It’s quite obvious already that cryptocurrency has the widest usage of blockchain. However, it is worth knowing that the same concept can also be used in other applications as well. Software developers, software engineers, as well as system analysts outside of the field of computers are highly considering the application of blockchain for other areas, as well.
To further emphasize the importance of this revolutionary innovation, let’s tackle the following use-cases. These aspects of our modern living could be greatly helped by utilizing blockchain technology:
Document Notarization
In matters of the law where legalization really matters, documentation is something that’s really valued and respected. While real, tangible documents are really good evidences of one’s identity and action validity, they can’t always be physically accessible especially in long distances. In that case, digital documents could really come in handy.
But can’t digital data be altered easily? How can we know if an electronic document is really valid and authentic? The answer to this is through digital notarization. Like a lawyer giving approval to a piece of legal paper, anyone who has access and membership to a certain blockchain can verify for himself if a document is really legit.
By applying blockchain methods in the act of passing a document from one person to another, the original source and formatting of the document can be verified. If there were modifications that the document has been through, they would also be recorded in the blockchain.
One of the best examples for this is the website “stampd.io” in which you can add documents to a blockchain, or into the cryptocurrency databases like those owned by Ethereum and Bitcoin. After those documents are added, others can always verify when the document was made and when it became a part of the blockchain, or as it gets passed on and on to other members.
From a legal perspective though, blockchains are not yet declared as valid sources of evidence in court hearings. But experts believe that not too long from now, documents with digital signatures will be as valid as those notarized ones made of real paper.
Such a kind of method, once implemented could be truly revolutionary. It could change the way governments, as well as legal institutions, are established. In effect, it could be possible that lawyers and investigators will have different job descriptions as some of their jobs will become irrelevant and less needed by people.
Automotive and Transportation
If you’re a car owner or if have known someone who’s into automotive, perhaps you’ve heard about odometer fraud. Such an act pertains to changing a vehicle’s odometer settings so the car would appear to have lower mileage compared to what it actually had. Thus, the car could be made to appear to have greater worth because it can be presented as less subject to wear and tear.
The odometer is one of the best ways to check out if the car has already traveled a lot already, or if it has been too worn out. To get around to this, some fraudsters actually tweak this delicate part of a car just to come up with better pricing options for their secondhand vehicles.
Governments have been trying to remedy this by gathering odometer data once the owner undergoes vehicle inspection and licensing matters. However, many are still committing clever deceptions to fool even the smartest inspectors. Apparently, current automotive checkup methods are not quite enough.
To prevent the customer from paying more than what the car is actually worth, a digital odometer could be installed into it. By connecting the device into a blockchain somewhere on the internet, the car’s actual transportation logs can be recorded accurately.
This idea has already been used by Bosch, a German car manufacturer in a series of 100 cars. Such smart vehicles have odometers that are linked to a database that would issue digital certificates for each car. This would make it a lot easier for the inspectors to evaluate the car’s mechanical health so to speak.
How fast it trekked a certain terrain, or the exact locations of the car’s transit patterns could also be recorded too. Thus, it gives the idea to its prospective buyer what the car has been through before it lands into new hands. By looking into the car’s travel history etched in a digital record that can’t be tampered with, anyone can be rest assured of the vehicle’s true worth and value.
Of course, this poses some serious privacy issues. Solving it takes a whole set of discussions to really grasp it. But setting privacy aside, there can be very little doubt that blockchain can truly solve odometer fraud and other similar aspects.
Another thing is that we can apply the same concept to marketplaces and other areas where weighing scales or measuring instruments are used. By hooking them up into a networked database that issues digital signatures for anyone to see, fraud can be minimized if not totally abolished.
Food Industry and Shipping Businesses
Although food itself can never be digitized, the distribution of it can be electronically managed in such a way that it would be easier for merchants as well as consumers to monitor where a certain food product came from, and when was it exactly manufactured.
According to statistics, there are nearly half a million people die of food poisoning and other food-related health problems. One of the root causes of this is that it actually takes a very long time to process and verify the origin and details of a certain food product.
As a remedy, a blockchain system centered around the recording and certification of individual types of food could be implemented. This way, anyone can easily trace any relevant information about the food and be aware of the dangers it might bring into the household. By instantly knowing where it came from and where it had been, consumers can be fully aware of what it is that they’re consuming.
If contamination is spotted, the authorities or the other consumers could be easily notified by showing authentic information generated by the blockchain. Walmart, one of the biggest stores in the world, and IBM, one of the leading global computer manufacturers are already developing this kind of system.
It is said that they are able to verify the source of a certain food product in just 2 seconds compared to the days or weeks it usually took for a verifying authority to actually trace the information using conventional methods.
In other areas of trade and commerce, the same concept can be applied too. We can use this to battle counterfeit products or non-registered consumables even before they hit the wider market. By allowing ordinary people to check for themselves if the product actually came from the source it claims, fraudulent acts can be countered on the spot.
Another idea is to track shipments and packages using blockchain. MAERSK, a major global shipping company is known to be developing a system of that kind already along with IBM. By having a global decentralized ledger that keeps tabs on shipping and transport, knowing about the quality or even legality of products can be efficiently made known.
