ZONIA-MC

The concept of the Internet of Things (IoT), emerged in the early 2010s with the vision of linking numerous small-scale devices to a network. However, this vision remains partially unrealized. While many IoT devices exist, they are often scattered and isolated, and there is no easy way to find devices, consume their data, and financially compensate their owner. Indeed, the current IoT landscape is a siloed ecosystem, where interoperability issues and opaque data handling practices compromise both the utility and trustworthiness of IoT applications. At the same time, we are witnessing an era where decision-making is often driven by the data, advocating the need for a Global IoT Marketplace. To address these issues, Archeion SRL and the University of Bologna introduce ZONIA-MC (a Multi-Chain Zero-Trust Oracle System for Blockchain IoT Applications), a novel cross-chain oracle system designed to enhance data integrity and decentralization in IoT environments. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on centralized data sources and trusted entities, ZONIA-MC utilizes a decentralized, zero-trust model that allows for anonymous participation and integrates multiple data sources to ensure fairness and trust. Further, it enables transparent cross-chain interoperability by performing the request resolution process on the blockchain that best satisfies requirements such as cost, transaction speed, and energy efficiency. During the project lifespan, we will deliver a software product composed of an indexer of IoT devices, an Oracle implementation, and several smart contracts that constitute the platform’s backend. We guarantee to serve client needs independently of their blockchain of choice while considering energy efficiency and cost when performing backend blockchain computation.
- Motivation for the project: Centralized IoT systems create siloed ecosystems, compromising utility and trust. A decentralized “Global IoT Market” enables transparent data collection, device connectivity, and monetization. To ensure scalability, a multi-chain architecture with distributed Oracle networks avoids relay chain bottlenecks and single-chain reliance.
- Generic use case description: Companies can utilize reliable sensory data as automatic triggers to release contract compensation based on smart insurance or auditing, benefiting from blockchain security. Developers participate by implementing their own data producers/indexers.
- Essential functionalities: ZONIA-MC is a multi-chain, zero-trust oracle system designed for trusted IoT data retrieval. It dynamically selects the optimal blockchain based on cost, latency, and energy efficiency to execute the required operations. Additionally, it employs a robust reputation system to ensure network security.
- How these functionalities can be integrated within the software ecosystem: The proposed oracle system allows developers to build solutions that consume trustworthy IoT data. Additionally, it enables stakeholders to integrate and monetize their IoT devices, fostering a secure and efficient data-sharing environment.
- Gap being addressed: Other oracle solutions are limited to a single chain, leading to potential cost inefficiencies and traffic bottlenecks. ZONIA-MC enables transparent cross-chain interoperability by resolving requests on the blockchain that best meets requirements as cost, transaction speed, and energy efficiency.
- Expected benefits achieved with the novel technology building blocks: ZONIA-MC ensures trusted IoT data retrieval with cross-chain interoperability, optimizing the costs. Its decentralized, zero-trust model enhances security and reliability, avoiding single points of failure. Scalability is achieved by distributing transaction loads across multiple blockchains.
- Potential demonstration scenario: We are currently focused on use cases in the context of agriculture, where trustworthy environmental data can be crucial. We are involving wineries in the current user studies as well as students to act as client developers of the platform, managing satellite components (indexers/producers).
Team

Federico Piron
experienced entrepreneur who drives strategic growth and global partnerships.

Gianfranco Prior
versatile full stack marketer and business developer

Cristiano Aguzzi
seasoned software architect and Ph.D specialized in IoT and blockchain.

Manuel Arto
jr. Full stack developer specialized in blockchain technologies

Simone Tassi
jr. Frontend developer specialized in angular

Prof. Marco Di Felice
professor of Computer Science at the University of Bologna since 2022, with research focused on pervasive systems, IoT, AIoT, and edge/cloud computing;

Prof. Federico Montori
senior Assistant Professor at the University of Bologna, specializes in mobile crowdsensing, IoT automation, and data analysis.

Ivan Zyrianoff
research fellow from university of bologna who works with IoT.

Lorenzo Gigli
researcher and software architect specialized in distributed architectures

Alfonso Esposito
research fellow from university of bologna working on AI and IoT.
Entities

Department of Computer Science and Engineering University of Bologna
founded in January 2012 with the aim of promoting and developing research activities in the fields of science, engineering and information technology.
Website: https://disi.unibo.it/en

Archeion
Asset tracking through interactive digital labels that empower consumers with transparent product information and secure the values behind every product with the blockchain.
Website: https://archeion.tech/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/archeion-tech/