A conceptual architecture for contractual data sharing in a decentralised environment

Machine Learning systems rely on data for training, input and ongoing feedback and validation. Data in the field can come from varied sources, often anonymous or unknown to the ultimate users of the data. Whenever data is sourced and used, its consumers need assurance that the data accuracy is as described, that the data has been obtained legitimately, and they need to understand the terms under which the data is made available so that they can honour them. Similarly, suppliers of data require assurances that their data is being used legitimately by authorised parties, in accordance with their terms, and that usage is appropriately recompensed. Furthermore, both parties may want to agree on a specific set of quality of service (QoS) metrics, which can be used to negotiate service quality based on cost, and then receive affirmation that data is being supplied within those agreed QoS levels. Here we present a conceptual architecture which enables data sharing agreements to be encoded and computationally enforced, remuneration to be made when required, and a trusted audit trail to be produced for later analysis or reproduction of the environment. Our architecture uses blockchainbased distributed ledger technology, which can facilitate transactions in situations where parties do not have an established trust relationship or centralised command and control structures. We explore techniques to promote faith in the accuracy of the supplied data, and to let data users determine trade-offs between data quality and cost. Our system is exemplified through consideration of a case study using multiple data sources from different parties to monitor traffic levels in urban locations

Archival Study of Blockchain Applications in the Construction Industry From Literature Published in 2019 and 2020

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate proposed blockchain applications in the construction industry from contemporary literature. Methodology: Archival studies will be used to obtain academic content from secondary sources. An explorative strategy will be adopted with no preconception or biases on the preferred route of execution. Blockchain is a fast-evolving technology with a high rate of yearly progression; therefore, this paper refines the search to recently published material in 2019 and 2020. Data is collected in two stages, firstly, categories of research are extrapolated from secondary literature and recorded into a table, and afterwards, the corresponding proposed application of blockchain is documented and reviewed. Findings: An adequate breadth and variety of categories are substantiated from archival literature, which effectively contributes to the extraction of proposed blockchain applications for construction. The data collection extracts 19 categories from the explorative study, in which 19 proposed solutions (one per category) is presented. All of the advisory content for the proposed solutions were obtained from a deliberated selection of 21 academic study papers. Limitations: The study is limited to one proposed application per category, totalling 19 proposed solutions; however, assessing various approaches per category could not be researched comparatively due to voluminous information. Thus, recommendations incorporate a holistic case study of one subject category which incorporates a multitude of various proposed applications. Originality: This paper contributes to new knowledge through extrapolating proposed blockchain applications from academic literature in 2019 and 2020

Control configurations in buyer-supplier relationships: environment- buyer organisation- goals and modes of control

Considering the growing externalisation of strategic activities, the problem of the control of buyer-supplier relationships is crucial. Therefore, researchers usually propose modes of control that are adapted to various environments. However, the organisations are often considered as “black boxes” whose goals are unspecified. This paper examines buyer-supplier control configurations that take into account the organisation of buying firms and their goals toward their suppliers. This research is based on six case studies conducted in the manufacturing industry (60 interviews). The outcome of the research is a matrix which represents four configurations of buyer-supplier control, based on the global purchasing environment of the buying firm (in terms of reciprocal dependence between the buyer and its suppliers). For each configuration, a type of purchasing organisation (structure and intra-organisational control of purchasing agents) and a principal goal for the buying firm are proposed: the lord-buyer wants to exert its power, the partner-buyer aims at assuring goal congruence with its suppliers, the vassal-buyer tries to reduce uncertainty and the market-buyer seeks to grasp opportunities on the market. For each configuration, the modes of control that the buyer exerts on its suppliers –in terms of means, objects of control, influence strategies of the buyer (more or less coercive) and suppliers reactions- are coherent with the main goal of the buyer.interorganisational control; buyer-supplier relationship; power; dependence; Goals of control

Smart contracts for decentralised building information modelling.

The paper presents a model for decentralizing building information modelling, through implementing its infrastructure using the decentralized web. We discuss the shortcomings of BIM in terms of its infrastructure, with a focus on tracing identities of design authorship in this collective design tool. In parallel we examine the issues with BIM in the cloud and propose a decentralized infrastructure based on the Ethereum blockchain and the Interplanetary filesystem (IPFS). A series of computing nodes, that act as nodes on the Ethereum Blockchain, host disk storage with which they participate in a larger storage pool on the Interplanetary Filesystem. This storage is made available through an API is used by architects and designers creating and editing a building information model that resides on the IPFS decentralised storage. Through this infrastructure central servers are eliminated, and BIM libraries and models can be shared with others in an immutable and transparent manner. As such Architecture practices are able to exploit their intellectual property in novel ways, by making it public on the internet. The infrastructure also allows the decentralised creation of a resilient global pool of data that allows the participation of computation agents in the creation and simulation of BIM models

BIM implementation and project coordination in design-build procurement

Various procurement methods have been proposed as being more appropriate for implementing BIM. Simultaneously, BIM implementation affects the project coordination. Whereas many approaches to BIM implementation have considered integrated procurement, not all are applicable to various local markets. Particularly in the Netherlands, BIM implementation is characterized by 'ground-up' and self-regulated initiatives. This paper aims to explore and identify the relationship between design-build procurement and the emerging coordination structures from BIM. Exploratory case study research has been undertaken. The findings included two main coordination structures: centralized and decentralized. These two structures subsequently carry implications for various construction firms and their respective business models, as well as BIM implementation in general

Distributed Space Traffic Management Solutions with Emerging New Space Industry

Day-to-day services, from weather forecast to logistics, rely on space-based infrastructures whose integrity is crucial to stakeholders and end-users worldwide. Current trends point towards congestion of the near-Earth space environment increasing at a rate greater than existing systems support, and thus demand novel cost-efficient approaches to traffic detection, characterization, tracking, and management to ensure space remains a safe, integral part of societies and economies worldwide. Whereas machine-learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) have been extensively proposed to address congestion and alleviate big-data problems of the future, little has been done so far to tackle the need for transnational coordination and conflict-resolution in the context of space traffic management (STM). In STM, there is an ever-growing need for distributing information and coordinating actions (e.g., avoidance manoeuvres) to reduce the operational costs borne by individual entities and to decrease the latencies of actionable responses taken upon the detection of hazardous conditions by one-to-two orders of magnitude. However, these needs are not exclusive to STM, as evidenced by the widespread adoption of solutions to distributing, coordinating, and automating actions in other industries such as air traffic management (ATM), where a short-range airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS) automatically coordinates evasive manoeuvres whenever a conjunction is detected. Within this context, this paper aims at establishing a roadmap of promising technologies (e.g., blockchain), protocols and processes that could be adapted from different domains (railway, automotive, aerial, and maritime) to build an integrated traffic coordination and communication architecture to simplify and harmonise stakeholders’ satellite operations. This paper is organised into seven sections. First, Section 1 introduces the problem of STM, highlighting its complexity. Following this introduction, Section 2 discusses needs and requirements of various stakeholders such as commercial operators, space situational awareness (SSA) service providers, launch-service providers, satellite and constellation owners, governmental agencies, regulators, and insurance companies. Then, Section 3 addresses existing gaps and challenges in STM, focusing on globally coordinated approaches. Next, Section 4 reviews technologies for distributed, secure, and persistent communications, and proposed solutions to address some of these challenges from non-space sectors. Thereafter, Section 5 briefly covers the history of STM proposals and presents the state-of-the-art solution being proposed for modern STM. Following this review, Section 6 devises a step-by-step plan for exploiting and deploying some of the identified technologies within a five-to-ten-year timeline to close several existing gaps. Finally, Section 7 concludes the paper