Anonymously sharing device data
A former client reached out recently asking for advice on how to collect data from a consumer device without presenting friction to the customer. And asked if there is a need for a blockchain here.
My initial take is that the bluetooth and RFID technology is at the stage of development where some data can be securely exchanged between devices with no input from a user. And blockchain is not needed unless there is a desire to incentivize user behavior. While companies may be able to forcefully transmit the data from their devices into a hub they own it's only a matter of time before consumers reclaim that right.
Device to Hub Concept
Use case #1: we have a bluetooth low energy (BLE) capable device that collects non-PII usage data. The device needs to send the collected data to a hub when a user approaches it. The hub can be located at user's home or at a retail location. Data transmission is transparent to the user. No user action is needed to send device data to the hub.
Use case #2: a brand new device in a package is taken out of a display case at a store. The package has an RFID (or similar) tag. The tag must be scanned as a vendor retrieves the package from the display case. The movement triggers a "moment of sale" event and the device ID is sent to the vendor. The display case would need to be engineered to ensure a scan happens automatically without a salesperson taking explicit action. I.e., removing the box from case requires movement through the antenna.
Use case #3: send rewards to user for completing some challenges without requiring the user to reveal their identity. This use case is required to connect multiple devices to a single user.
Summary
This use case is similar to my earlier writing on user incentives to perform some action while tracking the provenance of a product coupled with incentives on-chain. So much has changed since then. With the proliferation of L2 solutions mass tokenization is now a reality at a price point cheaper than the RFID tags. Scenarios 1 & 2 above don't require blockchain since the data can be transmitted within a closed loop system. However a blockchain based solution may be a fit to anonymously reward users for certain behaviors without soliciting GDPR-like PII data.