Physical item mapping to blockchain framework

A computer implemented method for a network node comprising:

• one or more processing devices;
• a storage device, for example, memory, coupled to the one or more processing devices and storing instructions for execution by at least some of the one or more processing devices;
• a communications subsystem, coupled to the one or more processing devices, to communicate with at least one or more other nodes of a peer-to-peer network;
• and item analysis components coupled to the one or more processing devices, the item analysis components configured to determine analysis data from measurements generated by the item analysis components;
• wherein the method comprises:
• analyzing an instance of a physical item using the item analysis components to determine a unique signature for the instance, the unique signature determined using the analysis data for the physical item;
• determining, using the unique signature, whether the instance of the physical item is previously recorded to a blockchain maintained by the peer-to-peer network to provide item tracking and authentication services;
• and
• recording the instance of the physical item to the blockchain.

A system comprising:

• a plurality of network nodes co-located at a field location, the plurality of nodes coupled for communication to a peer-to-peer network implementing a distributed leger providing a system to track and authenticate items, wherein a one of the plurality of network nodes is configured to define an item assessment node, the one of the plurality of network nodes comprising:
• one or more processing devices;
• a storage device, for example, memory, coupled to the one or more processing devices and storing instructions for execution by at least some of the one or more processing devices;
• a communications subsystem, coupled to the one or more processing devices, to communicate with at least one or more other nodes of a peer-to-peer network;
• and
• item analysis components coupled to the one or more processing devices, the item analysis components configured to determine analysis data from measurements generated by the item analysis components;
• wherein the one or more processing devices operate to configure the network node to:
• analyze an instance of a physical item using the item analysis components to determine a unique signature for the instance, the unique signature determined using the analysis data for the physical item;
• determine, using the unique signature, whether the instance of the physical item is previously recorded to a blockchain maintained by the peer-to-peer network to provide item tracking and authentication services;
• and
• record the instance of the physical item to the blockchain in response to the determining whether the instance is previously recorded.