Starting Date: June 2018
Prerequisites: Computer Science Undergraduate Student, Enthusiasm and desire to be a problem solver.
Will results be assigned to University:
Project Description
Internet of Things (IoT) and distributed ledger technologies are part of the movement to develop the device-specific decentralised economy. Example of such a service is decentralised energy grids that couple together the smart contracts and smart-meter technology to provide traceability and verification of energy sources, efficient peer-to-peer trading of energy. One such proposal is the Brooklyn Microgrid project that provides an open-source and scalable blockchain platform for the energy sector. This opens up many venues for the IoT devices that are performing peer-to-peer trading in an autonomous and fair manner. An economic environment where all actors are computational devices (IoT nodes) interacting with each other – providing peer-to-peer services designed on the traceability and immutability features of distributed ledger technology is the objective of this project.
The respective UROP recipient will be pivotal in shaping the scope of this project and lead the research activities in collaboration with the ISG-SCC team. The student will define the fair exchange mechanisms for IoT devices for an Economy of Things and build a proof of concept as a demonstration of the described mechanism.
Required Technical Skills
ISG-SCC value the enthusiasm and commitment significantly and considers technical skills as an acquirable skill during the internship. However, basic understand, and knowledge of IoT, the blockchain, smart contracts and fair exchange protocols will be desirable.
What will you gain during UROP?
During this internship, the objective of the ISG-SCC is to make sure that you develop your independent research and development skills and enhance your skills on a) presenting the project’s progress, b) keeping in line with time management, b) research methods, c) technical writing skills for project outcomes and d) problem identification and solving.
ISG-SCC Track Record
ISG-SCC has successfully run the UROP for the last two years. The success of the previous two years has produced a patent application (under review by patent office) and commercial demo (MVP) under development, and five research papers. Corresponding undergraduate students are named as first authors on the papers and co-inventor on the patent application. Research papers by undergraduate students have won one ‘best student paper award’, featured in a news article on Medium and being pivotal for a World Economic Forum’s project for anti-corruption project. The ethos of ISG-SCC is that undergraduate students have the talent and imagination to sort out unique and innovative solutions. They just need guidance from established researchers, and this is what ISG-SCC will provide during the UROP.