Trusted and reliable content on future blockchains

Project Information

TruBlo

Grant agreement ID: 957228

DOI

10.3030/957228

Project closed

EC signature date 16 July 2020

Start date 1 September 2020

End date 30 November 2023

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 6 055 000,00

EU contribution

€ 6 055 000,00

Coordinated by

WORLDLINE IBERIA SA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - TruBlo (Trusted and reliable content on future blockchains)

Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The main vision of TruBlo was to nurture and facilitate beyond the state-of-the-art research on blockchain technology, leading to more scalable blockchain-based solutions and applications. These developments were aimed at contributing to ensuring the exchange of trustworthy and reliable content on social networks and media. To achieve this, TruBlo implemented three open calls targeting both academic and R&D companies, inviting them to define and implement small-scale research projects.

During this period, existing technology and scientific knowledge enabled the implementation of TruBlo's concepts. Innovations in P2P systems, cryptocurrencies and blockchain offered opportunities to realise TruBlo's vision, providing a foundation for collaboration, advanced security and privacy frameworks. The application of automated trust mechanisms to the Next Generation Internet introduced new opportunities to foster trust in human transactions and media content sharing. TruBlo's overall approach not only enhanced trust, but also provided a way to create economic value in societies and markets.

The following objectives were set for the TruBlo project:
Objective 1 - To nurture and facilitate breakthrough and beyond-the-state-of-the-art research results on blockchain technologies in the area of social networks and media.
Objective 2 - To implement a series of three open calls that would enable the selection of the most promising and scientifically excellent teams to research and innovate on blockchain technologies and applications.
Objective 3 - To provide added value through consolidating the research outcomes of the open calls and to provide knowledge transfer activities within academia and industry for wider uptake.
Objective 4 - To offer a set of supporting services that would contribute as added value to third parties.
Objective 5 - To create an ecosystem of stakeholders who would guide the participating teams, SMEs, and entrepreneurs for continuous interaction and a close relation with academia, industry, standardization bodies, and development communities.
Objective 6 - To enable innovative blockchain-based business models for the media industry and provide an extensive replicability and best practices framework.

During the final phase, the partners continued to work hard, delivering documents on time and to a high quality, following the established procedures. The exceptional teamwork, the unwavering commitment of the partners and the pursuit of common goals have contributed to the success of the project over the last three years. These collaborative efforts have opened up new opportunities based on the technologies developed within TruBlo.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The main activities carried out by the consortium can be divided into activities related to the management and launch of the open calls and activities related to the monitoring, support and follow-up of the selected funded projects. During this period (September 2021 to November 2023), our activities have mainly focused on the work related to ensuring the successful launch of the second and third open calls, and on the activities related to the support and monitoring of the selected projects within the three open calls, comprising 2 phases in each call - Innovation and Progress. A total of 45 teams were selected to participate in the innovation phase, which was the most intensive and longest phase, with the aim of supporting and accelerating interested third-party researchers in the development of their research hypotheses up to the validation phase. From these 45 teams, 9 teams from the three open calls were selected to proceed to the next stage - the progress phase.

The 45 early-stage TruBlo projects demonstrated high productivity in exploring trustworthy content through blockchain technology, despite a nine-month funding constraint. Their outcomes, scientific contributions, MVP software and open repositories demonstrated diverse options and future opportunities for enhancing trust in different forms of content. TruBlo, which supported individual projects, fostered collaboration through a portfolio approach and identified emerging patterns in trustable content across domains such as media, agriculture and IT security. The reporting process using Innovation Readiness Levels in seven categories was critical to assessing project progress and making meaningful comparisons.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The TruBlo project has advanced the state of the art in blockchain technology, with a particular focus on trusted content. Notable achievements include technological advancements, impactful business contributions, seamless integration into portfolios, and significant scientific impact. The project's success underscores its influential role in shaping the broader landscape of blockchain technology and its diverse applications.

The project has delivered a set of concrete and value-added key results:

Result 1: TruBlo Open Calls: three open calls that enabled the sourcing of 45 scientific and entrepreneurial teams.
Result 2: tools and supporting services: a toolset and suite of supporting services that facilitated the derivation of high-impact research on blockchain technologies.
Result 3: scientific results and MVPs: a sustainable and general-purpose trust/privacy-enhancing technology framework that increased the trust, security, and privacy on the blockchain nodes and the applications that ran on top of it by filtering out any sensitive (e.g. personal) information.
Result 4: TruBlo Ecosystem: an ecosystem of stakeholders in the area of Next Generation Internet and Blockchain-related technologies, including experts, VCs, entrepreneurs, academia, etc.
Result 5: Replication plan: a parameterized model on how to further replicate the TruBlo scientific results and MVPs.

All these results have derived in potential impacts:
-Increasing Content Reliability for the Industry: Businesses will benefit from enhanced trust in content, addressing the escalating concern of fake news in complex markets.
-Supporting Content Fact-Checking and Verification: TruBlo's initiatives counter disinformation, contributing to the restoration of public trust in news journalism and authoritative sources.
-Driving Blockchain Adoption in the Media Industry: The project's solutions are poised to address critical issues in the media sector, ensuring longevity through process automation, secure personalization, copyright protection, and audience trust.
-Supporting Solutions for Social and Environmental Problems: Blockchain's impact on neglected markets and its role in financial inclusivity demonstrate potential benefits for vulnerable populations, refugees, and smaller producers.
-Efficient Control of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Environmental Reporting: TruBlo's use of blockchain technology is positioned to streamline control of GHG and contribute to environmental reporting and evaluation, aligning with sustainability goals such as those outlined in the Paris Agreement.

TruBlo's socio-economic impact is evident in its contribution to industry trust, media integrity and financial inclusivity. The broader societal impact includes fostering trust in information, promoting environmental responsibility and addressing societal challenges through innovative blockchain solutions. The project is a catalyst for positive change. It is in line with societal values of transparency, inclusivity and sustainability.

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