Near Real-Time IoT Ledgers
We live in a data-driven world, where our personal data is being generated by every digital process, systems, devices, and sensors around us. Data privacy, therefore, has become an issue that cannot be ignored.
The Flowchain’s real-time ledgers which aim to provide a distributed IoT ledger innovation to the industry. Flowchain’s hybrid blockchain technology based on Flowchain and PoW blockchain networks can ensure data privacy and immutability collected from the IoT devices such as IP cameras, and other hardware connected with the Internet.
Flowchain: A Journey of Innovation
The Flowchain project began its journey in 2015, rooted in the vision of creating a decentralized platform that could integrate blockchain technology with the Internet of Things (IoT). From 2015 to 2017, Flowchain published several peer-reviewed papers, laying the scientific and technological groundwork for what would become a pioneering solution in the IoT space. These publications detailed the methodologies and innovations that would form the core of Flowchain's hybrid blockchain architecture.
The project took a significant step forward on December 23, 2016, when Jollen Chen, the creator of Flowchain, committed the initial working prototype to the Flowchain repository. This prototype represented the first tangible implementation of the Flowchain concept, showcasing the potential of a decentralized IoT network. The initial commit can be viewed at Flowchain's GitHub repository (commit hash: 189caf2625b82d3459dcd7ee611bfcc36afde2be).
On June 26, 2018, Flowchain launched its first working testnet, marking a major milestone in the project's development. Alongside this, a comprehensive open-source project was made accessible to the public via GitHub, allowing developers and enthusiasts to explore and contribute to the ongoing development of Flowchain's decentralized IoT solutions.
FLC, the utility token of the Flowchain platform, was initially issued on July 1, 2018. The issuance of FLC on the Ethereum blockchain with a max total supply of 1,000,000,000 tokens provided the foundation for powering transactions within the Flowchain ecosystem and granting holders access to the platform's patented technologies.
The success of Flowchain's early development efforts culminated in the closing of Private Sale A on December 31, 2018. This private sale provided token holders with access to the open-source project and the testnet, ensuring that the Flowchain network was operational and robust even before the private sale concluded.
In 2024, Flowchain achieved a significant milestone by being granted two U.S. patents. These patents cover foundational aspects of Flowchain’s hybrid blockchain and Public-Private Key Infrastructure (PPKI) technologies, solidifying its position as a leader in the decentralized IoT space. The patents not only protect Flowchain's intellectual property but also allow FLC holders to obtain licenses, further integrating the community into the platform’s growth and innovation.
Today, Flowchain stands as a leader in the decentralized IoT space, leveraging its innovative hybrid blockchain architecture and Public-Private Key Infrastructure (PPKI) technology to enable secure, scalable, and real-time data processing across IoT networks.
Flowchain Ledger
Flowchain is a blockchain for the IoT designed from scratch. Flowchain created a new software architecture for the IoT blockchain to provide a distributed ledger programming framework for peer-to-peer IoT networks and real-time data transactions. The Flowchain framework uses Node.js to start a Flowchain node and join a peer:
$ export HOST=192.168.0.100
$ export PORT=8000
$ export PEER=192.168.0.1
$ node flowchain.js
Virtual Blocks
Flowchain proposed Virtual Blocks that provide a new blockchain design to ensure the real-time data transactions. And a Flowchain distributed ledger is constructed by merging the Virtual Blocks.
Flowchain's "Virtual Block" technology is an innovative approach designed to enhance the efficiency and scalability of blockchain networks, particularly in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT). Here's a breakdown of how this technology works and its significance:
What is Virtual Block Technology?
The Virtual Block technology is a concept within Flowchain that aims to optimize how data is processed and stored in a blockchain. Instead of relying solely on physical blocks, as is typical in traditional blockchain architectures, Flowchain introduces the idea of "virtual blocks." These virtual blocks allow for more flexible and efficient handling of data transactions, especially in real-time IoT environments where speed and scalability are crucial.
Key Features of Virtual Block Technology:
Scalability:
Virtual blocks are designed to manage large volumes of transactions without the need for each transaction to be immediately added to a physical block. This reduces the bottleneck typically associated with block generation and allows the network to handle more transactions simultaneously.
Real-Time Processing:
In IoT networks, where devices constantly generate and exchange data, real-time processing is essential. Virtual Block technology facilitates this by allowing transactions to be processed and validated quickly, without waiting for the creation of a new physical block.
Efficiency:
By decoupling the transaction processing from the physical block generation, Flowchain’s Virtual Block technology reduces the computational load on the network. This leads to more efficient use of resources and can help in reducing transaction costs.
Flexibility:
Virtual blocks can be adjusted and optimized according to the needs of the network, providing a more adaptable solution compared to traditional blockchain systems. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for IoT environments, where different devices and applications may have varying requirements.
Applications of Virtual Block Technology:
IoT Networks:
Virtual Block technology is particularly well-suited for IoT networks, where devices need to process and share data rapidly. The ability to handle high volumes of transactions in real-time makes it an ideal solution for applications such as smart cities, industrial automation, and healthcare.
Decentralized Applications (dApps):
Developers can leverage Virtual Block technology to build dApps that require high throughput and low latency, ensuring that their applications can scale efficiently without compromising performance.
Conclusion:
Flowchain's Virtual Block technology represents a significant advancement in the field of blockchain, particularly for IoT applications. By offering scalability, efficiency, and real-time processing capabilities, it addresses many of the challenges faced by traditional blockchain systems in managing large-scale, decentralized networks. As Flowchain continues to develop and refine this technology, it is poised to play a crucial role in the future of decentralized IoT networks.
Software Components
Flowchain is developing the core software components that are essential for innovative distributed ledger technology. For more details, please refer to the following table and read the architecture description on GitHub.
Component | Usage | |
1. | wotcity.io | The Web of Things (WoT) framework component. |
2. | devify-server | A set of the Flowchain IoT application server boilerplates. |
3. | wwRPC | A light weight RPC library that supports REST-style RPC operations over the Websocket. |
4. | node-p2p-chord | A light weight Chord protocol and algorithm library in Node.js for the p2p networks. |
5. | flowchain-ledger | Flowchain-ledger is a distributed ledger for the Internet of Things (IoT) designed from ground. |
6. | flowchain-app | A Flowchain plugin that provides the flow-based programming (FBP) engine. |
Presentation
Technical Presentation: Understanding Flowchain Essentials and Ideas
Flowchain/IPFS: Distributed Storage using Blockchain Technology
Meet Flowchain at FOSSASIA
March 14, Singapore, 2019
Flowchain aims to implement the IoT blockchain technology and already proposed the virtual blocks technology that can ensure data stream transactions in a near real-time manner. Jollen, the creator of Flowchain, will present such virtual block technology that can integrate with IPFS to provide an off-chain mechanism technology which can ensure the digital assets transaction from one trusted party to another.
Flowchain - A Hybrid Blockchain for the IoT and Tokenized Hardware
Flowchain at LinuxCon, Beijing, 2018 - Tuesday, June 26 • 15:30 - 16:10
In this presentation, Jollen, the creator of Flowchain, represents a hybrid blockchain technology that utilize the "tokenized hardware" scheme to facilitate future IoT and AI dapps. The IoT blockchain has become an emerging technology in the IT industry. Despite a myriad of studies on the IoT blockchain, it is still a challenge that how an IoT blockchain system is investigated to benefit the IoT and hardware industry.
Roadmap
2025 Q1: Flowchain will begin researching and implementing a PoS hybrid blockchain architecture.