Swiss Federal Railways trials blockchain technology for ID management system

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has completed a blockchain proof of concept (PoC) of a “self-sovereign” identity management system, Cointelegraph reported.

The product has been developed by Swiss startup Linum Labs by deploying Ethereum-based identity management protocol uPort, supported by ConsenSys. The tests were conducted from May to November of this year.

The blockchain system is intended to be used by workers at SBB’s construction sites. The objective is to enhance the efficiency of paper-based processes in an “agile working environment with a digital, audit-proof solution based on blockchain.”

Using the uPort app on their smartphones, workers created their digital identities which they used to log in and out of construction sites where they worked. The blockchain-based system helped to confirm workers’ presence at construction sites, and verified if they had the correct credential to work there.

“A self-sovereign blockchain based identity is well-suited for this use case because workers should be able to carry over their identity from one company to another and no specific company should own or manage it. In addition, there are multiple companies and parties issuing certificates,” Linum Labs said in a blog post.

“With uPort’s new architecture, identities are generated and secured on the blockchain at no cost, while the ledger entry Gas costs are $0.006 per entry.”

Earlier this year, the city of Zug held the first blockchain-based municipal voting. Voters were able to cast their vote using their smartphones by downloading uPort app to register.