SOFIE: Secure Open Federation for Internet Everywhere
The SOFIE project aims to develop a blockchain driven federated platform for enabling information exchange of different IoTs and data silos.
Fragmentation and lack of security are among the biggest problems of IoT systems. Most IoT platforms are vertically oriented closed systems, dedicated to specific application areas. The main goal of SOFIE is to enable diversified applications from various application areas to utilise heterogeneous IoT platforms and autonomous things across technological, organisational and administrative borders in an open and secure manner, making reuse of existing infrastructure and data easy. SOFIE will design, implement and pilot a systematic, open and secure way to establish new business platforms that utilise existing IoT platforms and distributed ledgers. With “openness”, we mean flexible and administratively open business models, as well as technically decentralised federation to enable the interoperability of different IoT platforms, ledgers, and autonomous devices. SOFIE is guided by the needs of three pilot use cases, for which we will federate and field-test IoT business platforms. We have chosen three quite different application areas: food-chain (Greece), mobile gaming (Finland), and energy (Italy), with diverse business requirements. Furthermore, we explore the sometimes surprising synergies between these areas, building a foundation for cross-application-area use of existing IoT platforms and data. The SOFIE project will innovate on IoT solutions, building on prior research and producing the following major outcomes: First, we will deliver: a definition of a secure, open, decentralised and scalable IoT federation architecture, a solution to enable IoT data usage and device actuation across applications and platforms in a secure and controlled way, a solution to enable the simultaneous use of several blockchains and/or other Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), and an IoT Federation Framework to facilitate the creation of business platforms. Second, we will: deploy and validate the SOFIE federation framework in laboratory environment and in three widely different real-life pilots, evaluate the commercial viability of the SOFIE federation approach in creating business platforms, and establish the SOFIE IoT federation approach as a major enabler in the IoT
industry. Emotion contributes mainly at the SOFIE Energy Pilot use case identification, analysis and modelling. Emotion will provide a fleet of 6 electrical vehicles (EVs) and a number of distributed EV chargers targeting energy micro-contracts and micro-payments based on charging location and energy availability. Moreover, Emotion will contribute to the flexible energy marketplace and RES Demand Response, implemented in collaboration with Engineering and ASM utilizing SOFIE blockchains and IoT technology. Beyond, validating SOFIE in its infrastructure in the framework of the Italian pilot, Emotion will contribute to foster public outreach.