A blockchain-aided self-sovereign identity framework for edge-based UAV delivery system

Edge computing is becoming more and more popular in both academics and industries. With the booming of edge computing technology, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based delivery system is expected to achieve higher efficiency and low latency. However, the UAV often collects user-specific data during the delivery process, the data-leakage or security/privacy breaching could occur during the data-sharing process between the edge nodes and UAV devices. Privacy-preserving issues are further refraining from the popularity of the UAV-based logistic systems. It is believed that the UAV tracking and identity verification system can provide imminent access-level security and privacy protection, which is urgently required to eliminate the practical concerns under the edge computing-based environment. To the best knowledge of authors, for the first time, this paper proposes a Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) integrated framework with the latest Blockchain technology for UAV-based delivery system. It is expected to protect the edge computing-based UAV delivery system against security flaws and privacy concerns. In this work, the benefits of using SSI with Blockchain technology are analyzed, the efficiency of identifying and authenticating UAVs and their respective users is further experimented and discussed. The experimental results show that the integrated SSI framework with Blockchain can effectively improve the efficiency of the user identity management system as well as the identity verification process in the delivery process.