A Novel Two-Layer DAG-Based Reactive Protocol for IoT Data Reliability in Metaverse

Many applications, e.g., digital twins, rely on sensing data from Internet of Things (IoT) networks, which is used to infer event(s) and initiate actions to affect an environment. This gives rise to concerns relating to data integrity and provenance. One possible solution to address these concerns is to employ blockchain. However, blockchain has high resource requirements, thereby making it unsuitable for use on resource-constrained IoT devices. To this end, this paper proposes a novel approach, called two-layer directed acyclic graph (2LDAG), whereby IoT devices only store a digital fingerprint of data generated by their neighbors. Further, it proposes a novel proof-of-path (PoP) protocol that allows an operator or digital twin to verify data in an on-demand manner. The simulation results show 2LDAG has storage and communication cost that is respectively two and three orders of magnitude lower than traditional blockchain and also blockchains that use a DAG structure. Moreover, 2LDAG achieves consensus even when 49% of nodes are malicious.