Blockchain Secured Vehicle Tracking using Wireless Sensor Network

Abstract

Vehicle Tracking Systems give an instantaneous location or travel history to form a comprehensive picture of visited locations, stopping points, vehicle speeds, acceleration, etc. We propose a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) requiring low processing power, reduced need for internet connectivity only to Base-Stations (sink node of WSN), and eliminate the use of constant GPS tracking. Geotagged Roadside Units (nodes of WSN), at regular intervals, capture vehicle movement via RFID tags and update the movement of each vehicle into a decentralized Blockchain Network formed at the Base-Stations (BSs). This network forms a detailed distributed ledger providing the license plate numbers of every vehicle, the location coordinates of the Roadside Units (RSUs) passed, and the instantaneous time at which the vehicle passes it. Similarly, data for all vehicles that pass a certain node, in a given time interval, can be retrieved. An immutable private Blockchain network secures data, maintains uniform databases at all BSs, and protects the privacy of the commuters by allowing such data access only to authorized personnel. In case of the collapse of an RSU the data is transmitted via an alternate path to another BS until the fault is repaired. Our solution focuses on optimization and fault tolerance of nodes and the security of gathered data. We also focus on various applications where this architecture can be deployed efficiently.