Project G.E.C.K.: Motivation for Implementation and First R&D Report

Over the past two years, I have noticed an increase in publications and various phenomena surrounding topics such as network states and digital nomadism. Last year, I attended the "The Network States Amsterdam" conference with great interest. After several days of reflection in Amsterdam, I initiated a project called G.E.C.K.

Six months later, our team conducted field trials of home automation in the jungles of Bali. Today, I want to share the first report on the current state of our work on creating an autonomous home image that would be controlled by the owner of an NFT access token. Our concept is that such a smart home image will allow the crypto community to integrate physical-world objects into the web3 world to create various forms of network states.

"G.E.C.K. - is something from the world of Fallout?"

For people born in the last millennium, the word G.E.C.K. may sound very familiar. Many readers, like myself, spent hundreds of hours in the Fallout 2 wastelands searching for that precious suitcase that was supposed to save the hometown of Arroyo. For those unfamiliar with the plot of Fallout 2, let me explain a bit about what G.E.C.K. is:

Garden of Eden Creation Kit (G.E.C.K.) is a suitcase containing everything needed to build a civilization in wilderness conditions. According to the creators of Fallout, every vault was supposed to be equipped with such a G.E.C.K. suitcase. With this tool, people surviving the nuclear winter could restore civilization more quickly than the real world would allow.

"Let's remove the part about nuclear winter and imagine that a new generation of people emerges from shelters to create new forms of cooperation and neighborliness. This is a complex challenge that has rarely been undertaken anywhere on Earth. Throughout history, aside from the struggle for freedom seen in the free cities of Europe in the distant past, events surrounding Hong Kong's special status, and perhaps the social experiment in Copenhagen known as Christiania, there are few examples of societies that have lasted beyond a single generation. Why do I believe there is a chance now?"

Web3 is changing the rules of the game on the arena of public institutions

My personal analysis of the history of forming small communities, network structures, and attempts to create sovereign states anywhere on planet Earth shows that the greatest challenge lies in providing new communities with basic social rights and responsibilities, as well as establishing key public institutions. It is not so much about having a strong government capable of creating numerous sub-legal acts, but rather ensuring the preservation of civil relations acts, property ownership registries, and guaranteeing the fulfillment of obligations by the parties involved. These are crucial functions that should be integrated into any human community, no matter how small. Of course, this applies to situations when you are thinking about how this community will live in 20 or 40 years.

In personal conversations, I never tire of emphasizing the significance of Bitcoin, not just as electronic cash, but as an entire societal institution that ensures the functionality of this financial system. Similarly, I hold the view of Ethereum as the first legal platform where contracts can be executed with guaranteed enforcement of their terms. Adding to this list are platforms that provide services based on creating separate registries of ownership, more complex financial services from the DeFi world, prediction markets, insurance solutions, experiments with on-chain governance in Polkadot, and all together, this resembles the emergence of a platform for launching numerous experiments with network states. However, one thing I have not yet seen among these solutions, which is a necessary binding entity, is the implementation of connections between physical objects in the surrounding world and the societal institutions that will exist in the web3 cloud.

Robonomics serves as a connecting link between network states and physical locations on planet Earth

I don't want to delve into all aspects of forming network states right now, such as which specific smart contract templates are needed first, which digital currency deserves the status of primary, and many others. My interest lies in the area where our team has maximum expertise, which is connecting physical objects to the world of web3. Since the launch of Ethereum in 2015, I have been focused on studying scenarios and conducting experiments to connect various robots, smart devices for implementing smart home control scenarios, vending machines, or drone delivery using smart contracts or specially designed web3 environments for IoT.

This is indeed the main goal of the G.E.C.K. project today - to develop a scenario for using a set of smart devices to support the daily life of a small autonomous village in the jungles of Bali, on the shores of the Caribbean Sea... or wherever your imagination allows, even on Mars!

We have already developed and operated a Web3 cloud for connecting smart devices within the Polkadot ecosystem for over 2 years. During this time, we have written all the necessary code to connect physical smart homes under the control of their digital counterparts.

Our current task is to assemble the actual set of devices that we deem important for installation in any container home whose ownership NFT token has been acquired by a digital nomad.

Below is our first such set, assembled after working in the home of an old cypherpunk friend who is building a village on the slopes of a volcano in the jungles of Bali.

Experiment in Bali, March 2024

The slope of a volcano in the jungles of Bali. An autonomous village is planned to be built here over the next few years. In March 2024, a group of engineers working on the Robonomics project made their way here on motorbikes through Denpasar traffic to assist in creating the first autonomous home for the future Cybervalley. The facility is currently under construction, with the launch scheduled for 2025.

G.E.C.K. ver. 0.1

After our work in Bali, we have developed an initial concept for the first version of a smart device kit to be installed in the cypherpunk autonomous home.

Below is a detailed list of devices that we plan to assemble into a single kit (suitcase), customize to the fullest extent possible in a laboratory setting, and provide an Ikea-style user manual for self-setup in one's autonomous home. These kits will be available starting in the summer of 2024.

What is included in the first version of the G.E.C.K. kit:

Service Devices

• Single-board computer for local smart home server x1
• Single-board computer for connecting solar panels and batteries to the smart home system x1
• Mini server for synchronization with the web3 cloud without intermediaries x1
• IoT gateway (Zigbee2MQTT) x1
• Outdoor Wi-Fi routers x2
• Outdoor Wi-Fi bridge x1
• 5G Internet router
• Smart home app tablets x3
• Powerline extenders x2

Indoor non-invasive devices

• Set for indoor air quality monitoring:
  • Temperature and humidity sensors x3
  • CO2 sensors x3
  • PM particle sensors x1
• Smoke detectors x2
• Gas detector x1
• Motion sensors x5
• Light sensors x2
• Door or window open/close sensors x2
• Noise sensors x2
• Vibration sensor x1
• Leak sensors x2
• Presence detectors (radio wave-based with constant 220V power) x2
• Smart buttons x3
• Set of smart bulbs x5
• Universal IR controller x3

Indoor invasive devices

• Smart door lock x1
• IP cameras x2
• Energy monitoring devices x3
• Smart water shut-off valves x2
• Wall switches x5
• Smart outlets x5
• Smart button for boiler x1
• Thermostats x3
• Relay for controlling circulation pump (16A max) x1
• Water level sensors for tanks x2
• Individual thermostatic radiator valves (if heating system is planned) x3

Outdoor devices

• Small solar panel x1
• Outdoor air quality sensor x1
• Siren x1
• Zigbee soil moisture sensor
• Automatic indoor plant watering system x1
• Radiation sensor x1
• Water quality sensor set x1

Auxiliary Consumables and Tools

• Tool kit
• Set of wires
• Power blocks
• Electronics consumables kit
• Set of cable ties
• Mounting kit
• Multimeter and current clamps
• Sensor stickers
• Warning stickers set
• Double-sided tape
• Network filters
• Battery charger

To prepare before shipping, we will:

• Pre-configure
• Set up the router, connecting all Wi-Fi devices to it.
• Set up a template installation of Home Assistant, configuring interfaces, rooms, and panels.
• Prepare user-friendly IDs for all Zigbee devices.
• Ready consumables for immediate use.

What the recipient of the G.E.C.K. kit will need to do:

• Install and power up the devices.
• Verify the connection of devices to the smart home server.
• Create a Robonomics account, subscribe, and activate the integration with the local smart home server.
• Level up!

Welcome to our journey!

EnsRationis

Robonomics network architect

element: @ensrationis:robonomics.network