Abstract: A method of evaluating seal properties of an elastomeric or plastic seal on a valve element or a valve seat is provided, which valve element operated by a hydraulic arrangement, wherein the valve element is operated between—a contact state, where the valve element is in contact with the valve seat, and—a non-contact state, where the valve element is not in contact with the valve seat, wherein the method includes: changing state from a non-contact state to a contact state, —measuring a valve initial contact position at contact with the valve seat, where the elastomeric seal or the plastic seal makes contact with the valve element or the valve seat; —storing the valve initial contact position on a computer-readable medium, —repeating the steps of changing, measuring and storing, and—evaluating seal properties of the elastomeric seal or plastic seal as a function of the stored valve initial contact positions.

Abstract: A method for conveying auditable information regarding provenance of a product that is cryptographically accurate while retaining complete anonymity of product and participant on a blockchain includes: receiving a product identifier; generating a digital token by applying a hashing algorithm to the product identifier; generating an entry value by applying the hashing algorithm to a combination of an event identifier and the digital token; generating a digital signature by digitally signing a data package using a private key of a cryptographic key pair, where the data package includes at least a blockchain address, the event identifier, and the digital token; and transmitting the blockchain address, the digital signature, and the entry value to a node in a blockchain network.

Abstract: A method for generating a block for a blockchain utilizing an all-or-nothing transform includes: storing, in a memory of a blockchain node in a blockchain network, a blockchain comprised of a plurality of blocks including at least a most recent block; receiving a plurality of blockchain transactions; applying an all-or-nothing transform (AONT) to the plurality of blockchain transactions to generate a plurality of pseudomessage blocks; generating a new block header including at least a timestamp and a hash value associated with the most recent block; generating a new block including at least the generated new block header and the plurality of pseudomessage blocks; and transmitting the generated new block to a plurality of additional blockchain nodes in the blockchain network.

Abstract: A method for generating a block for a blockchain utilizing an all-or-nothing transform includes: storing, in a memory of a blockchain node in a blockchain network, a blockchain comprised of a plurality of blocks including at least a most recent block; receiving a plurality of blockchain transactions; applying an all-or-nothing transform (AONT) to the plurality of blockchain transactions to generate a plurality of pseudomessage blocks; generating a new block header including at least a timestamp and a hash value associated with the most recent block; generating a new block including at least the generated new block header and the plurality of pseudomessage blocks; and transmitting the generated new block to a plurality of additional blockchain nodes in the blockchain network.

Abstract: A method for aggregated storage of observational data on a blockchain includes: receiving, by a receiver of a processing server, a plurality of data entries, wherein the plurality of data entries includes (i) one or more data entries received from each of a plurality of different external devices, or (ii) multiple data entries received from one external device; canonicalize, by a processor of the processing server, the received plurality of data entries into a single data value; hashing, by the processor of the processing server, the single data value to generate a hashed data value; transmitting, by a transmitter of the processing server, the hashed data value to a blockchain node in a blockchain network; receiving, by the receiver of the processing server, a reference value from the blockchain node; and storing, in a memory of the processing server, the received reference value with the plurality of data entries.

Abstract: A method for reducing file size of a blockchain through hash truncation includes: receiving a plurality of blockchain transactions; generating a first Merkle root of a first Merkle tree comprised of a first hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions; generating a second Merkle root of a second Merkle tree comprised of a second hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions, where the second hash is a truncation of the first hash for the respective blockchain transaction; generating a new block comprised of a block header and the first hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions, the block header including at least a timestamp, the first Merkle root, the second Merkle root, and a block reference value associated with a prior block in a blockchain; and transmitting the generated new block to a plurality of additional nodes in the blockchain network.

Abstract: A method for generating a block for a blockchain utilizing an all-or-nothing transform includes: storing, in a memory of a blockchain node in a blockchain network, a blockchain comprised of a plurality of blocks including at least a most recent block; receiving a plurality of blockchain transactions; applying an all-or-nothing transform (AONT) to the plurality of blockchain transactions to generate a plurality of pseudomessage blocks; generating a new block header including at least a timestamp and a hash value associated with the most recent block; generating a new block including at least the generated new block header and the plurality of pseudomessage blocks; and transmitting the generated new block to a plurality of additional blockchain nodes in the blockchain network.

Abstract: A method for verification of a pruned blockchain transaction includes: receiving, by a receiver of a computing device, a subset of blocks included in a plurality of blocks comprising a blockchain, wherein each block includes one or more blockchain data values; receiving, by the receiver of the computing device, an authentication code; identifying, by a processor of the computing device, a plurality of data chunks in the subset of blocks using the authentication code, where each data chunk of the plurality of data chunks is included in one of the one or more blockchain data values in a block of the subset of blocks; decoding, by the processor of the computing device, a transaction value using at least the identified plurality of data chunks and a fountain code algorithm; and verifying, by the processor of the computing device, the decoded transaction value.

Abstract: A method for aggregated storage of observational data on a blockchain includes: receiving, by a receiver of a processing server, a plurality of data entries, wherein the plurality of data entries includes (i) one or more data entries received from each of a plurality of different external devices, or (ii) multiple data entries received from one external device; canonicalize, by a processor of the processing server, the received plurality of data entries into a single data value; hashing, by the processor of the processing server, the single data value to generate a hashed data value; transmitting, by a transmitter of the processing server, the hashed data value to a blockchain node in a blockchain network; receiving, by the receiver of the processing server, a reference value from the blockchain node; and storing, in a memory of the processing server, the received reference value with the plurality of data entries.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to secure and verifiable storage and retrieval of data, in particular in the context of product tracking. According to one aspect there is provided a computer-implemented verifiable data storage method comprising: receiving a product serial number; receiving an account identifier; producing a non-invertible hash by operating on the product serial number and the account identifier; and causing the hash to be written to a secure distributed data store. According to another aspect there is provided a computer-implemented verification method comprising: receiving a product serial number; receiving an account identifier; producing a non-invertible hash by operating on the product serial number and the account identifier; searching a secure distributed data store for the hash; and depending on a result of the searching, providing confirmation or denial of the hash's presence in the secure distributed data store.

Abstract: A method for conveying auditable information regarding provenance of a product that is cryptographically accurate while retaining complete anonymity of product and participant on a blockchain includes: receiving a product identifier; generating a digital token by applying a hashing algorithm to the product identifier; generating an entry value by applying the hashing algorithm to a combination of an event identifier and the digital token; generating a digital signature by digitally signing a data package using a private key of a cryptographic key pair, where the data package includes at least a blockchain address, the event identifier, and the digital token; and transmitting the blockchain address, the digital signature, and the entry value to a node in a blockchain network.

Abstract: A method for reducing file size of a blockchain through hash truncation includes: receiving a plurality of blockchain transactions; generating a first Merkle root of a first Merkle tree comprised of a first hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions; generating a second Merkle root of a second Merkle tree comprised of a second hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions, where the second hash is a truncation of the first hash for the respective blockchain transaction; generating a new block comprised of a block header and the first hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions, the block header including at least a timestamp, the first Merkle root, the second Merkle root, and a block reference value associated with a prior block in a blockchain; and transmitting the generated new block to a plurality of additional nodes in the blockchain network.

Abstract: A method for conveying auditable information regarding provenance of a product that is cryptographically accurate while retaining complete anonymity of product and participant on a blockchain includes: receiving a product identifier; generating a digital token by applying a hashing algorithm to the product identifier; generating an entry value by applying the hashing algorithm to a combination of an event identifier and the digital token; generating a digital signature by digitally signing a data package using a private key of a cryptographic key pair, where the data package includes at least a blockchain address, the event identifier, and the digital token; and transmitting the blockchain address, the digital signature, and the entry value to a node in a blockchain network.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a description of systems and methods for verifying product authenticity at a point of sale through transaction messages. A point of sale may collect product identifiers from products that a consumer is interested in purchase as part of a traditional checkout process. Product identifiers can be included in special data elements in a transaction message that is submitted to a merchant's acquiring bank through for the payment transaction. As part of the processing of the transaction by the acquirer, the acquirer can consult a processor to check the authenticity of the products being purchased by examining a provenance blockchain for the product identifiers included in the transaction message. If the products are determined to be authentic, the transaction can proceed as normal. If the products are not authentic, then the acquirer can deny the transaction and stop the consumer from purchasing a counterfeit or fraudulent good.

Abstract: A method for reducing file size of a blockchain through hash truncation includes: receiving a plurality of blockchain transactions; generating a first Merkle root of a first Merkle tree comprised of a first hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions; generating a second Merkle root of a second Merkle tree comprised of a second hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions, where the second hash is a truncation of the first hash for the respective blockchain transaction; generating a new block comprised of a block header and the first hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions, the block header including at least a timestamp, the first Merkle root, the second Merkle root, and a block reference value associated with a prior block in a blockchain; and transmitting the generated new block to a plurality of additional nodes in the blockchain network.

Abstract: A method is provided for communicating a non-speech message as audio from a first device to a second device such that information can be passed between the first and second device. The method includes: encoding the non-speech message as a dissimilar speech message having a plurality of phonemes; transmitting the speech message over one or more audio communications channels from the first device; receiving the speech message at the second device; recognizing the speech message; and decoding the dissimilar speech message to the non-speech message. By using existing audio functionality, and the increasingly more reliable voice recognition applications, an improved method is provided for sharing complex data messages using commonly available communication channels.

Abstract: A method for triggering payment transactions through predetermined events identified using a blockchain includes: receiving, at a first system, trigger data including a first account identifier, second account identifier, and trigger event values; receiving, at the first system, blockchain data values, each including a hash value; identifying, by the first system, a match between a specific blockchain data value and a specific trigger event value based on the hash value; transmitting, by the first system, a notification message to a second system including the first account identifier and second account identifier; identifying, by the second system, a first payment identifier using the first account identifier and a second payment identifier using the second account identifier; and initiating, by the second system, a payment transaction for payment from a transaction account associated with the first payment identifier to a transaction account associated with the second payment identifier.

Abstract: Machine learning vision systems rely on very large numbers of training images to learn to recognize particular shapes and configurations of shapes. Traditionally, such datasets of training images needed to be selected and tagged (or labelled) manually. To recognize a particular object, such as a dog or vehicle, under realistic settings with an acceptable degree of reliability, may require data sets of thousands of images per object class. To improve this, a method is provided to generate datasets with a multiplicity of corresponding images are generated using a 3D rendering engine using a plurality of lighting arrangements and a plurality of views. Artefacts may also be introduced. In this way, very large data sets become feasible, with a variable degree of correspondence in each data set.

Abstract: A method for reducing file size of a blockchain through hash truncation includes: receiving a plurality of blockchain transactions; generating a first Merkle root of a first Merkle tree comprised of a first hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions; generating a second Merkle root of a second Merkle tree comprised of a second hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions, where the second hash is a truncation of the first hash for the respective blockchain transaction; generating a new block comprised of a block header and the first hash of each of the plurality of blockchain transactions, the block header including at least a timestamp, the first Merkle root, the second Merkle root, and a block reference value associated with a prior block in a blockchain; and transmitting the generated new block to a plurality of additional nodes in the blockchain network.

Abstract: A method for conveying auditable information regarding provenance of a product that is cryptographically accurate while retaining complete anonymity of product and participant on a blockchain includes: receiving a product identifier; generating a digital token by applying a hashing algorithm to the product identifier; generating an entry value by applying the hashing algorithm to a combination of an event identifier and the digital token; generating a digital signature by digitally signing a data package using a private key of a cryptographic key pair, where the data package includes at least a blockchain address, the event identifier, and the digital token; and transmitting the blockchain address, the digital signature, and the entry value to a node in a blockchain network.