Authors:
Nasim Paykari
1
;
Taylor Clark
2
;
Ademi Zain
1
;
Damian Lyons
1
and
Mohamed Rahouti
2
Affiliations:
1
Computer and Information Science Department, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458, U.S.A.
;
2
Computer and Information Science Department, Fordham University, New York, NY 10023, U.S.A.
Keyword(s):
Blockchain, Byzantine Fault Tolerance, Multi-Signature, Merkle Tree, Wide Area Visual Navigation,Cooperative Robotics.
Abstract:
This paper presentsWitness Byzantine Fault Tolerance (WBFT), a novel consensus protocol designed forWide Area Visual Navigation (WAVN) systems, where cooperative robots share visual imagery in GPS-denied environments
and reach agreement on navigation data via blockchain. WBFT addresses the limitations of traditional
Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) methods, particularly the high communication overhead of protocols
like PBFT, by introducing a lightweight, secure, and signature-based consensus mechanism optimized for
resource-constrained robotic networks. The protocol integrates a Proof-of-Stake-based leader election system,
named Proof-of-Navigation (PoN), with a signature aggregation approach using Ed25519 cryptography and
a Merkle tree structure, reducing verification complexity to O(logt) and achieving consensus with only O(n)
message complexity. WBFT tolerates up to f ≤ ⌊(n−1)/3⌋ Byzantine faults and demonstrates superior resilience,
scalability, and communication efficiency compar
ed to existing BFT variants. Experimental results validate WBFT’s performance across multiple metrics and network sizes, confirming its suitability for highfrequency, decentralized robotic coordination.
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