CENSIS has helped award-winning artisan gin distillery Roehill Springs to incorporate blockchain technology into its supply chain.
Roehill Springs is using the system, developed by CENSIS and Aberdeen-based TrackGenesis, in what is believed to be among the first direct uses of sensor data with a blockchain. The project is part of the CENSIS IoT Evolve programme, funded by the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
Roehill Springs is committed to using local ingredients, offering transparency to its customers, and being environmentally responsible. In discussions with CENSIS, the team identified combining the automation potential of IoT with the traceability and security provided by blockchain technology as the best way of ensuring full transparency for customers.
IoT sensor based-flow meters have been installed at the spring on the family farm and at its distillery. The data they produce is sent to a smartphone and tablet application via Bluetooth. The data from each flow meter is transferred to the private blockchain where it is held and can be accessed by customers through a QR code printed on each bottle of Roehill Springs gin, alongside information about the bottle’s other ingredients.
The system means there is complete accuracy and transparency – customers can be confident that water used in Roehill gin is high quality and sustainably sourced. It also enhances the authenticity of the data – the blockchain is tamper-proof and immutable – removes the time, errors, and cost of manual data entry, and helps the distillery track and reduce its water usage.
Roehill Springs is now looking at other ways blockchain might be used to make its business even more transparent for customers, such as energy monitoring.