Enhancing Defect Traceability and Data Integrity in Industry 4.0 Using Blockchain Technology

Abstract

With the transition to Industry 4.0 factories have achieved significant gains in production with respect to quality, reliability, flexibility, and utilization of resources. Nonetheless, there are open challenges that shall be addressed when it comes to traceability of defects and automation actions that are interrelated with both optimization and security aspects along the production chain. Current industrial solutions use a centralized client-server architecture; however, if the central authority is undermined, the system can fail. In this regard, one of the most promising technologies is blockchain, as it is a decentralized technology based on a peer-to-peer network instead of a client-server model. In this paper, we propose a blockchain framework based on Ethereum platform, which is applied in three different production lines namely for antenna manufacturing, microelectronics, and elevators. Initially, we have three different private Ethereum networks, for each factory, with the Proof-of-Authority consensus mechanism. We have developed smart contracts for defect detection as well as firmware update for production equipment. As shown through experiments, the developed smart contracts have certain advantages compared to existing practises in terms of traceability and cyber-security. Furthermore, we have developed a blockchain API that connects the proposed framework with an industrial middleware platform and the overall OPTIMAI Industry 4.0 ecosystem. Experiments for each production line showcase the potential of our approach and it gains in terms of security, storage, traceability, and transparency.