A Review of Blockchain-Based Systems in Transportation

information Review A Review of Blockchain-Based Systems in Transportation Vittorio Astarita 1 , Vincenzo Pasquale Giofrè 1 , Giovanni Mirabelli 2 and Vittorio Solina 2, * 1 2 * Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy; (V.A.); (V.P.G.) Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy; Correspondence: Received: 3 December 2019; Accepted: 24 December 2019; Published: 29 December 2019



 Abstract: This paper presents a literature review about the application of blockchain-based systems in transportation. The main aim was to identify, through the implementation of a multi-step methodology: current research-trends, main gaps in the literature, and possible future challenges. First, a bibliometric analysis was carried out to obtain a broad overview of the topic of interest. Subsequently, the most influential contributions were analysed in depth, with reference to the following two areas: supply chain and logistics; road traffic management and smart cities. The most important result is that the blockchain technology is still in an early stage, but appears extremely promising, given its possible applications within multiple fields, such as food track and trace, regulatory compliance, smart vehicles’ security, and supply-demand matching. Much effort is still necessary for reaching the maturation stage because several models have been theorized in recent years, but very few have been implemented within real contexts. Moreover, the link blockchain-sustainability was explored, showing that this technology could be the trigger for limiting food waste, reducing exhaust gas emissions, favouring correct urban development, and, in general, improving quality of life. Keywords: blockchain; literature review; transportation; logistics; supply chain 1. Introduction The blockchain is a universally acclaimed innovation based on a distributed ledger technology, which originated from the efforts of anonymous developers to create a secure digital currency. Digital currencies that are based on a blockchain are defined cryptocurrencies, since they rely on cryptographic mathematical tools. The first blockchain originated from a paper anonymously published in 2008 on the cryptography mailing list at metzdowd.com [1]. Since 2008, a great development, which has been carried out on initial concepts, has led to the creation of many distributed and active blockchains. The blockchain concept involves different kinds of knowledge and is technically complicated to the point that Bill Gates publicly said on TV about this technology: “I think it’s a technical tour de force.” Many applications have been imagined for blockchain data systems, and many scientists and financial experts expect great innovations to be centred on this innovative concept, especially in the logistics sector [2–5]. Some authors have even defined this new technology as disruptive, with reference to the transportation field [6]. Recently, the number of academic papers published on blockchain-related subjects has dramatically increased. Many of the scientific contributions listed in [7] deal with technical topics, which are the main challenges of the blockchain technology (BT), such as security, usability, privacy, and wasted resources. It should be noted that several blockchain-based potential applications have Information 2020, 11, 21; doi:10.3390/info11010021 www.mdpi.com/journal/information Information 2020, 11, 21 2 of 24 been proposed and discussed in the literature. In [8], the following five main application domains are presented: finance, security and privacy, IoT, reputation systems, and public and social services. The main field of application of blockchain technologies is the financial one, as the technology originated precisely with the invention of the Bitcoin. There is a large base of Bitcoin users who believe the technology will disrupt the banking sector. Some ideas are presented in [9–12]. Big companies such as IBM and Microsoft have started to consider offering blockchain services. Insurances can take advantage of blockchain technologies in claims processing [13] and introducing smart contracts [14]; moreover, blockchain technology can also reduce custody risk and help in cross-border asset transfers. From 2004, some banks such as Santander have started to develop payments applications that allow customers to make international money transfers in 24 h [15]. Moreover, there are many potential blockchain Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications according to [16,17]. Special attention has been given to the potential of blockchain technology to strengthen the IoT by allowing secure sharing of data sets [18]. In general, blockchain security features are considered useful, if coupled with IoT, where security issues are a growing concern [19]. Privacy applications of blockchains have been proposed, especially to protect personal data [20] against cyber attacks [21] in public services such as health care [22–24] and voting systems [25–27], and in other government owned databases [28]. Blockchains can, in fact, store personal data (e.g., health care records or identity data [29,30]), allowing only the owner and the public entity to access with private keys. Every data access would then be stored on the blockchain forever, granting complete security and accountability. Blockchains are also able to store receipts of expenses that could be automatically sent to central entities as proof. Moreover, blockchains have been envisioned as having a great role in smart cities [31,32]. The blockchain ledger can be used to track ownership and movements of a certain merchandise along the supply chain [33] until it reaches the final consumer. As previously said, there are many new technological features of blockchains. These innovations are the basis for many to signal the start of a “blockchain revolution” [34,35]. The main innovative technological features are: • • • • • The possibility of safely completing trust-less exchanges between two parties without any control, supervision, or intermediation of a third party [36]. Robustness, resilience, trustworthiness, and durability, since blockchains are distributed and do not have a central point that can be attacked. This feature is a guarantee against attacks, and a blockchain, which has nodes across the globe, can be expected to keep working as long as there is an internet connection between nodes. Data will be reliably kept, yet in many potential applications it remains to be solved how to ensure that they are also reliably entered [37]. Open structure, which guarantees transparency [38] and the immutability of data [39]. Data stored on a blockchain cannot be altered. Pseudonymity: Owners of data or users in general can decide to stay anonymous or give proof of their identity as necessary. Blindly signed exchanges and contracts are possible on specific blockchains [40]. (...truncated)