Trusted, traceable and transparent ontological knowledge on blockchain

Project Information

OntoChain

Grant agreement ID: 957338

DOI

10.3030/957338

Project closed

EC signature date 4 August 2020

Start date 1 September 2020

End date 31 August 2023

Funded under

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

Total cost

€ 6 011 100,00

EU contribution

€ 6 011 100,00

Coordinated by

EUROPEAN DYNAMICS LUXEMBOURG SA
Luxembourg

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - OntoChain (Trusted, traceable and transparent ontological knowledge on blockchain)

Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

"The overall mission of the Next Generation Internet initiative is to re-imagine and re-engineer the Internet for the third millennium and beyond. We envision the information age will be an era that brings out the best in all of us. We want to enable human potential, mobility and creativity at the largest possible scale while dealing responsibly with our natural resources. In order to preserve and expand the European way of life, we shape a value-centric, human and inclusive Internet for all." This ambitions need a solid foundation on which people –representing different cross-sector domains– can build on; and this is getting more and more visible nowadays that the technological innovation –in some cases– lacks transparency and trustworthiness.
Nonetheless, greater transparency and trustworthiness can still be achieved in the Next Generation Internet.
In that sense, the vision and approach of ONTOCHAIN is to bring together a set of new technologies to realize formal logic (e.g. first order logic) with the ability to execute formal proofs directly on blockchain. ONTOCHAIN use-cases are built upon different protocols and interactions between different blockchain frameworks, while hiding them from the use-cases to support effortless inter-service process cooperation. It is intended that this blockchain-based framework will enable higher performance and scalability, through the engagement of different business logics, access methods and governance models, whereas will present scalable solutions for ensuring secure and transparent content and information exchange as well as service interoperability. ONTOCHAIN technology framework will constitute a building block of NGI towards a more human-centric Internet that supports values of openness, decentralisation, inclusiveness and protection of privacy and giving the control back to the end-users to be able to benefit from democratic, transparent and trustworthy decision making mechanisms.
The ONTOCHAIN software ecosystem for trusted, traceable, and transparent ontological blockchain-based knowledge management will be co-developped with third parties innovators selected through 3 Open Calls carefully design to:
1- Conceptualize the multilayer and modular ONTOCHAIN Technology framework
2- Fine tune and set the ONTOCHAIN framework (ONTOCHAIN Foundation) as well as develop and apply it through specific use cases (prototype)
3- Implement the ONTOCHAIN concept/use cases by bringing the previous use cases to the next stage of readiness i.e. Application for deployment in the market.
A Business Model for the purpose of the ONTOCHAIN exploitation will be defined and elaborated with objective to share value among all ONTOCHAIN contributors and stakeholders.

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 ONTOCHAIN project has progressed through its 3 phases, each marked by a distinct open call:

Call 1 - Research:
The primary aim of this call was to establish the ONTOCHAIN framework as a human-centric, decentralized, and trustworthy solution based on existing technologies. It has lead to the revision of the initial architecture and component diagram design by the core consortium before Call 1(Figure 1).
FIGURE 1
ONTOCHAIN architecture is structured with key modules that collectively enhance functionality and security:
A Distributed Ledger module establishes a decentralized execution environment, ensuring heightened security and transparency across the entire ecosystem,
An Ontologies module introduces trusted services, emphasizing data integrity in the management of web ontologies.
An Application Protocols layer provides essential functionalities such as Data Provenance, Reputation Models, and Decentralized Oracles. They serve as the foundation for higher-level application solutions, which are built upon the core Blockchain-based services found at the Core Protocols layer. This layer includes Smart Contracts, Identity Management, Secure Decentralized Storage, Certification, Authorization, and Data Semantics.
The Interoperability module and protocols play a multifaceted role. They act as the backbone, interconnecting various modules and providing the ONTOCHAIN Gateway API—a primary entry point for application developers but also supply essential services and building blocks to all components, covering decentralized storage, identity management, and data certification.

Call 2 - Protocol Suite and Software Ecosystem Foundations:
The objective of this call was to elaborate upon ONTOCHAIN architecture and components obtained after OC1 as well as to upgrade the ONTOCHAIN ecosystem to host ONTOCHAIN’s trustworthy data, metadata and services, and specific software solutions that can be used widely, further extending the use cases and the architectural features delivered by Call 1.The successful completion involved projects related to decentralized oracles, market mechanisms, interoperability, network design, semantic marketplaces, and data provenance. The ONTOCHAIN architecture was also upgraded to accommodate additional services and functionalities as depicted in Figure 2.
FIGURE 2

Call 3 - Application and Experimentation:
The objective of Open Call 3 was to develop interoperable and sustainable applications that build on top of ONTOCHAIN software services delivered in OC1 and OC2 and that employ both Semantic Web and Blockchain concepts to enhance data quality aspects as well as the trustworthiness of data communication and handling processes. Applications should cover real needs of end users from various vertical domains/vital sectors of the European economy. Call 3 has led to the upgrading of the ONTOCHAIN architecture and component diagram adding other services and functionalities for Application developers. It has demonstrated the value of ONTOCHAIN frame in developing useful applications covering different aspects and verticals such as DAO, digital content and data analytics, marketplaces, automotive, distribution logistics, public services, credibility management, healthcare, real estate as presented in the ONTOCHAIN ecosystem and frame represented in the next figure.
FIGURE 3

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)

During three years ONTOCHAIN main goal was to contribute to the success of NGI and to fundamentally change the way individuals perceive and use the digital world around them. Backed by its implementation, ONTOCHAIN’s immediate impact have consisted of the following core points:
1.Growing the blockchain and NGI communities with many vertical and horizontal actions, as well as the inclusion of cross-sectorial applications.
2.Educating and providing funding to a large number of innovators increasing their awareness towards a more trustworthy and decentralised internet that could offer several societal and economic benefits.
3.Providing a workspace for building and validating new NGI solutions and proposing new economic schemes towards a human-centric evolution of the future internet.
4.Creating the required proof-of-concept and the adequate knowledge for providing recommendations towards a more focused and efficient European policy-making process.
Here are just a few areas where the ONTOCHAIN has made substantial progress beyond the state of the art reputation management, trusted data semantics, general data protection and marketplaces based on trusted knowledge and information, interoperability. Overall it has pushed innovation a step forward,it has contribute to a more human-centric evolution of the internet, a more decentralized NGI and new forms of interactions.

figure-1-ontochain-architecture-and-component-diagram-after-oc1.png

figure-3-final-ontochain-ecosystem-after-oc3.png

figure-2-ontochain-architecture-and-component-diagram-after-oc2.png