Blockchain Designs for Secure and Efficient Highway Freight Management (C23.2022)

Existing freight management systems lack a single source of truth, and an effective and fair approach to enhancing sharing of various traffic and operational information across public and private stakeholders in the industry, to ensure the optimal transportation efficiency. To address these limitations, this project proposes a novel Blockchain-based freight data sharing and smart contract framework to promote data connectivity and information sharing in the freight industry in a transparent, secure, and efficient fashion. Specifically, we propose a sharding-based hierarchical Blockchain structure which randomly partitions Blockchain participants (e.g., trusted authority, truck drivers, and road-side units) into multiple smaller groups called shared for data exchanges and transactions to ensure security and computational efficiency. An innovative data sharing mechanism will also be designed to facilitate both sides of data requesters and contributors with computational efficiency. The proposed framework design will be implemented in the traffic network simulator SUMO and compared with other data sharing mechanisms in the freight industry for performance improvements in terms of data utility, delivery revenue and time expenses. Successful implementation and demonstration of the proposed solutions will vastly advance the adoption of Blockchain-based data management systems in transportation related industries and lift the security and privacy protection of data exchange among multiple stakeholders to the next level. The close collaboration of the research team with the industrial partners and Connecticut Transportation Institute (CTI) will have the potential to develop a publicly available physical testbed, effective dissemination of research results among practitioners, and initiation of technology transfer.

• Record URL:
  https://www.tidc-utc.org/kb/c23-2022-uconn/

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $501115
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3551847101

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  University of Connecticut, Storrs

  Connecticut Transportation Institute
  179 Middle Turnpike
  Storrs, CT  United States  06269-5202
• Managing Organizations:

  Transportation Infrastructure Durability Center

  University of Maine
  Orono, ME  United States  04469

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Dunn, Denise

• Performing Organizations:

  Transportation Infrastructure Durability Center

  University of Maine
  Orono, ME  United States  04469

  University of Connecticut, Storrs

  Connecticut Transportation Institute
  179 Middle Turnpike
  Storrs, CT  United States  06269-5202
• Principal Investigators:

  Zhu, Jin

  Wang, Bing

  He, Suining

  Han, Song

• Start Date: 20220701
• Expected Completion Date: 20240630
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Blockchains; Data sharing; Freight transportation; Technology transfer
• Identifier Terms: Secure Freight Initiative
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Freight Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01851450
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Infrastructure Durability Center
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551847101
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Jul 15 2022 3:43PM