Key Concepts

To understand the middleware, it helps to be familiar with a few core concepts.

• Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT): Often called blockchain, DLT is a decentralized system for recording transactions across many computers. This ensures that records are immutable (cannot be changed) and transparent, providing a foundation of trust without a central authority. Our middleware uses an Ethereum-based DLT.

• Smart Contracts: These are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code. They run on the blockchain and automatically enforce rules and execute actions (like payments or granting access) when specific conditions are met.

• Node: A node is a participant in the dAIEdge network. It can be a consumer, producer, or “prosumer” of data, models, and other resources. Each node runs a local instance of the layered middleware architecture.

• AI Beacons: A conceptual term for an AI-driven module or agent that provides insights, makes decisions, or triggers automated actions based on data analysis and machine learning algorithms within the middleware’s layers.

• Marketplace & Data Catalogue: The marketplace is a digital platform for buying, selling, or sharing assets like AI models and datasets. The data catalogue is a structured inventory that organizes and describes these assets to make them easily discoverable.