As part of a German consortium, Datarella has successfully finished the research project KOSMoS. KOSMoS was a joint research project aiming to build a collaborative smart contract platform for the digital value chain in the field of Industry 4.0. This research and development project was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and managed by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA).

In addition to Datarella, the consortium consisted of Schwäbische Werkzeugmaschinen, the Institute for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and Manufacturing Equipment (ISW), the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center, inovex, ONDICS, Schütte, and Asys Group.

KOSMoS worked to develop a collaborative platform for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). DLT is a family of innovative, decentralized technologies with blockchain technology being the most popular member of the family. Within the KOSMoS project, two different industrial use cases were realized on a DLT-based platform: 1) dynamic leasing, and 2) transparent maintenance.

The primary goal of KOSMoS was to develop a platform for the cross-company networking of production and process data using blockchain technology. The platform is able to integrate new offerings and business models. Examples include transparent maintenance concepts, dynamic leasing, and proof of quality for delivered products. Through these business models, all cooperating companies should gain an advantage. Examples of such improvements include lower prices, lower maintenance costs, and easier product distribution. In summary, the project should facilitate better cooperation amongst companies in the industry sector.

The Hyperledger Fabric DLT used in this project was part of the following logical system, where most of the individual components are accessible over standardized ports, and others were only available in private networks:

The final results of KOSMoS were presented at a full-day workshop in March including all three initiatives of the InKoWe association.

We from Datarella were very proud to be part of this innovative research project and happy to make a major contribution to the consortium with its DLT experience.