As a company at the forefront of innovation, IoTeX is constantly refining our near-term/long-term vision to sequence our work in the most effective manner. In this post, we are proud to share the future of IoTeX with an overview of the IoTeX Platform and launch calendar for 2019–2020.
IoTeX Platform — Beyond Blockchain
Blockchain & IoT are highly synergistic technologies — IoT generates data while blockchain adds trust to data. However, bridging blockchain & IoT in the real world is complex, requiring a sophisticated design that prioritizes end-to-end trust and privacy. This is IoTeX’s mission: to securely bridge blockchain & IoT and solve real-world problems in IoT and beyond.
IoTeX is more than just blockchain. It is a decentralized IoT platform that combines blockchain, secure hardware, and data services components . Each component plays a unique and crucial role in the IoTeX Network, ultimately coming together to form unique foundational products for developers — decentralized identity (DID), trusted data oracles, trusted computing, and IoT data marketplaces — which apply to all IoT use cases.
The future of IoTeX involves fusing secure hardware and data services with the blockchain , officially giving rise to the Internet of Trusted Things.
Details on each component of the IoTeX Platform and how they combine to form foundational products will be shared in separate articles over the next few weeks. Until then, take a look at the IoTeX launch calendar below!
IoTeX Launch Calendar: 2019–2020
Blockchain
Over the past two years, IoTeX has developed our state-of-the-art blockchain from scratch. The IoTeX Network is now running perfectly with 60+ global Delegates, but the work is not done yet! Our most innovative blockchain features are coming in the next six months.
IoTeX’s near-term blockchain goals are focused on usability for developers and end users. As such, our upcoming blockchain releases prioritize infrastructure and products/tools that promote all-around usability:
a) Blockchain Infrastructure
- Mainnet Beta (Q3/Q4 2019): EVM upgrade (Solidity 0.5.x), reduced block time (5 sec), separation of indexing/API from the full node, cross-chain transfers of data/value (e.g., stable coin), and more
- Mainnet GA (early 2020): Layer 2 sidechain SDK framework, native IOTX staking/voting on Root Chain, Roll-DPoS optimization, and various storage/sync enhancements, and more
b) Blockchain Products/Tools
- New releases: Mobile Wallet (Android/iOS), Integrated Dev. Environment (IDE), DApp scaffolder (Q4 2019); Dev. Portal, Forum, DEX & Rich Documentation (Q1 2020)
- Ongoing improvements: Explorer, Web/Desktop Wallets, Web SDKs (JS, Go, Java, Swift), integrations to services/tools (e.g., Chainlink, NUSD, naming services)
IoTeX also believes deeply in cross-network interoperability. Rather than isolating IoTeX from other blockchains, we plan to connect IoTeX with new reputable networks! Staking/voting using IOTX-E (ERC20) on Ethereum Mainnet has been extremely successful and will remain open indefinitely. In parallel, staking/voting using native IOTX will be implemented for IoTeX Mainnet in Q4 2019.
Secure Hardware
IoTeX is building blockchain-ready secure hardware at the device (end), gateway (edge), and server (backend) levels to enable end-to-end trust in the IoTeX Network. Equipped with Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), IoTeX secure hardware is 100% tamper-proof and guarantees the integrity and confidentiality of all data/code. This expands the IoTeX footprint of trust to the IoT end/edge and enables powerful privacy features.
To kick off this initiative, IoTeX is launching two “first edition” secure hardware devices and embedding decentralized identities (DIDs) into real-world IoT devices:
- ioTracker: the world’s first TEE-based, multi-purpose trusted tracker for all “things” (GPS location, temp, humidity, pressure, gas, light, motion); full product details and pre-order in Q3 2019
- AvoBoard: robust single-board computer (SBC), which operates as a private computing engine, secure IoT gateway, and developer board; AvoBoard will be introduced in phases: whitepaper in Q3 2019, demos/PoCs in Q4 2019, product launch by end of 2019
- Decentralized Identity (DID): IoTeX DIDs (patent pending) will be implemented into real-world IoT hardware starting early Q4 2019; Internet Protocol (IP) cameras will be the first to receive DIDs, in partnership with a large IoT manufacturer partner
The sequence of our secure hardware launches is based on the following priorities: a) educate the industry about secure hardware basics, b) become the first company to ship real TEE-based products, and c) provide an intuitive onboarding process and tools for devs/users. Throughout Q4 2019, new middleware tools/SDKs will be developed so that developers of all skill levels can use AvoBoard.
Data Services
Blockchains are slow and not designed to hold a lot of data. This problem is magnified for IoT scenarios, which generate large volumes of data. While it is generally accepted that not all IoT data can/should be stored on the blockchain, this begs the question: where should all IoT data be stored then?
IoTeX is building a data services suite (e.g., time-series database, access controls, naming system) to store and process IoT data. While transactional data can be stored on-chain, large IoT datasets, decentralized identities (DID), and application data can be stored off-chain. The data services suite will integrate with IoTeX blockchain with the following goals:
- High performance/availability at low cost: high-speed data read/write in a cost-effective manner and without centralized intermediaries
- Built-in trust: data-at-rest encryption, decentralized credentials, and privacy-preserving analytics to guarantee integrity and confidentiality
- Ease of use: rich documentation, SDKs, and tools allowing developers to seamlessly utilize IoTeX data services in their applications
The first data services milestone will be a private data store to authenticate and execute encrypted data-at-rest read/write requests. Additional details on the data services suite will be provided in early Q4 2019.
IoTeX’s Unique Foundational Products
As a platform, IoTeX differentiates itself by applying the platform components detailed above to construct unique and powerful “foundational products” for developers. Below we provide a high-level overview of the purpose of each foundational product, which will be detailed in future articles:
- Decentralized Identity (DID): unique on-chain ID to classify all “things”, with supporting data and credentials stored off-chain with full privacy (i.e. no third party can infer a thing’s identity)
- Trusted IoT Data Oracles: gather real-world data from IoT devices and web APIs, enabling the use of real-world data in IoTeX DApps and services
- Trusted Computing: enable privacy-preserving smart contracts without any risk of leaking/exposing private data to irrelevant parties
- IoT Data Marketplace: private data storage with granular access controls allows selective sharing/trading of trusted data with verified parties
These foundational products apply to most, if not all, IoT use cases. In the IoTeX Network, end-to-end trust is one of our top priorities — trusted devices (with DID) will produce trusted data (via oracles) to be analyzed via trusted computing and exchanged in decentralized IoT marketplaces. We will share more about these foundational products and how developers can use them to build innovative DApps in the near future.