Erecting a building, one that will stand the test of time, starts with the slow, long and inglorious work of digging and laying solid foundations. When it comes to forging business partnerships, the equivalent process means meeting, discussing, testing, brainstorming and strategising before finally, both parties are ready to tell the world that by joining forces they plan to create something awesome.
So after several months, Ruuvi Innovations Oy and Streamr Network AG are now ready to do just that. These two, projects with a deep underlying commitment to transparency, want to create the world’s largest open source IoT community.
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What is the vision?
RuuviTags already set a certain standard for fabulous. Using a gadget that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, you can collect information on temperature, air pressure, acceleration and relative air humidity and send that information over Bluetooth Low Energy to gateways.
RuuviTags are also water resistant, their battery lasts for years, and their Wirepas connectivity mesh support means they can network with an unlimited number of nodes. Most importantly, both the tags’ software and hardware are 100% open source. Those are just a few reasons why over 1,000 companies are today building their IoT networks using RuuviTags.
With Streamr, Ruuvi users will be empowered to reach even greater heights of functionality. Streamr is almost done building their blockchain-backed, realtime data Marketplace. They are creating a community owned, P2P platform, for trading all the world’s data whether it comes from a stock exchange in London, a mobile phone in LA, or an IoT sensor in Laos.
By integrating RuuviTag software into Streamr’s upcoming Marketplace, Ruuvi’s growing community of professionals and enthusiasts will be able to monetise their tags’ data through a platform with a similar commitment to open source ethos.
What does this mean?
In a few months, researchers, companies, local authorities and developers will be able to buy RuuviTag data over Streamr’s Marketplace. And because both platforms are open source (Streamr is working towards full decentralisation) there can be no back doors for government agencies like the NSA or hidden mechanisms for big corporations to harvest data that belongs to you. You generate it, you own it, so it’s yours to sell if you wish. Open source means transparency by design.
But monetising temperature or acceleration data isn’t all this cooperation will permit. By utilising smart contracting through the decentralised Ethereum network, subscriptions to RuuviTag data streams can be automated around predetermined parameters.
Can you give me an example?
Hundreds of thousands of tons of frozen foods are transported around the world everyday. So, ensuring that food remains frozen whilst in transit which already happens using RuuviTags is really important for the end consumer. No one wants to buy melted then refrozen ice cream (yuk) and restaurants don’t want to be cooking meat with bacteria growing on it (double yuk). Powering RuuviTags with smart contracting means that if the temperature in a container rises above a pre-agreed threshold, the frozen food courier can be made to pay a penalty. No need for lawyers, or expensive IT systems. All this can be done simply and automatically with very little upfront investment.
Of course this is just one idea amongst dozens that Streamr and Ruuvi know will be developed over the coming months and years. What we can both promise is that we’ll keep you updated with all the latest developments that will flow from our cooperation.
More about Ruuvi Innovations Ltd (Oy)
Ruuvi Innovations is a privately owned and funded Finnish startup company established in 2015 and has over 1,000 companies currently using their technology. Ruuvi’s enthusiastic and agile team has a passion for beautiful open-source electronics. Ruuvi aims to be one of the top open-source hardware influencers in the IoT market by the end of this decade.
Website: ruuvi.com
Twitter: twitter.com/ruuvicom
Community: slack.ruuvi.com
More About Streamr
Streamr is based in Zug, Switzerland aka “Crypto Valley” and core team members all come from a financial background, being either quants, trading system developers, algorithmic traders and, in some cases, all of the above.
Streamr already has functioning data analytics technology, a drag-and-drop visual programming user interface for fast prototyping and app creation, and smart contracting capabilities built on top of the the Ethereum blockchain. Scheduled for launch in Q2 2018, the data Marketplace will allow users to securely and privately trade information over their P2P data network using the cryptographic token, DATA, as a means of payment.
