While IoT, Blockchain and AI hold an individual capacity to shake up some industries, together with the three technologies are about to strike the 4th industrial revolution.

Once IoT takes hold, the extraction of new data will fasten. The technology benefits will be improved business processes and innovative products and services in relevance to consumer preferences. As rapidly as IoT is reaching there, it requires a lot of support to transform into a sustainable ecosystem.

By 2021, 20.4 billion IoT devices will be connected, leading to the generation of data of tremendous volume. The potential of an entire IoT network will remain underutilized unless the data is analyzed and its security is ensured. Just building and adopting a network of IoT-enabled devices is not a self-sufficient system. To propagate and realize business value out of the same, intelligent predictive algorithms (Artificial Intelligence), tracking and tracing of the entire value chain and Data Security (Blockchain).

Technology dimensions of IoT, AI, and Blockchain intersect at multiple levels to disrupt the digital spheres of our lives in an organized manner.

How are Blockchain, IoT and AI converging?

All three technologies are indeed transformative and their confluence is inevitable.

Role of Blockchain

Blockchain is going to act as an enabling technology for building decentralized databases. The impenetrable security offered by cryptographic protocols will ensure IoT networks can be trusted without sacrificing security and transparency.

Role of Artificial Intelligence

Making use of Machine learning algorithms in an IoT network promises to build IoT networks that are self-corrective inherently. The outcome of each iteration of data analysis (data generated by connected IoT devices) will be used to modify the way the network functions. Thus rendering an IoT ecosystem with sophisticated thinking capability.

The convergence of Blockchain, IoT and AI is still in its nascent stages but some of the pilot projects have fortified the fact that the three technologies can do wonders together. With Blockchain offering speed and security, IoT ecosystems will be able to circumvent the vulnerabilities of a digitally connected world.

How can multiple industries benefit from these three?

Auto Insurance Industry Use Case:

The industry has a plethora of auto parts settlement issues. Bringing AI, IoT, and blockchain together to this land sphere is expected to manage the challenges in a smart manner. The implementation of sensors on the auto parts can lead to continuous tracking of the performance of parts. Using AI the performance parameters can analyze to trap the defective parts. Once the parts are identified, they can be recalled from the market with quick settlements using smart contracts.

Usage-based Insurance Premium Use Case:

Innovative ideas have been dropping in from multiple spheres. A very potential use-case of the three technologies working together is the usage-based insurance premium case. The IoT sensors installed in the cars will collect real-time data about the driver’s driving habits. The analysis of this data can help AI algorithms determine a driver’s safe driving performance and hence his auto-insurance premiums. Not only will it lead to fewer disputes but will also reduce the burden of the manual underwriting process which involves both time and cost.

Real-time Safety Management

Safety management at work premises has always been a challenge for organizations. Fujitsu implemented an innovative way to track real-time safety issues in 2017 with the use of IoT sensors. These IoT sensors record heat data to identify heat stress. In case of any issue with the workers’ health, if this data correlates with the hazardous work situation, the insurance payment to the workers is initiated instantly using smart contracts.

To wrap

The sustenance of an IoT network is highly driven by the kind of support it will receive from AI and Blockchain. Once these technologies join hands, they can leverage the strength of each other and fortify a secure and transparent network of smart connected devices. The convergence of Blockchain, IoT, and AI is inevitable and the results will be impactful for the fourth industrial revolution.