Basic components – a term that sounds very cryptic and general at first. But what many people don’t know is that behind it, there is the foundation for innovation and the infrastructure of the future (Platform Economy). Just as a computer is made up of many individual components, the open source-based future also needs many individual basic components to become one big entity.
In the future, companies, public authorities and even citizens will not be able to avoid the Platform Economy. Crowdsourcing, open source or open innovation are the big growth drivers for logistics. Within the framework of open ecosystems, all players in logistics will participate in platforms. To this end, data must be generated, negotiation of contracts (smart contracts) and payment must be automated, and the organization of logistics processes must be simplified. The basis is formed by individual components that can be linked on an ad hoc basis. At the science location Dortmund, the focus is on platform, blockchain and IoT basic components.
Basic components are not geared to specific use cases, but enable one or more generic application functions. As building blocks, they can be used as needed in different use cases and together form a construction kit for a modern IT architecture. Basic components are not exclusively software; a combination of hardware (sensors, devices) and software (apps, applications) is also possible.
One example of a basic component is the authorization module from Blockchain Europe. If all logistics players collaborate via platforms in the future, a lot of data, often sensitive data, will be exchanged. To ensure data sovereignty in the network, an authorization module is needed as a blockchain basic component. With its help, access rights can be controlled on a project-specific basis. Each actor can be assigned roles that define access, write and read rights. This means that only those who really have the right can access or edit information or documents.
Other basic components are the token manager and the light node service. Combined, the three individual components make up the concept of the digital folder. An infrastructure for blockchain-based management, storage and tamper-proof traceability of documents. Digital folders can be used in dealings with authorities, for tracing important goods and merchandise, for accompanying documents, or for forgery-proof passports and certificates. In the context of BitCoins or digital currencies as a whole, the wallet also plays an important role. The wallet is used to manage assets.