As it was mentioned in previous articles, there is a tremendous potential for a Digital Lifecycle Passport (DLP) to transform data and AI-driven businesses’ traceability, transparency, and trust in the end-to-end circular supply chain to a wide range of industries and contexts.
Probably one of the simplest ways to define DLP is as: “a trusted data-driven horizontal digital tech created to transform products’ auditable attributes, improving traceability, transparency, authenticity, lifecycle, and sustainability in an end-to-end circular supply chain”
Nowadays, XYMBOT is developing a new DLP advanced prototype in collaboration with other relevant EU companies such as Talleres Electromecanicos L. Pinazo (Spain), Focke Group (Germany) and Hitachi Europe SAS (France). The new DLP prototype is implemented using various technologies such as: a unified multi-labelling tracking technology (barcode, QR and RFID are the most common labelling tracking system in the industry today) able to capture any physical identity (product’s public key); a blockchain-based product auditable edge-oriented DLP engine tech; an AI-driven self-generation (self-parametrizable) framework based on trusted (auditable) products’ circular and lifecycle patterns and insights; and a human-oriented platform agnostic service to increase transparency on the decision-making process for lifecycle and recycling operations in manufacturing environments.
Several technical and business improvements will be achieved by companies that adopt trusted and transparent data- and AI-driven solutions such as DLP. The main objective of this series of articles introduced by the R&D department of XYMBOT is to share our vision about DLP tech a disruptive solution (multi-tech hub) to transform products’ traceability, transparency, authenticity, lifecycle, and sustainability in an end-to-end circular supply chain.
In today’s article, we would like to focus on one key aspect improved by DLP tech: the potential to empower IoT infrastructure, and data cybersecurity in industrial sectors. According to a market research report by MarketsandMarkets, the global industrial IoT and cybersecurity market was valued at $42.84 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach a market size of $143.47 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.9% during the forecast period. This growth is being driven by the increasing adoption of IoT technologies in industrial applications, as well as the need for secure and reliable connectivity in critical infrastructure. In this direction, the adoption of blockchain to implement a DLP allows for the creation of a decentralized (edge-based or node-based) and secure record of the history and provenance of an object or product in the end-to-end data-driven industry. Blockchain technology allows the creation of secure and transparent product auditable records that track and verify the history, provenance, and ownership of an object or product through its entire lifecycle.
From data transparency, security and trust, the use of blockchain in a DLP provides several benefits, including:
- Security:Blockchain technology is inherently secure, making it difficult for unauthorized parties to alter or tamper with the information stored in a digital lifecycle passport.
- Transparency:The decentralized nature of blockchain allows for transparent and verifiable access to the information stored in a digital lifecycle passport.
- Immutability:Once information is added to a blockchain, it is difficult to alter or delete, providing a permanent record of the history and provenance of an object or product.
- Encrypting data:Encrypting the data stored in a digital lifecycle passport can help to protect it from unauthorized access and tampering.
- Implementing access controls:Implementing access controls can help to prevent unauthorized access to the digital lifecycle passport and the data it contains.
- Regularly updating security measures:Regularly updating security measures, such as software patches and security protocols, can help to protect against newly discovered vulnerabilities and threats.
- Regular monitoring and auditing:Regularly monitoring and auditing the digital lifecycle passport and the systems it relies on can help to identify and address any security weaknesses or vulnerabilities.
In addition to using technologies like blockchain, DLP also includes other measures to help to ensure the authenticity and integrity of products and make it more difficult for fraudulent activity to go undetected. The next article will cover the DLP potential to eliminate fraud (zero-fraud tolerance policies), protect companies’ trademarks, to improve benefits in warranties services among other industrial and services sectors that will be positively impacted by Digital Lifecycle Passport technology in the coming years.
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By Gerardo Beruvides, CEO XYMBOT Ltd., follow me: 
