Blockchain Inspired RFID-Based Information Architecture for Food Supply Chain

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a blockchain inspired Internet-of-Things architecture for creating a transparent food supply chain. The architecture uses a proof-of-object-based authentication protocol, which is analogous to the cryptocurrency’s proof-of-work protocol. The complete architecture was realized by integrating a radio frequency identification (RFID)-based sensor at the physical layer and blockchain at the cyber layer. The RFID provides a unique identity of the product and the sensor data, which helps in real time quality monitoring. For this purpose, a small feature size 900-MHz RFID coupled sensor was fabricated and demonstrated for real time sensor data acquisition. The blockchain architecture aids in creating a tamper-proof digital database of the food packages at each instance. A detailed security analysis was performed to investigate the vulnerability of the proposed architecture under different types of cyber attacks.