Blockchain technology is knocking on the door of the Open Source Geospatial community. Will Geospatial answer? There has been an enormous amount of hype around blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies but beyond the hype lies real use-cases (on both the individual and enterprise level) that need help, guidance and wisdom from the open source geospatial community. Blockchain technology is proposing to create decentralised maps of the world using low power wide area network devices (LPWAN) to prove the location of LPWAN chips. There are four blockchain proof of location protocols positioning themselves for launch within the next eighteen months; FOAM, Helium, XYO and Platin and each one could benefit from the teachings of the open source geospatial community. FOSS4G… meet blockchain technology. Blockchain may be young, rebellious and loud but it needs your help. If you're not careful, you might find blockchain technology has something to offer FOSS4G too.
Blockchain is knocking. Will FOSS4G answer?
Presentation type: Full length
Session: New Technology
Presenter
Kiersten Jowett
As founder and CEO of a global manufacturing and distribution business Kiersten understood the potential of blockchain technology to help solve her supply chain and global remittance issues. In April 2016 Kiersten sold her business and authored the book Cryptocurrency for Skeptics: the best kind of digital currency pupil (available on amazon). Kiersten now works fulltime with blockchain technology in her role at RMIT as Blockchain Business Strategy Mentor, as a Proof of Location Specialist at Otanuk and as a team member in the Melbourne start-up, Flight Plan (theflightplan.io), where she helps build and iterate a rapid prototyping tool for distributed applications (dApps) on the Ethereum blockchain.