Georacle: Enabling Geospatially Aware Smart Contracts

Abstract: Smart contracts have enabled a paradigm shift in computing by leveraging decentralized networks of trust to achieve consensus at scale. Oracle networks further extend the power of smart contracts by solving the so-called "oracle problem". Such networks enable smart contracts to make use of the vast amount pre-existing data available on the web today without jeopardizing the integrity of the underlying network of trust. By leveraging oracle networks, smart contracts can make decisions based on data corresponding to the physical world. To this end, we introduce Georacle - an oracle service that enables geospatially aware smart contracts in a way that respects the space constrained nature of blockchain environments. Contracts can query the location of objects in a given area, map between street addresses and coordinates, and retrieve the geometry of a desired region of space while conserving gas consumption and avoiding unnecessary data processing.