Farewell Letter to the Polkadot Community and Our Plans to Launch the World’s First Web3-Native Smart Devices—Not for Tokens, but for Your Freedom!

Farewell Letter to the Polkadot Community

For the past six months, we’ve sought support within the Polkadot ecosystem, promoting our devices through dev kit versions to introduce the community to an unconventional use case for the crypto world. While our vision aligns closely with Polkadot’s concept of a global computer for physical processes, we’ve struggled to gain meaningful traction in the ecosystem. Time, however, moves forward. Our brand of “smart” devices, built on a robust “anti-black-mirror” narrative, perfectly fits the 2025 agenda—marked by increasingly invasive subscriptions, user manipulation, and the toxic reality of investment-driven startups. We can no longer afford to wait for the stars to align.

Last week, the primary fund in the Polkadot ecosystem declined our proposal, suggesting we focus on onchain-gov requests. For an independent builder outside the inner circle, navigating the treasury is a complex quest with limited control, making it an impractical tactic within our narrow window of opportunity. We wish we could have better prepared over these six months, strengthened our products for launch, and boosted our chances for a stellar debut. But the lack of financial backing isn’t even the most critical issue! What’s truly surprising is that only 3–4 individuals from the entire Polkadot community invested the time and $100 to purchase a device from one of the ecosystem’s longest-standing contributors. At this point, our core team unanimously concluded: the Polkadot ecosystem isn’t genuinely interested in our project. We’re seen as a sideshow—entertaining, but lacking depth. If neither Polkadot’s investors nor its community share our vision for the potential of Polkadot’s applications, it’s time for us to cast off from this harbor.

We agree that our user base lies beyond crypto communities, in the broader open world. These past six months, we’ve prepared for this expedition, viewing Polkadot as a friendly harbor where we could quickly find those willing to explore a scenario more complex than “turn on your phone for a token fountain.” Unfortunately, the Polkadot community hasn’t embraced our vision.

Thank you for the kickstart budget for our devices. Compared to stadium-level marketing, it’s a drop in the bucket, but it’s vital for us now. We’ll provide the community with metrics and materials that showcase Polkadot’s strengths in the IoT space—it deserves that recognition.

However, we won’t continue seeking support in a harbor where we feel unneeded. We’re not chasing other flags—Polkadot remains an exceptional technology, and we’ll keep building with it. Even after losing nearly half our team. Even without the ideal gear for this journey.

No matter. We’ve been through tougher challenges. For those interested, follow our unique adventure!
We, the undersigned, ask for your best wishes.
The 8-person Robonomics team:

• Ivan Berman — Robotics Researcher, MSc, 5+ years in the project
• Anastasiia Bakai — Front-End Developer, 10+ years in the project
• Anna Savinova — Artist, Art Director, 7+ years in the project
• Vadim Manaenko — IoT Engineer, Smart Home Case Developer, 7+ years in the project
• Alexander Starostin — JS/Web3 Developer, 10+ years in the project
• Alexander Krupenkin — Rust Developer, 10+ years in the project
• Pavel Sheremetev — Open Hardware Engineer, 7+ years in the project
• Sergei Lonshakov — Software Architect, 10+ years in the project

Our Next Steps

Over the next six months, we’ll operate as a geek gadget lab, showcasing our smart devices to a wide audience of product launch enthusiasts and building a user community. Our roadmap is: IndieGoGo > Kickstarter.com > Amazon > Global Distribution Network > Robocorporation.

First Three Products on IndieGoGo to Refine Customer Service

We’re gearing up to launch the world’s first web3-native devices, designed to empower your digital freedom. These devices feature fully open designs, open-source software independently audited for tracking code, no mandatory subscriptions, and cloud reliance only where critical—powered by a decentralized web3 ecosystem with the highest Nakamoto coefficient. We’re on the cusp of launching a global brand of smart devices that deliver modern quality of life without invading your personal space!
This is our core mission. We plan to launch three products on IndieGoGo, followed by sales on Amazon and our own online store after fulfilling backer orders.
Our first crowdfunding campaign kicks off in mid-July on IndieGoGo, featuring an enhanced version of our indoor air quality sensor, Altruist, paired with an e-ink home monitor for tracking key indoor parameters. We’ve analyzed 25 competing products, and Altruist matches or surpasses them in nearly every metric, excelling in several areas. Now, it’s all about the marketing campaign. More details on the IndieGoGo launch will follow soon.
Next, we’ll launch two more devices on IndieGoGo, targeting an initial 100 orders per device. Our goal is to refine customer service with up to 1,000 orders before scaling to certified sales on major platforms like Amazon.
A quick note: selling on Amazon is thrilling but nerve-wracking. We must keep return rates below 1–2%, meaning even a couple of returns among the first few hundred customers could risk our store’s suspension. Hardware sales are an exciting challenge!

Big Goal on Kickstarter.com

After launching three standalone devices on IndieGoGo, we’ll take on the world’s most renowned platform, Kickstarter.com. Unlike IndieGoGo, Kickstarter allows us to set ambitious funding goals with progress bars that unlock additional features for our inventions, potentially raising half a million or even a million dollars.
Our major Kickstarter goal is to launch a full suite of cloud-independent smart home devices. We understand the new housing market, including the challenges faced by developers and buyers seeking innovative solutions. We aim to provide a comprehensive offering for new homeowners—enabling control of everything from air conditioning and heated floors to light switches, all in a unified style, functioning as a cohesive smart home with 100% protection against “black mirror” dystopias. A successful IndieGoGo campaign will help us onboard our first few hundred users for multiple gadgets, paving the way for a major Kickstarter launch.

What’s Next?

With an initial user base of 10,000, Robonomics will achieve economic sustainability. I’m unaware of any other network whose tokenomics could reach breakeven with so few users. This is our vision: we’re not here to monetize your data but to offer a product that ensures digital freedom at a fair price, with no hidden catches. This approach to building web3 ecosystem applications is rare but fosters long-term stability - when users pay for a product’s value rather than expecting speculative profits.

In Conclusion

This is our six-month roadmap. We aim to become fully autonomous and independent as a team, cutting ties with familiar shores if needed. We’re moving away from empty promises of grand plans that end in “how many tokens will you give?” and focusing on selling what we’ve built with our own hands. We have no analogs in the world, and our team will strive to prove that people in the web3 space—beyond icons like Gavin or Vitalik—also understand why this technology exists, not just using compelling narratives for enrichment.
Keep walking…