Blockchain for Unmanned Underwater Drones: Research Issues, Challenges, Trends and Future Directions

TL;DR

This paper reviews how blockchain technology can enhance security, data management, and collaboration in underwater drone applications, highlighting current challenges, use cases, and future research directions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of blockchain integration in underwater drones, identifying gaps between theory and real-world implementation, and suggesting future research pathways.

Findings

Blockchain can improve data security and privacy in underwater drones.

Current challenges include real-time integration and resource constraints.

Future research should focus on practical deployment and overcoming technical limitations.

Abstract

Underwater drones have found a place in oceanography, oceanic research, bathymetric surveys, military, surveillance, monitoring, undersea exploration, mining, commercial diving, photography and several other activities. Drones housed with several sensors and complex propulsion systems help oceanographic scientists and undersea explorers to map the seabed, study waves, view dead zones, analyze fish counts, predict tidal wave behaviors, aid in finding shipwrecks, building windfarms, examine oil platforms located in deep seas and inspect nuclear reactors in the ship vessels. While drones can be explicitly programmed for specific missions, data security and privacy are crucial issues of serious concern. Blockchain has emerged as a key enabling technology, amongst other disruptive technological enablers, to address security, data sharing, storage, process tracking, collaboration and resource management. This study presents a comprehensive review on the utilization of Blockchain in different underwater applications, discussing use cases and detailing benefits. Potential challenges of underwater applications addressed by Blockchain have been detailed. This work identifies knowledge gaps between theoretical research and real-time Blockchain integration in realistic underwater drone applications. The key limitations for effective integration of Blockchain in real-time integration in UUD applications, along with directions for future research have been presented.