Consumers Can Use Boxes to Collect and Sell Their Data

The energy networking company called E.ON has recently filed a patent application. This patent is for their plans to create a blockchain-based data collection through the European Patent Office. The company announced their patent filing on their website on July 19, 2019.

According to their announcement, the device that they plan to use for the project will be a set of sensors that collect user data. It will allow the user to choose to sell the information or data analytics. The users of the device will supply data from their smart home apps and connected items.

According to E.ON, the customer has absolute control over who has access to each part of their data. This includes E.ON itself. The company will not access the customer's information without the customer's explicit consent.

According to the company, the use of blockchain is new for that type of a project. The box that collects the data from the smart home items will be small, about the same as a piece of paper money. It safeguards privacy and makes use of highly secure encryption, explains E.ON.

Matthew Timms, who is E.ON's chief digital and technology officer, stated that this solution for customers to pick what data to sell and who to sell it to is a new innovation. He states that their lab and research team combined blockchain and big data with a simple piece of hardware so that customers can have absolute control over how their data is analyzed. The customer decides which parts of the analyses they want to sell. The customer can trace the information's use.

In the announcement, the prototype of the device passed a slew of international safety tests. It was certified by the independent German testing laboratory SGS. By the end of 2019, the company plans to have customers test the hardware. They expect to have an official product launch in 2020.

The company Helium began testing a blockchain-based wireless hotspot device a while back. It could make a decentralized internet service. The sensors would track other data, including location and heat, helping with wildfire prevention and more.