Edinburgh College of Art tests a new tool that allows users to write their own smart contracts
Dr Dave Murray-Rust (now TU Delft) and Dr Ella Tallyn – Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland
A key advantage of blockchain-enabled processes is the ability to embed and automatically execute smart contracts in blockchain systems. Edinburgh College of Art built GeoBlockly as an exploratory tool that would enable new users to learn how to write these contracts and to get them to think about the possibilities for process management and automation that are opened up by Smart Contracts.
What is a Smart Contract?
A Smart Contract is a simple computer program (often but not always on a blockchain) that automatically runs when a set of predetermined conditions are met. Smart Contracts on blockchains are usually used to automate the execution of an agreement a soon as the requirements for the contract are met, without having to wait for someone to manually trigger or approve the execution of Smart Contracts can also be used in the automation of workflows that manage information on blockchains.
What is GeoBlockly?
GeoBlockly is a graphical tool that enables users to collaboratively build location based Smart Contracts. It is based on Google’s Blockly service. Blockly is a library that adds a visual code editor to web and mobile apps. Blockly provides an easy to use, visual code editor that uses interlocking, graphical blocks to represent coding concepts like loops, variables, and logical expressions. GeoBlockly adapts this to enable the user to write Smart Contracts.
What happens next?
After the development of the GeoBlockly tool, Design Informatics ran several workshops to test the tool with users and to capture feedback. The team is now exploring how the logistics and transport sectors could use the tool. The initial development of the GeoBLockly tool was part-funded by the BLING project. Development of the GeoPact Smart Contract Builder is now being funded by DECaDE: Centre for the Decentralised Digital Economy, a UK Research Centre exploring how emerging technologies such as Distributed Ledger Technology (blockchain) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) could transform the digital economy through the use of decentralised platforms.
