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Blocksafe wants to reduce gun violence with a hybrid IoT blockchain network

The Internet of Things is evolving into a world of interconnected smart devices that communicate all manner of information. Smart homes can be filled with appliances that can be controlled remotely, while the smart grid promises to dynamically react to power requirements.

The Internet of Things is evolving into a world of interconnected smart devices that communicate all manner of information. Smart homes can be filled with appliances that can be controlled remotely, while the smart grid promises to dynamically react to power requirements.

Cities are also turning smart. Systems already exist for using mobile phones to pay for parking on city streets, video cameras monitor crowd control and safety at large events, and acoustic detection is used by police departments to identify gunfire.

The gun itself has a smart progression. Smart guns can identify authorized users with RFID chips, fingerprint recognition, magnetic rings, or mechanical locks. The security features are designed to prevent misuse, accidental shootings, gun thefts, and use of the weapon against the owner.

Smart Tech Challenges Foundation logo“Just as there are firearms to satisfy the preferences of the sports shooter, the hunter, the law enforcement officer, and the home defender, there are safety technologies available to accommodate each of those needs.”
— – Smart Tech Challenges Foundation

Blocksafe is using the technology behind bitcoin to create the infrastructure for smart gun technologies. The Blocksafe Foundation believes that an anonymous, secure, and decentralized infrastructure is essential for smart gun technologies to reach their full potential. “These technologies are a Huge deal to anonymously reduce gang activity, locate stolen firearms, prevent guns from being used against authorised firearm users and more,” states the foundation.

The foundation is responsible for developing the Blocksafe protocol, which includes Telehash, decentralized vpn (DVPN), blockchain and torrent technologies. Each smart gun sensor is connected to the hybrid blockchain network through offline infrastructure and connection systems.

Owners can use Blocksafe to manage, locate, control and view any smart device notifications from their firearms, in real time. If a gun is left unlocked for a long period of time the system can notify the gun owner through Telehash, a lightweight protocol with strong encryption to enable mesh networking. “The ledger broadcast or ‘sync’ takes place when the device has internet connection such as wifi and/or cellular, which depends on the device,” Blocksafe Chairman and blockchain architect Kevin Barnes told Bravenewcoin.

Blocksafe Engineering Architect, and former vice president of INtel Labs, Joseph Shulz believes that the Blocksafe platform could be integrated into the systems of law enforcement agencies and military groups for smarter data collection of guns and their use in both training and warfare.

The network’s flagship notification is called “shotspot.” The discharge notification technology can notify the gun owners preferred recipient of any shots fired. “The smart device owner has anonymous control of authorised user management of their Blocksafe supported smart device through the Blocksafe app or through the web portal, “the foundation explains.

Kevin Barnes“The smart device owner determines notifications. If the owner wishes their smart device to notify the local authorities,or a spouse or loved ones, it will do so. Law enforcement will not have any control of any smart device unless its owned by law enforcement.”
— – Kevin Barnes, Blocksafe Founder & Chairman

For Blocksafe to satisfy its mission of decreasing gun violence it will need to secure various partnerships with both local and international authorities, but smart gun regulation has been slow to crystallize. However, there is broad support for the technology from across the globe.

In October 2013 the European Commission published a document by commissioner Cecilia Malmström, stating that the Commission will work with the firearms industry to explore technological solutions, “such as biometric sensors where personal data is stored in the firearm, for ensuring that purchased firearms may only be used by their legal owner.”

In April 2014, Attorney General Eric Holder told a House appropriations subcommittee that his agency is exploring smart gun technology as a means for curbing gun violence. The Justice Department requested $382.1 million in increased spending for its fiscal year 2014 budget for "gun safety," a figure which includes $2 million for "Gun Safety Technology" grants, which would award prizes for technologies that are "proven to be reliable and effective.”

Earlier this year President Obama announced that he would help boost the development of smart guns by supporting and encouraging manufacturers to build and test tech-enabled firearms and help companies sell the firearms to federal agencies and state law enforcement. Richard Beary, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, was quoted in the Washington Post as saying there would be "plenty of agencies interested in beta testing the [smart gun] technology."

Seal of the President of the United States“We need to develop new technologies that make guns safer. If we can set it up so you can’t unlock your phone unless you’ve got the right fingerprint, why can’t we do the same thing for our guns?”
— – Barack Obama, U.S. President

More than 1,000 companies from some 100 countries produce small arms and light weapons and their ammunition. Procurement analysis from Small Arms Survey suggests that within a 50 year period, world production of military assault rifles, carbines, pistols, and light and heavy machine guns would range between 36 million and 46 million units, with an annual production of small arms averaging 700,000 – 900,000.

With these numbers in mind, the Blocksafe network would have to scale dramatically upon wider adoption. The network runs parallel to Lisk, a JavaScipt-based blockchain as a service platform that allows applications and platforms to offer multi-platform support on the cloud, for better scalability.

Lisk also allows the Blocksafe foundation to focus on the development of its platform without having to deal with the technical issues of mining and security protocols. Lisk has its own mining pool, which covers the security for Blocksafe. This hybrid solution uses a new token called “Trigger” (TRIG), which goes on sale tomorrow, 8 Sep, on Bittrex.

Before an IoT device is linked to the Blocksafe network, user can decide which information or data will be stored. Since each piece of information that is sent to the public ledger is detected by the sensors in the firearm, users can determine which aspect of the gun to control and protect through the blockchain.

“If a manufacturer decides to build the smart tech into a firearm instead of an external smart device mounted onto the firearm, then the owner still determines what info is recorded to the ledger, which will primarily be info collected via the sensors in the smart tech in the firearm.”
— – Barnes, Blocksafe


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