The Solution

The ambition of 2blox is to overcome the limitations described in this paper through its community and decentralized nature. The mission is to provide real-time data while striking an optimal balance between data quality, network deployment time and cost. 2Blox aims to collect real-time data including, but not limited to, the number and speed of cars, trucks, buses, cyclists, and pedestrians traveling in cities.

To collect the data, 2blox relies on reliable, state-of-the-art counting equipment. The acquisition and deployment of the counting equipment is done via the community, which will exercise a "proof of counting" process in order to receive rewards. The data is thus financed by its community, which in return receives a reward.

With time and interest in the data, it will be possible to collect other parameters such as road conditions, accidents, available parking spaces, the intersection between traffic and air quality, the impact of speed according to the weather etc.

The project consists of several components: the sensors, the 2blox OS called MOBI™, a routing system, a progressive web app (PWA), the decentralized network and the data exchange place, 2blox Ex. The sensors will need to host 2Blox's proprietary and OS which ensures that the requirements are met.

Data capturing

2blox does not aim to be the exclusive manufacturer or reseller of a sensor, hardware companies can become approved to provide hardware that meets the data quality, privacy and security requirements.

All equipment must be able to host 2blox's proprietary and open source OS that to ensure that the requirements are met.

Some prerequisites will be necessary to become an equipment provider: the equipment must be "Plug & Play", compact, have low power consumption, respecting privacy in majority of coutries, get autonomous connectivity (Wifi, POE, Lorawan, Helium, Nbiot,...) and affordable for the community.

Each sensor is a data collection node that transmits data to the blockchain in packets and once a day.

The system architecture is highly scalable and has a low cost of implementation, maintenance and maintenance and operation, which makes it suitable for urban traffic monitoring.

How does it work?

At the installation level, the sensor is attached to a support (e.g. a window) overlooking a counting area. The embedded OS will validate that the counting zone is well conformed (depth of field, obstacles, visual noise...). Finally, the user will have to fill in the counting area by inserting the exact address containing the name of the street that will be covered. Each sensor will have a geographical position declared by each user and its data will be cross-referenced with the coordinates of the different Wifi access points in the vicinity thanks to the Probe RSSI method (or another method such as AoA) in order to validate that it is the right address. In case of inappropriate behavior regarding the location of a sensor, the rewards will be blocked until the situation is clarified.

In order to collect the count information, the sensors will analyze the images thanks to artificial intelligence. They will detect and recognize objects such as cars, bicycles, buses, trucks, pedestrians,...

Layers of machine learning will allow the AI to improve its image analysis in order to be more and more precise on the counting with an increasing complexity of the type of users.

Data certification

To avoid any modification of the program, a Code Integrity Checker (CIC) system will produce a public validation key in order to certify the integrity of the OS and therefore of the sensor. The OS will communicate with the user's wallet on the blockchain in order to identify itself as a data provider.

In order to validate the identity of the sensor and wallet holder, the data provider will have to purchase a license in the form of an NFT that he will store in his wallet to certify his identity and unlock the rewards.

GDPR compliance

2Blox uses technologies that can analyze images and extract data from them. To do this, the technology must be oriented towards a public space, so questions about privacy arise. We have established strict specifications in order to respect the laws on privacy:

  • The sensors are installed in a private property.

  • The sensors are installed in a fixed and not mobile way.

  • The images are instantly processed locally (inside the sensor or computer). The images are never stored in drive or Cloud. Only information sent into the blockchain are parameters & numbers.

  • The images are not viewable (neither by the owner, the user, the buyer, 2Blox or any other third party).

  • The images are processed using artificial intelligence software that converts the image content into alphanumeric data.

  • The data collected from each sensor is sent to the blockchain and is visible to all but encrypted to protect its market value.

  • The accessible data does not contain the exact address of where the sensor is located, only the route segment.

  • Each person who wants to participate in the project has to sign a charter related to the data usage.

  • The legislation on cameras is not applicable (article 3, chapter II of the law of March 21, 2007 on surveillance cameras) because the sensor is not intended to: 1° Prevent, determine or detect offences against persons or property ; 2° Prevent, determine or detect nuisances within the meaning of Article 135 of the new communal law, to verify compliance with communal regulations or to maintain public order."

Conclusion: no image is actually recorded, only the properties of the images that interest us (object detection and certain properties) are filtered. The camera therefore counts the number of objects that pass in front of it, nothing more.

Data processing

First, the data is provided by the sensors and then sent to the 2blox via the internet. The sensor is configured beforehand to send the data to the PWA with the right wallet and the right NFT license. Then, the data is formatted and encrypted to be inserted in the metadata of a smart contract that will be recorded on the blockchain. The transaction is signed by the wallet holder and the appropriate NFT license.

The blockchain, via a smart contract, must remunerate the wallet issuing the data, on a daily basis. The data sent on the blockchain in the metadata of the smart contract will take the following form:

Sensor ID: [number]
Date: [Timestamp]
Address: [string]
Cars: [number]
Pedestrian: [number]
Bike: [number]
PAR1: [number]
PAR2: [number]
PAR3: [number]
PAR4: [number]

Parameters will be defined to give a score for the quality of the data and therefore the amount of rewards to be distributed for each sensor.

Certain high level data will be publicly available on our dashboard. To obtain accurate data and it's history, another platform & dashboard will be provided for end customers.

Data aggregation

To preserve the value of the data stored on the blockchain, an encryption algorithm is used to hash the data before inserting it into the blockchain. This is done by cloaking the data with a secret encryption key. Only this key will allow a potential buyer to view the data. This protects the market value of the data.

So to access a packet of data coming from several sensors, a buyer will have to buy a batch of decryption keys in order to see the historical data in clear text or even in real time if it is an API call. The process will of course be simplified with the purchase of subscriptions or data packages via our data aggregation platform.

Note that the parameters will not be hashed to facilitate the calculation of daily rewards and to make the process transparent. This unencrypted data can also be used to judge the quality of the collected data.

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