Terepac moves toward IoT with blockchain technology

Waterloo ON-based Terepac Corp. announced a joint development partnership with Nuco Inc. to bring blockchain expertise to its latest product — a suite of services that will ensure secure communications among devices connected to the Internet.

Blockchain is the underlying technology for Bitcoin. It generates a permanent, tamper-proof record of all transactions.

Internet of Things and the advantages of blockchain technology

Ric Asselstine, the chief executive officer at Terepac, said his company is uniquely positioned to be a leader in this sector, and guide enterprise customers into both the Internet of Things and the advantages of blockchain technology.

Asselstine said this is a natural evolution for the company that was founded in 2005 specializing in the miniaturization of electronics. One of its main products is Terecircuits, a patented technology that allows the introduction of electronics into anything. These devices are critical parts of the Internet of Things.

“So I do not call this a pivot, I call it an extension of our capabilities,” Asselstine said. “So the logical extension now is the blockchain capabilities.”

Hardware and software for detecting leaks

Terepac has developed the hardware and software for detecting leaks in municipal water systems, monitoring yachts moored in harbours, and wireless sensors that allow the remote monitoring of equipment. It also has a manufacturing incubator for advanced engineering ideas, and a consumer app called Roundoo that alerts users to deals and discounts at nearby stores, restaurants and theatres.

Terepac is uniquely positioned to do everything for enterprise customers, from placing sensors on machines, connecting the machines to a network, collecting the data, analyzing the data, visualizing the data, and developing apps based on the data. Integrating blockchain technology into all of that ensures security through a digital record that cannot be tampered with.

“Blockchain is expected to transform almost every institution and every company,” Asselstine said. “It is only now being imagined, but the expectation is that this is more powerful than the first wave of the Internet.”

1st generation of the Internet connected centres of research, military

The first generation of the Internet connected centres of research, military commanders and government leaders in the U.S. It was built to ensure reliable communications during a nuclear war. The second generation of the Internet connected more than two billion people around the world. And the third generation will see billions, maybe trillions of devices and machines connected and becoming the Internet of Things.

The devices and machines on the Internet of Things will generate huge amounts of data. So the company’s first new service is called Terepac Blockchain Data Reliance as a Service. It will use blockchain technology to ensure the data that is reliable and trustworthy without the need for third party verification.

“One of the main opportunities for Terepac is to help develop understanding on behalf of enterprise clients, so we become the resource,” Asselstine said.

“We are basically the tour guide into the future, the Internet of Things and blockchain technology,” Asselstine said.

tpender@therecord.com