Reputation and Energy-Aware Dynamic Hybrid Consensus (READ-HC) Model for IIoT

Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution, advances (Industrial IoT) IIoT with autonomous, adaptive systems capable of self-learning and self-healing. Blockchain technology offers a decentralised, safe, and auditable framework to exchange and authenticate data through transactions without relying on third parties. Private blockchains, with flexible rules and strong privacy, could therefore be deployed inside IIoT systems to address security concerns and process large volumes of data. Traditional consensus mechanisms in blockchain, such as PoW and PoS, are computationally demanding and energy-intensive and may not be suitable for resource-constrained IIoT scenarios. Centralised architectures are also vulnerable in terms of single-point failures. Therefore, this article introduces a novel blockchain-based approach, Reputation and Energy-Aware Dynamic Hybrid Consensus (READ-HC), that integrates Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance, Proof of Reputation for emphasising reliable nodes, and an energy-efficient mechanism that preserves resources by dynamically regulating node involvement. This model shows high scalability, low latency, enhanced security, and high energy efficiency, which we found through conducted simulations. READ-HC outperforms traditional consensus mechanisms regarding communication complexity, consensus throughput, and its adaptability to network condition variations. This makes it a viable solution for secure and efficient IIoT networks.