Jargon alert with explanations to follow. The IEEE Standards Association is developing a new Identity of Things standard that will apply blockchain decentralized identity (DID) to Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The new standard is being developed with input from Lockheed, Ericsson, Lenovo, Huawei, Bosch, and IoTeX.
Let’s break down some of the jargon. Internet of Things (IoT) refers to sensors and smart devices that use the internet to communicate data. A sensor-based home alarm that calls back to a security center is one of the most obvious examples. Another is health trackers such as Fitbit. Taking it to the industrial level, self-driving cars will ‘talk’ to roadside sensors and chargers. And solar panels will feed data about the amount of electricity that flows into the grid.
Just as it’s hard to communicate with someone that doesn’t speak your language, it will be hard for devices to communicate with each other if there’s no standard way to exchange information around identity. The IEEE gave the example of Wifi standards and standards for electric wall plugs. So the goal is to have a standard way for IoT devices to communicate identity data.
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