Blockchain and Cyberphysical Systems

This theme issue will elaborate on the opportunities, challenges, and solutions to be offered by combining blockchain and cyberphysical systems for different application domains. Cyberphysical systems (CPSs) combine physical objects or systems with integrated computing facilities and data storage. Such CPSs can be interconnected in networks, within which they can exchange and share data and information with other objects and systems. The Internet of Things (IoT) in general is making rapid progress by providing connectivity to consumer devices. Blockchain is another promising technology in the information and communications technology domain. Blockchain is a decentralized digital database (ledger), which stores the transactions committed by users. The authenticity of such transactions is verified by the connected community (miners) before adding them to the ledger. Thus, blockchain employs a distributed trust model by eliminating a third -party centralized trust model. In the blockchain, each block bundles an array of transaction records and their cryptographic chain links.