Trusted UAV Network Coverage using Blockchain, Machine Learning and Auction Mechanisms

The UAV is emerging as one of the greatest technology developments for rapid network coverage provisioning at affordable cost. The aim of this paper is to outsource network coverage of a specific area according to a desired quality of service requirement and to enable various entities in the network to have intelligence to make autonomous decisions using blockchain and auction mechanisms. In this regard, by considering a multiple-UAV network where each UAV is associated to its own controlling operator, this paper addresses two major challenges: the selection of the UAV for the desired quality of network coverage and the development of a distributed and autonomous real-time monitoring framework for the enforcement of service level agreement (SLA). For a suitable UAV selection, we employ a reputation-based auction mechanism to model the interaction between the business agent who is interested in outsourcing the network coverage and the UAV operators serving in closeby areas. In addition, theoretical analysis is performed to show that the proposed auction mechanism attains a dominant strategy equilibrium. For the SLA enforcement and trust model, we propose a permissioned blockchain architecture considering Support Vector Machine (SVM) for real-time autonomous and distributed monitoring of UAV service. In particular, smart contract features of the blockchain are invoked for enforcing the SLA terms of payment and penalty, and for quantifying the UAV service reputation. Simulation results confirm the accuracy of theoretical analysis and efficacy of the proposed model

Hybrid clouds for data-Intensive, 5G-Enabled IoT applications: an overview, key issues and relevant architecture

Hybrid cloud multi-access edge computing (MEC) deployments have been proposed as efficient means to support Internet of Things (IoT) applications, relying on a plethora of nodes and data. In this paper, an overview on the area of hybrid clouds considering relevant research areas is given, providing technologies and mechanisms for the formation of such MEC deployments, as well as emphasizing several key issues that should be tackled by novel approaches, especially under the 5G paradigm. Furthermore, a decentralized hybrid cloud MEC architecture, resulting in a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is proposed and its main building blocks and layers are thoroughly described. Aiming to offer a broad perspective on the business potential of such a platform, the stakeholder ecosystem is also analyzed. Finally, two use cases in the context of smart cities and mobile health are presented, aimed at showing how the proposed PaaS enables the development of respective IoT applications.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Boosting IoT data valorization through the adoption of DLT

During the last decade Internet of Things has become one of the key technologies in supporting digital transformation of several ecosystems such urban or industry ones. The huge amount of data generated in such contexts as well as the imperative requirements in terms of trustworthiness, authenticity and integrity make compulsory the adoption of the proper solutions fitting those requirements. This paper presents the design, implementation and validation of a distributed ledger technology architecture emphasizing services linked to data valorization.This work is supported by the TOKEN Project: “Transformative Impact Of BlocKchain tEchnologies iN Public Services”, Grant Agreement 870603, belonging to the H2020 Framework Program. The authors want to acknowledge the valuable work carried out by the colleagues participating in this initiative

LEVERAGING BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY FOR SLA ENFORCEMENT IN HEALTH CARE CLOUD PARTNERSHIPS

The healthcare industry is rapidly adopting cloud-based solutions to improve operational efficiency and patient outcomes. However, healthcare cloud partnerships often face challenges related to the lack of scalability, trust, and Service Level Agreement (SLA) enforcement, and has a notable impact on consumer care quality. To address this issue, the study proposed leveraging blockchain technology to enhance SLA enforcement by using smart contracts in health care cloud partnerships for small and medium-sized facilities. The research questions were: Q.1 What are the current challenges facing small to medium sized healthcare facilities in enforcing SLAs in cloud partnerships? Q.2 How can BC-based smart contracts helps enhance scalability in cloud computing systems in healthcare SMEs by enforcing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in a safe and efficient manner? Q.3 What are the factors that affect the implementation of blockchain-based smart contracts for SLA enforcement in healthcare SMEs cloud partnerships? The project utilized case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of using BC technology based smart contracts to enhance SLA enforcement and improve patient outcomes. The findings and conclusions were as follows: 1. Current challenges facing healthcare SMEs in enforcing SLAs in cloud partnerships: SMEs may lack bargaining power, resources, and technical expertise to effectively negotiate, monitor, and enforce SLAs in cloud partnerships, leading to service disruptions, compliance issues, and financial losses. 2. BC-based smart contracts can enhance the scalability of cloud computing systems in healthcare SMEs by automating SLA execution, ensuring real-time data integrity, transparency, and accountability, reducing fraud, error, and transaction costs, and enabling decentralized trust among stakeholders. 3. Factors affecting the implementation of BC-based smart contracts to better SLA enforcement in healthcare SMEs cloud partnerships: regulatory uncertainty, interoperability, standardization, privacy, security, cost, complexity, governance, and user adoption, and 4. Unique Trends and challenges in the healthcare industry for its data analysis: increasing demand for real-time, patient-centered, personalized, and evidence-based care, generating and integrating large volumes of diverse and complex data from multiple sources, ensuring data quality, privacy, and security, complying with regulations and standards, and fostering collaboration and innovation across stakeholders. MedRec, SimplyVital Health, and Medical Chain demonstrate how BC provides secure data sharing, encryption and access control mechanisms, and promotes interoperability through standard data formats and protocols. Results showed improved scalability, trust, and SLA enforcement with the use of BC technology. Further research in the other domains of this area is recommended. It is required to address broader aspects related to the topic. The areas for further study that emerged from the findings and conclusions of this project include: 1. interoperability,2. trusted monitoring solutions, 3.user experience, 4. privacy and security,5. med tokens, cost and 6. integration with existing BSS and OSS. Keywords: Cloud computing, Blockchain technology, SLA enforcement, Smart Contracts, Healthcare cloud, Blockchain-based SLA enforcement, Smart Healthcare, e-healthcare, Scalability

Blockchain-enabled resource management and sharing for 6G communications

The sixth-generation (6G) network must provide performance superior to previous generations to meet the requirements of emerging services and applications, such as multi-gigabit transmission rate, even higher reliability, and sub 1 ms latency and ubiquitous connection for the Internet of Everything (IoE). However, with the scarcity of spectrum resources, efficient resource management and sharing are crucial to achieving all these ambitious requirements. One possible technology to achieve all this is the blockchain. Because of its inherent properties, the blockchain has recently gained an important position, which is of great significance to 6G network and other networks. In particular, the integration of the blockchain in 6G will enable the network to monitor and manage resource utilization and sharing efficiently. Hence, in this paper, we discuss the potentials of the blockchain for resource management and sharing in 6G using multiple application scenarios, namely, Internet of things, device-to-device communications, network slicing, and inter-domain blockchain ecosystems