[Funded by DLT Science Foundation]
Abstract
We propose to create a system for visualization of blockchain consensus using Raspberry Pi’s – a small computer the size of a credit card, fitted with screens and acting as fully capable blockchain validation and mining nodes running a private version of most popular blockchain protocols. Using it as full blockchain and DLT nodes will allow us to demonstrate interaction of multiple blockchain nodes in a classroom setting, and to simulate different real-life scenarios such as high communication latency which can lead to the degradation of the consensus – a crucial aspect for blockchain security
Objectives
Our main objective for this project is to develop a hardware prototype of a fully capable blockchain network using Raspberry Pi computers, with accompanying software and documentation. With this system students can gain practical hands-on experience with the contemporary blockchain systems in a test environment which is as close as possible to the real-life environment. The knowledge they gain here should be practical enough for them to use it in their own projects and theses and should serve as a solid basis for their future professional career in blockchain programming. For non-technical students the practical experience they gain should serve as a solid support for the understanding of the fundamental blockchain concepts.
The three project obectives are the following:
O1. Develop a hardware prototype of a private blockchain network running on Raspberry Pi computers, and an intermediarry client and server software that eases the deployment and management of multiple Raspberry Pi blockchain nodes. Also, develop documentation for the prototype with easy installation and usage instructions.
O2. Develop educational use cases for our Raspberry Pi hardware prototype in order to better explain fundamental blockchain concepts. For example, showcasing degradation of blockchain consensus under conditions of low latency in order to explain blockchain security.
O3. Deliver hands-on exercises using the Raspberry Pi prototype in a variety of settings, including a semster-long university course, a week-long summer school, and a one-day workshop and hackaton.
Although the target group are Bachelor and Master students of the computer science at the UZH, our previous experience showed us that blockchain systems are an interesting topic to a wide variety of students, including those from Business and Economics, Finance, and even Arts and Humanities. So our goal is to tailor the use cases and demonstration instructions of our Raspberry Pi prototype in a way which are easy to use and accessible even to students from non-technical backgrounds. This is primarily due to the use of blockchain systems as cryptocurrencies and tokens which can represent various digital property rights such as tokenized securities or non-fungible tokens which can be used as art collectibles.
The demonstration of the Raspberry Pi prototype will be incorporated as the hands-on sessions within our standard classroom courses. They will be designed to aid the theoretical understanding of the underlying concepts of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies by live in-class demonstration. All fundamental theoretical concepts in blockchain technology are much more efficiently conveyed if students have access to their own local copies of the blockchain – from the blockchain data structure to the consensus mechanism. Although the materials are primarily meant to be used in the classroom setting, they will be designed as a self-contained reference material that aids students in preparation of their practical projects and theses. The final goal is to enable students to develop their own practical projects, maybe even in a competition environment where students tackle real-world problem with the use of the blockchain technology. This emphasis on the self-guided problem solving should enhance the learning outcomes of both theoretical and practical aspects of the blockchain programming. The complexity of some of the projects would require students to work in teams, enhancing their teamwork abilities, sharing of knowledge and presentation skills. This is especially true for the teams containing students from different backgrounds, which would force them to divide the tasks into conceptual/planning phase, technical implementation, testing and demonstration, and reporting and presentation phase.
We will use the Raspberry Pi prototype in a variety of settings:
1. Standard classroom setting as a part of our Blockchain Programming course. Both for in-class demonstration and as a basis for a semester-long student projects.
2. Summer school setting as a part of the Deep Dive into Blockchain Summer School. This includes hands-on exercises and development of student projects.
3. Hackaton setting. Where a diverse set of participants are required to develop their own blockchain applications within a short period of time.