Interoperable Traceability in Agrifood Supply Chains: Enhancing Transport Systems Through IoT Sensor Data, Blockchain, and DataSpace

first_pagesettingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Interoperable Traceability in Agrifood Supply Chains: Enhancing Transport Systems Through IoT Sensor Data, Blockchain, and DataSpace † by Giovanni Farina 1ORCID,Alexander Kocian 2,*ORCID,Gianluca Brunori 2ORCID,Stefano Chessa 2ORCID,Maria Bonaria Lai 3ORCID,Daniele Nardi 4ORCID,Claudio Schifanella 5ORCID,Susanna Bonura 6ORCID,Nicola Masi 6,Sergio Comella 6,Fiorenzo Ambrosino 7ORCID,Angelo Mariano 7ORCID,Lucio Colizzi 8ORCID,Giovanna Maria Dimitri 9ORCID,Marco Gori 9ORCID,Franco Scarselli 9ORCID,Silvia Bonomi 4ORCID,Enrico Almici 10,Luca Antiga 11,Antonio Salvatore Fiorentino 11 andadd Show full author list 1 Department of Engineering, Niccolò Cusano University, 00166 Rome, Italy 2 University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy 3 Department of Economics and Business Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy 4 Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy 5 Computer Science Department, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy 6 Engineering Ingegneria Informatica S.p.A, 00144 Roma, Italy 7 ENEA Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, 00123 Rome, Italy 8 Dipartimento di Informatica, Università degli Studi di Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy 9 Department of Information Engineering and Mathematics (DIISM), University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy 10 Antares Vision Group, 25039 Travagliato, Italy add Show full affiliation list * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. † This paper is an extended version of our paper published in the 8th EAI Intelligent Transport Systems (INTSYS) Conference 2024, Pisa, Italy, 5–6 December 2024. Sensors 2025, 25(11), 3419; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25113419 Submission received: 29 March 2025 / Revised: 10 May 2025 / Accepted: 26 May 2025 / Published: 29 May 2025 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors in Intelligent Transport Systems) Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract Traceability plays a critical role in ensuring the quality, safety, and transparency of supply chains, where transportation stakeholders are fundamental to the efficient movement of goods. However, the diversity of actors involved poses significant challenges to achieving these goals. Each organization typically operates its own information system, tailored to manage internal data, but often lacks the ability to communicate effectively with external systems. Moreover, when data exchange between different systems is required, it becomes critical to maintain full control over the shared data and to manage access rights precisely. In this work, we propose the concept of interoperable traceability. We present a model that enables the seamless integration of data from sensors, IoT devices, data management platforms, and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) within a newly designed data space architecture. We also demonstrate a practical implementation of this concept by applying it to real-world scenarios in the agri-food sector, with direct implications for transportation systems and all stakeholders in a supply chain. Our demonstrator supports the secure exchange of traceability data between existing systems, providing stakeholders with a novel approach to managing and auditing data with increased transparency and efficiency.