UIT - A Universal Identifier of Things to Bridge Cyber and Physical Worlds

Ensuring the integrity of product manufacture information and securely verifying the authenticity of a component is critical for both manufacturers and customers. However, traditional product identifying solutions offer little protection over counterfeit and cyber-attack. We propose a Blockchain-based product identification and certification system called Universal Identifier of Things (UIT) that enables fast product authenticity verification using low-cost devices. We leverage additive manufacturing technologies to embed a unique identifier into a product. The identifier is then digitalized by generating a digital certificate which is stored on Blockchain during the whole product life cycle for various applications/services (provenance, traceability, product warranty and call-back, etc.). We prove this concept by integrating 3D printing and Hyperledger Blockchain technologies to demonstrate that we can ensure the integrity of products with UIT by bridging the cyber and physical worlds.