The world is experiencing a quiet revolution. It’s not taking place in the halls of political power or the streets of some faraway city. Rather, it’s happening in factories, ports, construction sites,

3 Industries That Have Been Transformed By The Productivity Revolution

Sept. 26, 2023 - San Jose, California - HiveMQ, the global leader in enterprise MQTT solutions, has announced HiveMQ Data Hub, an integrated policy engine within the HiveMQ broker designed to enforce data integrity and quality. The new offering helps to ...

HiveMQ Presents Data Hub, an Integrated Policy Engine for MQTT Data

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- HiveMQ, the global leader in enterprise MQTT solutions, today announced HiveMQ Data Hub, an integrated policy engine within the HiveMQ broker ...

Announcing HiveMQ Data Hub, an Integrated Policy Engine for MQTT Data

The MongoDB Partner Ecosystem includes systems integrators and technology consultants with industry-specific expertise—including AWS and HiveMQ—to help organizations adopt the right solutions ...

MongoDB Launches Atlas for Manufacturing and Automotive

New MongoDB Atlas for Manufacturing and Automotive initiative helps organizations deploy applications that use real-time data to optimize processes and reimagine end-user experiences with connected technologies AWS,

This accreditation shows our clients, partners, and stakeholders that we are committed to using the best practices, protocols, and procedures to protect their data. ISO/IEC 27001 is a globally ...

HiveMQ Achieves ISO/IEC Certification for Data Security

July 26, 2023 - HiveMQ, the global leader in enterprise MQTT solutions, announced the availability of HiveMQ Edge, an open source software gateway with an edge-optimized MQTT broker. HiveMQ Edge helps manufacturing organizations simplify and modernize ...

HiveMQ Edge Is an Open Source Software Gateway to Standardize Industrial Edge Data

HiveMQ Edge is a software gateway designed to simplify industrial IoT deployments via diverse endpoint integration and unified namespace architecture creation. The key to HiveMQ Edge is its support for the unified namespace architecture, which allows data ...

Open-Source Industrial Edge Software

In a previous article, I went over how you to use a MAX98357 amplifier breakout to power a speaker via digital I2S (Inter-IC Sound) signals. While this opens up audio output possibilities, it’s ...

Raspberry Pi Pico Audio Line Out Via PCM5102A I2S Breakout

HiveMQ

hivemq

facilitates efficient data movement for IIoT, ensuring the availability of up-to-date manufacturing machine data from various sources. This data can be combined to effectively track and analyze unplanned downtime in your manufacturing or industrial IIoT (IIoT) setup. MQTT So, in this article, we’ll explore how MQTT and Sparkplug can help manufacturers aggregate data and put it to work to enable machine downtime analytics. Factory Data Acquisition and Aggregation using MQTT and Sparkplug (see Figure 1) is a standard binary publish-subscribe messaging protocol designed for fast and reliable factory machines, systems, and application data transport to enable tracking of unplanned downtime, especially under very constrained conditions. MQTT Constraints may include unreliable network connectivity, limited bandwidth, or limited battery power. MQTT is built on top of TCP/IP, which is the go-to communication protocol to interconnect network devices on the Internet. For these reasons, MQTT is ideal for IIoT and supports an event-driven architecture. MQTT technology is designed to push data to and from thousands of remote factory machines, systems, and applications across the enterprise. is a framework that sits on top of MQTT to add more context to manufacturing data. MQTT Sparkplug It is an open-source software specification that provides MQTT clients with a framework to integrate various factory data and provide context by defining data models. It provides a consistent way for manufacturing equipment manufacturers and software providers to share contextual factory data, enriching the analysis of unplanned downtime. Figure 2 provides an MQTT Sparkplug-based data architecture which shows how the data broker connects multiple machines/processes and applications to enable seamless bi-directional factory data movement between OT and IT systems. MQTT has gained in popularity when it comes to enterprise IIoT strategy. In a survey conducted by IIoT in 2022, MQTT was the clear winner when it came to data movement tools essential to fulfilling IIoT’s strategy. Five Benefits of Using MQTT and Sparkplug in IIoT 1. Unifying a Variety of Factory Machine Data Types Software algorithms that help track and reduce machine downtime need a rich variety of data which includes machine data, process data, maintenance records, and other information. Each of these data types comes in at different rates. MQTT provides a single source of truth that can bring all the data together into one location providing a to then allow these algorithms to easily act upon the data and reduce unplanned downtimes. Unified Namespace (UNS) 2. Achieving Real-time Factory Data Acquisition and Aggregation For machine downtime tracking and reducing algorithms to be effective, especially in edge-based solutions, the data and information have to be real-time because, otherwise, the algorithm output will be based on old data which may not lead to the right outcome on machine failure, leading to potentially wrong decisions being taken. MQTT enables real-time information sharing based on its exception-based reporting and publish-subscribe architecture. Also, Sparkplug ensures that factory sub-system changes like new system creation, system teardown, or changes are notified in real-time to the applications running the algorithms so that the right decisions can be made based on the latest factory system data. 3. Bringing in Contextualized Manufacturing Data For machine downtime tracking and reducing algorithms to work optimally, apart from having the actual data, having the context around the data is also very important. This is where having a data model that defines the structure of the factory data, where the machine resides with respect to the subsystem, production location, etc., provides more context to data that can help the predictive maintenance algorithms do a better job of predicting the machine failures. MQTT Sparkplug provides these data models to ensure the data context is better interpreted for richer output. MQTT Sparkplug also supports data tagging and metadata, allowing manufacturers to organize, filter, and search data more effectively. This increased data organization enhances data quality and supports advanced downtime analytics and machine learning applications. 4. Scaling the Flow of Manufacturing Data Reliably MQTT Sparkplug supports scalable and reliable communication, with mechanisms for handling large volumes of data and ensuring that messages are delivered reliably. It has built-in buffering capabilities and Quality of Service (QoS) levels to support high reliability. MQTT Sparkplug can also support a large number of device connections while ensuring that data packets are not lost. This enables advanced downtime measurement algorithms that need high volumes of data to accurately track downtime, its root cause and ensure that it can be minimized. 5. Securely Connecting and Transferring Factory Data MQTT Sparkplug supports robust security measures, including encryption, access controls, and user authentication, to protect sensitive data and prevent unauthorized access of IIoT data. For most manufacturers, security and privacy risk is the most significant barrier to adopting edge or cloud-based machine downtime analytics technology. For MQTT communication to happen, a client needs to be authenticated with a broker so that it can send or receive data on a topic namespace. This makes the communication highly secure. The other biggest security feature of MQTT is that all communications are outbound and so there are no open ports to hack into. Most . This includes authorization/authentication features like Username & password, OAuth 2.0 (JWT), X.509 client certificates, dynamic permissions, and roles-based permissions to name a few. MQTT brokers provide additional security features Brokers also typically provide TLS / SSL Encryption for all the communications from and to the broker. Apart from that, a few enterprise Brokers, like HiveMQ, offer additional integrations, which enable customers to implement the same security measures that they have on their IT infrastructure like AD, LDAP, and others on the broker. Get Started With Real-Time Tracking and Analyzing to Avoid Unplanned Downtime The MQTT protocol, along with Sparkplug, is gaining in popularity for factory to enterprise/cloud communications as it is lightweight, reports by exception, and provides a lot of features around security, scalability, reliability, and others. MQTT is helping to drive IIoT applications that have taken manufacturing verticals closer to eliminating unplanned downtime. IIoT and MQTT-enabled asset management and advanced algorithms have helped in the significant reductions in unplanned downtime, advancing the company’s manufacturing capabilities and efficiencies.

Using MQTT for IIoT in Tracking and Analyzing Unplanned Manufacturing Downtime: 5 Great  Positives

Uso de MQTT para IIoT en el seguimiento y análisis del tiempo de inactividad de fabricación no planificado: 5 grandes aspectos positivos

Utilisation de MQTT pour l'IIoT dans le suivi et l'analyse des temps d'arrêt de fabrication non planifiés : 5 grands points positifs

अनियोजित विनिर्माण डाउनटाइम को ट्रैक करने और विश्लेषण करने में IIoT के लिए MQTT का उपयोग करना: 5 महान सकारात्मकताएँ

計画外の製造ダウンタイムの追跡と分析における IIoT 用 MQTT の使用: 5 つの大きな利点

Usando o MQTT para IIoT no rastreamento e análise do tempo de inatividade de fabricação não planejado: 5 grandes pontos positivos

Sử dụng MQTT cho IIoT trong việc theo dõi và phân tích thời gian ngừng sản xuất ngoài kế hoạch: 5 điểm tích cực lớn

将 MQTT 用于 IIoT 来跟踪和分析计划外制造停机：5 个巨大的积极因素

Far from perfect. (Probably) better than roll your own. Authentication is hard. Not hard in the intellectual sense — well-defined standards such as OAuth2 are complete, extensively documented and supported by an ecosystem of tooling. Rather, authentication is hard to get . Didn’t use a state variable or nonce for one time requests — oops. Stored your passwords as an MD5 hash instead of using bcrypt — oops. Didn’t force HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) and get down-grade attacked — oops. Rookie mistakes, all. right Click here for a more detailed rant. The good news is that even a modestly incompetent developer can read the spec, make a checklist and implement. The bad news, for those of us who love re-writing well-trodden non-application-specific code, is why bother. After evaluating “rolling our own” and a number of 3rd party vendors, we choose Auth0.¹ We don’t bother to “reinvent the wheel” on other non-differentiating aspects of our technology stack. We didn’t roll-our own single-page java-script framework, we use Ember. We didn’t setup our own servers, we use AWS. So why do so many organisations take the technical risk, time and expense of rolling their own auth? No differentiation. Very easy to FUBAR. I am an Auth0 fanboy ( ); but, SaaS auth is a better option than roll your own authorisation for most small companies. not resin!? Props (Done well) Plug and play integration As an Ember and node.js shop, it was important to have an Auth provider that plays nicely with our stack. Well, we were in luck. There’s is a (the de facto standard for auth in “ambitious web application”). community supported ember-simple-auth integration Auth0 officially supports a Passport strategy. Easy peasy. Glide path Auth0’s is a batteries included signin solution ideal for straight-forward use-cases. They also allow callback page customisation from their web console. lock.js For rolling your own, you can always drop-back to their client-side SDK. For highly “non-happy-path” requirements, the underlying API is available. A one, two, three punch glide path for all your signin/signup needs. Versioning of serverless components Auth0 includes out-of-the box support for customization, including a for lock² and a .³ hosted page rules engine Neither supports versioning out-of-the-box; in the base Auth0, once you make a rule-change or update to the hosted page, the previous version is gone for good. Fortunately, there is a available to push directly from a repo. Github extension Extensive documentation One of the underlying premises of the B2B SaaS provider is that you and your company is not a special snowflake. There is undifferentiated overhead— log analytics, code deployment, authorisation/SSO — that you’d be better-off outsourcing than building in-house. Auth0 has dozens of and quickstarts, and multi-language API docs with build-in examples using your pre-populated credentials/settings. tutorials Multi-language support, e.g. in token management API docs Some companies “kill you with the manual”, but the technical writing team at Auth0 know their craft. The docs are well-written, easy to navigate (internal references in all the right places) and up-to-date ( ). including a complete version history on github Drops (Could do better) Naturally, every company could do better… Compliance Transparency: SOC2 & HIPAA The biggest ding is that they only extend SOC2 coverage to their enterprise customers. To peek under the hood, I requested the report . per instruction O.k…request away What I find unreasonable is that Auth0 has to share the report upon request. refused Exploding Kittens reserves all rights, presumably. Fair use. The full report is only available to their enterprise customers, which starts at $20k+ per year. Developer and Developer Pro customers simply aren’t good enough to peek under the hood. But that’s o.k., just “trust us.” The devil is in the details, and for something as critical as auth, the details matter. A SOC2 is not an ISO27001. Attestation is not certification For example, Auth0 only opted to on 2/5 available Trust Areas: Security and Availability. My presumption is that the other 3 trust areas (Processing Integrity, Confidentiality and Privacy) will be forthcoming over time. attain SOC2 attestation Since a HIPAA is available, again only for enterprise customers, my assumption is that they’re most of the way there on privacy. BAA (Business Associate Agreement) Quota and service limit transparency Auth0 is a company built on trust. It’s a huge step for a startup, let alone an enterprise, to hand-over the keys to the kingdom to an authorisation and SSO vendor. They are transparent in some places, such as . rate limiting In others, a complete lack of transparency. For example, pricing is based on users; but, how many non-interactive clients are customers allowed: talk to sales!? Take a book from the , and err on the side of transparency about service limits and usage quotas. AWS playbook Fine-grained authorisation control Despite a few odd omissions — e.g. not being able to edit user information such as emails in Auth0 Database connections — the Auth0 administration panel is quite powerful. Indeed, it allows non-developers to serve as admins since SQL and terminal knowledge aren’t required. Unfortunately, unlike the very fine-grained AWS IAM, role-based delegation in Auth0 stops at admin + client. You can delegate a different admin for your interactive client vs API, but they’ll have complete control of their respective domains. No, person A can administer users, person B can touch the advanced settings. It’s all or nothing. Competitors Okta Okta was the runner-up in the great auth bake-off. We hearted the StormPath API, but from my perspective Okta FBAR’d the . Sun-setting the API without a clean transition path. No glide path from sandbox trial →dev →production. Abandoning a rich ecosystem of plugins (shout-out to HiveMQ). acquisition There’s also a big gap in the pricing models between Stormpath and the rest of the Okta suite. Stormpath has all-inclusive block-pricing starting at $20/month for 1k users, which is reasonable. What is unreasonable is on a github.io page instead of being honest with their customers. burying their pricing plan Okta has pricing, which would be fine for small internal SSO user numbers. What is not fine is buring a . Probably surprised a few small companies. a la cart $1500 annual minimum in the fine print Caveat emptor Not ideal for starting super-small, but I could live with the pricing. Was a mite miffed that they tried to pawn me off to an “engagement meeting” with a sales + sales engineer duet. A bit of LinkedIn due diligence reveals a roughly 3:1 gearing between sales and engineering, so no surprises there. Ending on a positive note, unlike Auth0 (shame!), they were willing to share their SOC with an NDA (ass-covering, albeit probably unenforceable). Maybe, just maybe, the Okta Developer Relations team will take some of these tips to heart. After all, they did mention from the remnants of Stormpath. “feedback” 5 times in their recent post on how the DevRel sausage was made Centrify Enterprise SSO. Wholly inappropriate. Disclosure I am affiliated with the or influencer programs. of influencer program fee, feel free to sponsor the , or similar. not Auth0 Okta In lieu Free Software Foundation Electronic Frontier Foundation Footnotes YMMV, but in both personal and professional contexts, I find that minimally-hierarchical organisation, backed by strong group norms around delegation, collective decision making and bottom-up power == win. The team (unknowingly) used a variant of . Deliberative Decision Making Unfortunately, the hosted login page does not support a custom domain in the lowest pricing tiers. You’re stuck with a less than ideal <org>.auth0.com For example, if you wanted to setup an IP whitelist, there’s a for that and many other bells-and-whistles, all of which run server-less. pre-built snippet Don’t be a stranger. If you think I could help your organisation, feel free to reach-out on or similar. LinkedIn

Authentication as a Service, an honest review of Auth0

Blockchain investments increase as Web 3 company raises $150 million in funding Breyer Capital, Digital Currency Group, GoldenTree, Hivemind, and Union Square Ventures were among the investors that $150 million to . Trust Machines’ objective is to create the world’s most extensive Bitcoin apps and platform technologies ecosystem. Trust Machines will broaden Bitcoin to become not simply a store of wealth but also a platform for revolutionary Web3 apps, building on the recent success of Stacks, a recent programming layer for Bitcoin. contributed Trust Machines Muneeb Ali, the founder of Stacks, and JP Singh, a professor of computer science at Princeton, have introduced Trust Machines to create the largest ecosystem of applications and platform technologies that will enable Bitcoin to fulfill its potential as a final settlement layer for computing platforms and applications. Bitcoin solves the issue of trust without depending on centralised institutions, revolutionising trust in the same way that the Internet and the Web altered communication and access. Bitcoin is the only blockchain that can achieve this in a fully decentralised method, allowing for open, permissionless access, transparent governance, and a fixed supply system, all of which are essential for this trust revolution. On the other hand, Bitcoin has only been used as a store of value thus far. Web 3 apps have been created on Ethereum and other programmable blockchains, worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Trust Machines is the first company to introduce such game-changing applications and platform technologies to Bitcoin, which is by far the finest settlement layer for value applications. It will turn Bitcoin into a productive asset rather than a passive one, generate programmatic demand for it, and establish a robust ecosystem of transformative applications and platform technologies based on it across a wide range of financial, commercial, and societal sectors. Dr. Muneeb Ali, the CEO of Trust Machines, said: With the early foundation built, it’s time to concentrate on unlocking the next level of applications and platform technology on Bitcoin, enhancing the platforms for speed, scale and functionality, and making Bitcoin apps a reality for hundreds of millions of users. This is why we launched Trust Machines and, with the backing of our terrific investors, we’re excited to take on this challenge. Bitcoin alters trust in the same way that the internet altered communication and the Web transformed access. We’re approaching a new age of computing, one that will allow whole new sorts of applications and new approaches to constructing old ones across a wide range of human and social endeavours. These applications have fundamental properties that were previously unattainable: open access without permission; transparent governance (without fear of opaque censorship, corruption, or rent-seeking by centralised entities); and a novel, healthy incentive system that generates new business models and value for all. Since Bitcoin, several blockchains have grabbed the lead in becoming natively programmable application platforms. Only Bitcoin, on the other hand, delivers genuine decentralisation of trust, making it the most significant final settlement layer for transactions. What is Web 3.0? Web 3.0 refers to the next generation of the internet. Websites and applications will handle data in a clever human-like manner using technologies such as machine learning (ML), Big Data, and decentralised ledger technology (DLT), among others. Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, dubbed Web 3.0 the Semantic Web to create a more autonomous, intelligent, and open internet. Data will be networked in a decentralised form, which would be a big leap ahead of our present generation of the internet (Web 2.0), where data is housed mainly in centralised repositories. Users and machines will be able to engage with data as well. However, programmes must comprehend information both theoretically and culturally for this to happen. With this in mind, the semantic web and artificial intelligence are the two foundations of Web 3.0. (AI). Web 3.0 is the next step in developing the internet, allowing it to process information with near-human intelligence via the deployment of AI systems that can run innovative programmes to help users. According to Tim Berners-Lee, The Semantic Web is designed to “automatically” interact with systems, people, and home gadgets. As a result, both people and robots will be involved in content development and decision-making. This would allow for the intelligent generation and dissemination of highly personalised content to every internet user. The new internet will provide a more personalised and tailored surfing experience and a smarter and more human-like search helper and other decentralised advantages, all of which are supposed to contribute to a more egalitarian online. This will be accomplished by allowing each user to take control of their data and enhancing the overall experience via various innovations that will be implemented once it is in place. The internet will become more intertwined in our everyday lives when Web 3.0 comes, which is difficult to imagine given how smart gadgets have already impacted our behavioural patterns. Almost all of today’s usually offline machines, ranging from home appliances like ovens, vacuums, and refrigerators to all modes of transportation, will become part of the IoT economy, interacting with its autonomous servers and decentralised applications (DApps), advancing new digital realms like blockchain and digital assets to power a slew of new tech “miracles” for the twenty-first century. Catch all the breaking news, and Don’t forget to like the story!

Trust Machine Raises $150 Million in Funding from Breyer Capital, DCG and Hivemind to Expand Web 3

Is DePIN the Future of Shared Resources? Industry Leaders Weigh In on the Prospects

Presto SQL + S3 Data + Superset = Data Lake

Digital Synergy: How the Merger of AI and Blockchain Will Play Out

ডিজিটাল সিনার্জি: এআই এবং ব্লকচেইনের একত্রীকরণ কীভাবে কার্যকর হবে

Digitale Synergie: Wie sich die Fusion von KI und Blockchain auswirken wird

Sinergia digital: cómo se desarrollará la fusión de IA y Blockchain

Synergie numérique : comment se déroulera la fusion de l'IA et de la blockchain

डिजिटल तालमेल: एआई और ब्लॉकचेन का विलय कैसे होगा

デジタルシナジー：AIとブロックチェーンの融合がもたらす効果

디지털 시너지: AI와 블록체인의 합병이 어떻게 진행될 것인가

Sinergia digital: como será a fusão entre IA e Blockchain

Цифровая синергия: как будет развиваться слияние искусственного интеллекта и блокчейна

Dijital Sinerji: Yapay Zeka ve Blockchain'in Birleşmesi Nasıl Sonuçlanacak?

Sức mạnh tổng hợp kỹ thuật số: Sự hợp nhất giữa AI và Blockchain sẽ diễn ra như thế nào

数字协同：人工智能与区块链的融合将如何发挥作用

5 Devices to Get Started in DePIN

DePIN-এ শুরু করার জন্য 5টি ডিভাইস

5 Geräte für den Einstieg in DePIN

5 dispositivos para comenzar en DePIN

5 appareils pour démarrer dans DePIN

DePIN में आरंभ करने के लिए 5 डिवाइस

DePIN を始めるための 5 つのデバイス

DePIN을 시작하기 위한 5가지 장치

5 dispositivos para começar no DePIN

5 устройств, с которых стоит начать работу в DePIN

DePIN'e Başlamak için 5 Cihaz

5 thiết bị để bắt đầu sử dụng DePIN

开始使用 DePIN 的 5 种设备

Migrating From Hadoop Without Rip and Replace Is Possible — Here's How

রিপ এবং প্রতিস্থাপন ছাড়াই হাডুপ থেকে স্থানান্তর করা সম্ভব - কীভাবে তা এখানে

Migration von Hadoop ohne Rip-and-Replace ist möglich – so geht‘s

Es posible migrar desde Hadoop sin extraer y reemplazar: así es como se hace

La migration depuis Hadoop sans extraction ni remplacement est possible : voici comment procéder

Hadoop से Rip और Replace के बिना माइग्रेट करना संभव है - जानिए कैसे

Hadoop から RIP & REPLACE なしで移行することは可能です — その方法は次のとおりです

전면 교체 없이 Hadoop에서 마이그레이션이 가능합니다. 방법은 다음과 같습니다.

É possível migrar do Hadoop sem extrair e substituir – veja como

Миграция с Hadoop без копирования и замены возможна — вот как

Hadoop'tan Rip ve Değiştirme Olmadan Geçiş Yapmak Mümkün - İşte Nasıl Yapılacağı

Có thể di chuyển từ Hadoop mà không cần Rip và Thay thế - Đây là cách thực hiện

无需拆除和替换即可从 Hadoop 迁移 — 方法如下

What are DePINs? Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs) are real-world infrastructures on-chain. In more depth, DePINs offer a community-driven, cost-effective means of scaling projects without relying on traditional, centralized models. They are platforms where organizations and individuals can benefit from higher levels of control over their data and products through decentralized infrastructure. As for the term "DePIN,” this gained prominence in 2023 and continues to grow in mention into 2024. Initially, Web3 was used to reference projects focused on networks (replicating Web2 internet networks, but decentralized) but has since expanded to include all crypto or blockchain work, resulting in the need for this specific terminology. DePIN 101 On a fundamental level, DePINs function as bridges between physical facilities and the blockchain ecosystem. They operate through three main components. These are physical infrastructure controlled by a provider, a middleware connection to the blockchain, and a public ledger. These connections are managed by record-keeping and offering remittances to both the provider and the user.The physical infrastructure could be a smart agriculture system where farmers use IoT (Internet of Things) devices such as soil moisture sensors, weather stations, and crop health monitors to gather data about their fields. The middleware would then relay this information to the blockchain. Then, based on the data provided by the middleware, the blockchain would distribute rewards to the provider and users in the form of tokens. Additionally, for DePINs to operate effectively, four distinct parties must be involved in the network. This includes: Hardware (PRNs & DRNs): a physical component connecting networks to the real world
Hardware operators (Providers): Contributors buying or lending their hardware to the given network
Token: A financial incentive paid out to hardware operators based on data provided by the middleware
Users: DePINs need users who are willing to use and pay for the service The Current DePIN Landscape DePIN projects operate in six core business niches: compute marketplaces, wireless coverage, wholesale data, services marketplaces, energy services, and vertical ad networks. At present, there are several existing projects emerging in all six of these business models, including Filecoin, Helium, Hivemapper, Braintrust, Entheos and Sweatcoin. Out of these six sectors, compute marketplaces are where the most potential is seen, making up the majority of the market capitalization of DePIN crypto projects. Unpacking a DePIN example As we can see from the current DePIN landscape, there are many sectors in which DePINs currently operate. One real-world example that makes sense, at its core, is a decentralized energy grid. The basis for this is that traditional energy grids are often centralized, owned, and operated by utility companies, which can lead to inefficiencies and a lack of flexibility in distribution. Contrastingly, a decentralized energy grid built on blockchain technology could enable peer-to-peer energy trading between consumers and producers. Imagine a scenario where homeowners could sell excess energy to neighbors from their solar panels. This would facilitate more efficient use of renewable energy resources and incentivize individuals and communities to invest in sustainable energy production. By leveraging blockchain and smart contracts, this DePIN could ensure transparent and secure transactions while empowering users to have more control over their energy usage and production. The Flywheel Effect The concept of the flywheel effect is crucial to understanding DePINs potential for network growth and scalability. Unlike traditional models that require massive upfront capital investments, DePINs rely on grassroots efforts and community-driven initiatives to scale. Tokens play their part in these ecosystems by serving as an incentive for the community to contribute to the maintenance of the network. The Flywheel (above) visualizes the different steps involved in this maintenance and also helps to explain how DePIN projects can utilize the flywheel effect to catalyze their network growth.There are several different ways projects can increase the value of their token. For example, a stake-weighted random selection algorithm can be utilized to increase the value of a token, as providers must stake the project's token to get user deal flow. This adds an added incentive for contributors to continue building out the network. Therefore, the native token will increase in price as the network grows, resulting in more rewards for providers and a higher attraction for investors to invest. Fundamentally, this flywheel creates infrastructure networks that get stronger as they get bigger. As explained above, the flywheel effect of DePINs offers an alternative approach to traditional business models that fundamentally makes sense. However, we must consider the obstacles DePINs face in their journey to realizing their potential. The Future of DePINs By leveraging blockchain technology and tokenomics (The Flywheel Effect), DePINs are expected to disrupt existing IoT business models and enable on-chain communities to build innovative decentralized networks and applications. However, some limitations are currently holding DePINs back. There are several architectural considerations for scaling DePIN applications on-chain that need to be addressed if DePINs are going to be the bridge between decentralized technology and the real world. The most significant challenges to overcome are scalability, interoperability, security, and usability issues. The on-chain infrastructure needs to be able to handle a high volume of transactions and data throughput effectively to support the requirements of decentralized physical networks. To then communicate and exchange this data effectively, seamless interoperability with other blockchain networks and traditional systems is required. Robust security mechanisms, including encryption and authentication, are vital to safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring the integrity of DePIN networks. On top of this, DePINs must have systems in place, ensuring the security of external data feeds (oracles) used to verify real-world information and the prevention of Sybil attacks, where malicious actors create fake identities to gain undue influence within the network. A final consideration is that specialized technical knowledge is currently required to participate in a DePIN ecosystem. A more usable interface and intuitive design will be required for further adoption. The future of DePINs relies heavily on collaboration among stakeholders and ongoing technological innovation to address these challenges and unlock their full potential. What are DePINs? What are DePINs? Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs) are real-world infrastructures on-chain. In more depth, DePINs offer a community-driven, cost-effective means of scaling projects without relying on traditional, centralized models. They are platforms where organizations and individuals can benefit from higher levels of control over their data and products through decentralized infrastructure. As for the term "DePIN,” this gained prominence in 2023 and continues to grow in mention into 2024. Initially, Web3 was used to reference projects focused on networks (replicating Web2 internet networks, but decentralized) but has since expanded to include all crypto or blockchain work, resulting in the need for this specific terminology. DePIN 101 DePIN 101 On a fundamental level, DePINs function as bridges between physical facilities and the blockchain ecosystem. They operate through three main components. These are physical infrastructure controlled by a provider, a middleware connection to the blockchain, and a public ledger. These connections are managed by record-keeping and offering remittances to both the provider and the user. The physical infrastructure could be a smart agriculture system where farmers use IoT (Internet of Things) devices such as soil moisture sensors, weather stations, and crop health monitors to gather data about their fields. The middleware would then relay this information to the blockchain. Then, based on the data provided by the middleware, the blockchain would distribute rewards to the provider and users in the form of tokens. Additionally, for DePINs to operate effectively, four distinct parties must be involved in the network. This includes: Hardware (PRNs & DRNs): a physical component connecting networks to the real world Hardware operators (Providers): Contributors buying or lending their hardware to the given network Token: A financial incentive paid out to hardware operators based on data provided by the middleware Users: DePINs need users who are willing to use and pay for the service Hardware (PRNs & DRNs): a physical component connecting networks to the real world Hardware (PRNs & DRNs): Hardware operators (Providers): Contributors buying or lending their hardware to the given network Hardware operators (Providers): Token: A financial incentive paid out to hardware operators based on data provided by the middleware Token: Users: DePINs need users who are willing to use and pay for the service Users: The Current DePIN Landscape The Current DePIN Landscape DePIN projects operate in six core business niches: compute marketplaces, wireless coverage, wholesale data, services marketplaces, energy services, and vertical ad networks. At present, there are several existing projects emerging in all six of these business models, including Filecoin , Helium , Hivemapper , Braintrust , Entheos and Sweatcoin . Filecoin Filecoin Helium Helium Hivemapper Hivemapper Braintrust Braintrust Entheos Entheos Sweatcoin Sweatcoin Out of these six sectors, compute marketplaces are where the most potential is seen, making up the majority of the market capitalization of DePIN crypto projects. Unpacking a DePIN example Unpacking a DePIN example As we can see from the current DePIN landscape, there are many sectors in which DePINs currently operate. One real-world example that makes sense, at its core, is a decentralized energy grid. The basis for this is that traditional energy grids are often centralized, owned, and operated by utility companies, which can lead to inefficiencies and a lack of flexibility in distribution. Contrastingly, a decentralized energy grid built on blockchain technology could enable peer-to-peer energy trading between consumers and producers. Imagine a scenario where homeowners could sell excess energy to neighbors from their solar panels. This would facilitate more efficient use of renewable energy resources and incentivize individuals and communities to invest in sustainable energy production. By leveraging blockchain and smart contracts, this DePIN could ensure transparent and secure transactions while empowering users to have more control over their energy usage and production. The Flywheel Effect The Flywheel Effect The concept of the flywheel effect is crucial to understanding DePINs potential for network growth and scalability. Unlike traditional models that require massive upfront capital investments, DePINs rely on grassroots efforts and community-driven initiatives to scale. Tokens play their part in these ecosystems by serving as an incentive for the community to contribute to the maintenance of the network. The Flywheel (above) visualizes the different steps involved in this maintenance and also helps to explain how DePIN projects can utilize the flywheel effect to catalyze their network growth. There are several different ways projects can increase the value of their token. For example, a stake-weighted random selection algorithm can be utilized to increase the value of a token, as providers must stake the project's token to get user deal flow. This adds an added incentive for contributors to continue building out the network. Therefore, the native token will increase in price as the network grows, resulting in more rewards for providers and a higher attraction for investors to invest. Fundamentally, this flywheel creates infrastructure networks that get stronger as they get bigger. As explained above, the flywheel effect of DePINs offers an alternative approach to traditional business models that fundamentally makes sense. However, we must consider the obstacles DePINs face in their journey to realizing their potential. The Future of DePINs The Future of DePINs By leveraging blockchain technology and tokenomics (The Flywheel Effect), DePINs are expected to disrupt existing IoT business models and enable on-chain communities to build innovative decentralized networks and applications. However, some limitations are currently holding DePINs back. There are several architectural considerations for scaling DePIN applications on-chain that need to be addressed if DePINs are going to be the bridge between decentralized technology and the real world. The most significant challenges to overcome are scalability, interoperability, security, and usability issues. The on-chain infrastructure needs to be able to handle a high volume of transactions and data throughput effectively to support the requirements of decentralized physical networks. To then communicate and exchange this data effectively, seamless interoperability with other blockchain networks and traditional systems is required. Robust security mechanisms, including encryption and authentication, are vital to safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring the integrity of DePIN networks. On top of this, DePINs must have systems in place, ensuring the security of external data feeds (oracles) used to verify real-world information and the prevention of Sybil attacks, where malicious actors create fake identities to gain undue influence within the network. A final consideration is that specialized technical knowledge is currently required to participate in a DePIN ecosystem. A more usable interface and intuitive design will be required for further adoption. The future of DePINs relies heavily on collaboration among stakeholders and ongoing technological innovation to address these challenges and unlock their full potential.

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DePIN Explained: What Are Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks?

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