOTA, XDK2MAM and Bosch XDK
How an ecosystem development bridges the XDK and IOTA.
“The one thing that’s missing, but that will soon be developed. It’s a reliable e-cash. A method where buying on the Internet you can transfer funds from A to B, without A knowing B or B knowing A. […] And you may get that without knowing who I am. That kind of thing will develop on the Internet.”
Milton Friedman (1999)
Cryptocurrencies are evolving
The quote above from economist and Nobel Prize winner Friedman dates back to 1999, when the Internet itself was still in its early stages. Today, 19 years later in 2018, it is even more impressive that he was completely right about this: More and more cryptocurrencies are evolving. Besides the most popular crypto currency Bitcoin, there are also other ambitious crypto currencies on the rise. One of them is IOTA.
What is IOTA? – What is the difference to blockchain technology?
To understand what IOTA actually is, one should first rule out what it is not. In contrast to Bitcoin, IOTA does not use blockchain technology and does not need miners. Miners are people who are being paid to contribute to the security of the blockchain. For this reason, micro transactions are also possible, as IOTA does not charge any transaction fees.
While blockchain slows down and requires more resources the larger the network becomes, IOTA does the exact opposite. The use of the innovative IOTA Tangle technology results in higher scalability and becomes faster and even more secure the more activity there is. It is therefore a serious transaction settlement and data transfer layer for the Internet of Things. However, there is more than that!
To get more Information about how IOTA works in detail, check out the FAQ section on the IOTA website.
IOTA Data Marketplace
By 2020, there will be more than 20 billion connected devices that interact in different manners, generating enormous quantities of data. Currently, data is mostly limited to the control of a few entities and not available for the broad masses. Therefore, not everyone can develop new use cases or business areas. Especially at this time when data is becoming increasingly important, IOTA presents a counterpart to the status quo with their Data Marketplace
The IOTA Marketplace is a decentralized data market place that aims to make data available to any compensating party. The data is being collected and traded in real time by connected devices like the Bosch XDK. Moreover, the Data Marketplace makes it possible to securely sell and access active data streams. As an IOTA Data Marketplace user, either you have the option to buy or sell MAM (Masked Authenticated Messaging) encrypted data.
There will be more on MAM below. First, we want to explain the role of the XDK in the IOTA ecosystem.
The Role of Bosch XDK in the IOTA ecosystem
The Bosch XDK (Cross Domain Development Kit) is a programmable sensor device and Internet of Things prototyping platform for any kind of use case you can imagine. Moreover, it can be used as a powerful sensor node solution. It combines state of the art MEMS sensor technology, WiFi, BLE, an SD Card Slot and ready-to-use software packages. This enables the implementation of almost any conceivable IoT application.
The XDK was developed for people of all levels of programming experience and the required information material is free for all users. In this context, it allows you to pursue different projects using the XDK as a starting point. Put simply: The Bosch XDK can be used to collect specific real-time data and sell it via the IOTA Data Marketplace.
XDK2MAM bridges the Bosch XDK and IOTA
As already mentioned above, the IOTA Data Marketplace offers the option to buy or sell MAM (Masked Authenticated Messaging) encrypted data. Previously, there was no open source code available to link the Bosch XDK and IOTA. The XDK2MAM members, consisting of the founders Daniele de Michele and Alejandro Elustondo as well as Daniel Trauth as their consultant from RWTH Aachen University, have set upon themselves the goal to make this open source code available to the IOTA community. They provided a simple and well-documented solution, understandable to non-experts as well, that connects the XDK to the IOTA Tangle through HTTP, MQTT and BLE.
So if you are interested in participating in the IOTA Data Marketplace as a data seller you cannot get past XDK2MAM. We at Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions are excited about this ambitious project and are pleased to be contributing to it with our Cross Domain Development Kit and the XDK Workbench.
Masked Authenticated Messaging enables data to be shared P2P through a secure, encrypted channel. Therefore, data subscribers can trust the source and integrity of data even though the identity of the source is masked.
Masked Authenticated Messaging enables data to be shared P2P through a secure, encrypted channel. Therefore, data subscribers can trust the source and integrity of data even though the identity of the source is masked.
IOTA Data Marketplace: Potential XDK Use Cases
The future of the world is driven by data, and things around us become smart and connected by the use of connected devices. This can even result in completely new business areas. Three potential use cases for the future within the IOTA Data Marketplace could be:
- A company decides to rent out their machines and measures the exact amount of time a customer used the machine and bills them accordingly with IOTA
- The XDK confirms that a machine is operating under proper conditions and sets up these data transactions on the Tangle, for both the operator and supplier to see.
- The XDK is used for an audit trail in a similar concept. If data must be transported under specific conditions, the XDK can monitor this and the IOTA Tangle creates a paperless record for all parties to follow.
We do not want to reveal too much, but in the near future, there will also be a Virtual Hack about Smart City, organized by the IOTA Foundation. Our Bosch XDK will also play a major role here.
