DPRP: A Lightweight and Scalable Multi-Layer Blockchain Based on Swarm Reputation for Trustworthy AIoT Collaboration

Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT)-enabled Edge Collaboration systems (AEC) are characterized by openness, heterogeneity, and constrained device resources, which pose severe challenges to achieving trusted collaboration within AEC. While blockchain provides a trusted foundation for multi-party coordination, establishing robust inter-device trust relationships at low cost and promoting the collaborative participation of heterogeneous devices remain critical challenges that need to be addressed. To address the aforementioned challenges, this paper introduces DPRP, a lightweight and scalable multi-layer blockchain model based on delegated proof of swarm reputation with hierarchical Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT). The model introduces a lightweight consensus protocol, DPoRP, which constructs swarm reputation by evaluating node contributions within collaborative swarms, thereby establishing a trust foundation. This enables a swarm-reputation-driven multi-layer consensus mechanism, structured around meta-nodes functioning as autonomous units. To effectively incentivize swarm collaboration and constrain node behavior, DPoRP incorporates a hierarchical reward and penalty scheme tailored to swarm collaboration. Moreover, to reduce the participation threshold for heterogeneous devices, DPRP designs a dynamic, redundancy-aware hierarchical storage mechanism that adjusts redundancy factors based on actual storage demands, thus improving storage efficiency and supporting multi-layer deployment. Simulation results and analysis demonstrate that DPRP significantly enhances system robustness and scalability while reducing communication complexity.