ZK-GPS location tracking for geo-accountability

[tian0]

I propose a research and development effort for zero-knowledge GPS location-based smart contracts on Ethereum. Having been hit close by several attacks using consumer vehicles as weapons, I seek a solution to manned and unmanned safety hazards. What if air and road vehicle geo-accountability can be addressed real-time from a distributed ledger?

The plan is to mesh an on-board Arduino based light-client and location updates to the blockchain as Christian Reitwiessner described about Integrating ZoE:

"You can, for example, post an encrypted message in regular intervals, containing your physical location to the blockchain (perhaps with other people’s signatures to prevent spoofing). If you use a different key for each message, you can reveal your location only at a certain time by publishing the key. However, with zk-SNARKs you can additionally prove that you were in a certain area without revealing exactly where you were. Inside the zk-SNARK, you decrypt your location and check that it is inside the area. Because of the zero-knowledge property, everyone can verify that check, but nobody will be able to retrieve your actual location."

PHASE I. The on-board device would communicate with a smart contract that:

1. Records vehicle GPS location in every block
2. Communicates client perimeter/clearance, altitude limits, speed limits (safety rules)
3. Warns if safety rules are violated

PHASE II. An evolved and interconnected contract will ideally:

1. Record perimeter/clearances for other clients (private property, street closures, airspace, prohibited areas, military zones, and other vehicles)
2. Communicate collision course, perimeter trespassing, and breach incidents to clients involved
3. Activate last resort contingencies (kill vehicle power, block radio signal in perimeter, perim barrier deployment, etc)

While the concept is quite basic, once the hardware and perimeter rules are developed, I envision this being packaged for further development under government contract for use of air traffic control authorities like the FAA to control drone traffic in congested or protected areas. As a drone and aircraft enthusiast, I followed the initial FAA drone rulings closely. Having self driving cars, the self flying drone ATC system is overdue. This is a product of the highest govermental interest.

Zcash users will benefit by the added hashrate these institutions would contribute to the network in order to rely on a stable and immutable public network that mitigates the cybersec threats of centralization and provides the zk proof to protect user privacy. The Zcash foundation would highly benefit from the revenue for other grant funding rounds, especially if this can be packaged as a spinoff for blockchaining government contracts for logistics and auditability in several other infrastructure applications. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions!

See figure below for a simple data flow interpretation:

[tromer]

How is this related to Zcash?

[john-light]

Initial thoughts:

1. I don't see a connection to Zcash in this proposal. You should elaborate on how this relates to Zcash.

2. There remains questions such as, "How do you ensure the accuracy and authenticity of the data being recorded?", "How do you scale this to the millions of vehicles on the road and in the air today?", "How do you protect user privacy if their location is being recorded on a public blockchain?"

[tian0]

1. I had originally thought of implemetation on ETH/ETC, so if a ZoE framework is provided this becomes more viable. I am not an ETH dev or well versed in Zcash but expected a similar transaction + script framework. I was hoping Vlad could provide some guidance as to the best architecture.

2. The GPS locator and Flight controller can be encapsulated and made tamper proof. The data accuracy will improve as technology advances, but it's accurate to a few meters as of now. I would suggest scaling by implementing it on newer vehicles such as commercial drones, and antcipating the regulatory push and next-gen air traffic control desire of the FAA for accountability in drone accidents, trespassing, spying, etc. End clients would be the drone pilots in this case. As for existing vehicles, the regulation could mandate retro-active measures to implement tracking devices. I realize ground traffic control is quite a feat, so implementing counter-terrorist measures that are IoT activated could bridge the gap. Our air traffic control system uses 40 year old software, and does not scale to AI/IoT device control-feedback systems. Since the contracts must be managed for updating rules and new airspace (perimeters) registration, there could be an authority that administrates the contract. As far as using the public chain, the benefit lies with the integrity of the information since for example, FAA server hacks, internet and power outages, could be used to trespass perimeters with malicious intent.

[mineZcash]

I too am struggling to see how this proposal fits within the Zcash Foundation grant program. It does seem like an interesting idea, but I don't see how it would benefit Zcash users.

[tian0]

Noted. Will update proposal

[tian0]

Proposal was updated to include protection of user privacy. Added a quote from Christian's 1/17 blog post (https://blog.ethereum.org/2017/01/19/update-integrating-zcash-ethereum/) Updated network and Zcash Foundation expected benefits.

[acityinohio]

Every informal proposal has multiple reviews by the review committee. The reviews are being collected and discussed in a private google doc (the 5 reviewers all have edit access to it, no one else can view it). By way of early, informal feedback, the reviewers would like to inform you that your proposal is not a leading candidate for funding in this round.

You may still choose to submit a full proposal by October 6th, and it will be evaluated. But if it’s substantially the same as discussion so far reflects, then we suspect it is unlikely to be chosen for funding; and if it isn't, then we encourage you to post a draft as early as possible, to allow for community feedback. Regardless of your choice we thank you for participation thus far.