Ambient Network uses DePIN to monitor air quality on Solana

0:01I'm ashon Addison from the cryptocoin show and today on blockchain interviews with Luca Frankie co-founder and CEO of ambient Network Luca welcome to the show and thank you for taking the time today thank you Ashton pleasure to be here excited to dive into a decentralized physical infrastructure networks dein uh with you and the environmental side of

0:22it which I feel like is very important and hopefully uh web 3 blockchain can help with the environment and making it a better Place uh better to live in um so I'm excited to dive into uh ambient Network and what you and your team have built let's just start off from a high level on what exactly is ambient Network and then we can dive into all the latest

0:43details great now thank you Ashton so ambient network is the world's largest decentralized network of environmental sensors and ambient data and we have a fantastic starting position that we have one of the largest air quality networks in the world it's over 25,000 sensors across 20 markets uh and uh that give us gives us a fantastic view of what's Happening across a number of regions of

1:06course uh and in areas that are impacted by a significant amount of pollution um now we believe that we can also extend that reach to complimentary metrics uh and we have a plan to uh of course start to capture uh these additional metrics with new sensors uh that will be bringing out over the next few months wow very cool I love that uh we're making a difference in the environment

1:31uh with with decentralized networks and I feel like air quality it's becoming more of a important topic especially as the ESG initiatives moving towards 2030 they're like okay if we don't have fresh air you know how are we going to live um so how does that exactly work with ambient Network being a decentralized network there's already these 20 25,000

1:52uh air quality sensors can anybody join the decentralized network and help contribute or how does that work so that's beuty of it right we make uh we have democratized access to be able to uh of course for anybody to participate for anybody uh to be rewarded as part of the network to also ultimately help us expand the network uh into areas that we deem are more uh you know more uh

2:17pressing uh for where some of these readings are required and this is the benefit of using uh deepen as opposed to some of the other networks of course uh that require of course significant amounts of capital uh to deploy uh that require coordination for multiple initiatives here we have you know a a mechanism uh through the economic incentives that rewards users

2:40from of course for deploying these these sensors that uh typically we certify for a network so we do work with manufacturers that already exist out there and a range as well from more consumer friendly to more scientific grade devices uh and and of course based on you know those sort of sensors getting different rewards uh depending also on the areas where some of these

3:02sensors are deployed then uh being able to bring those maps and that coverage together uh in a way that no other network is able to do so that's quite exciting no it's it's of utmost importance especially in the large cities where there's more pollution um and I love that there's obviously you want to have an incentive to hey why should I set up a sensor obviously I

3:23want to have fresh air but if I'm also earning at the same time that's like a super bonus um how but once you measured the the air quality is there a way to you know you sell off that data to somebody who can actually improve the air quality or how do you actually improve the environment from the sensors so that that's that's a very good question because that's step one

3:47anyways to be able to measure that so we can change that ultimately I think there's a great deal of awareness that we need to start to introduce in the market I think with you know 70,000 us wildfires occurring every year uh and and that happen in across the world with the reports from the who uh you know last year showing just how toxic also the air across Europe is uh you know and

4:09and uh you know some of the world's most polluted areas in Southeast Asia people naturally are seeing this all around them uh so uh this these we provide the tool sets if you will just to start toble to measure that yourself both from an outdoor perspective and indoor perspective now there is a market you know for that data and today it's primar on the outdoor uh data aspect um we

4:34believe that with additional environmental metrics that data becomes more meaningful because uh if you look at the environmental monitoring Market it's about a$3 billion Market as opposed to air quality alone uh which is a fraction of that but it uh it allows us then to to also be able to uh Target uh uh you know great uh great commercial opportunities to work with various

4:59industry players to identify the sort of uh data and sensors that they require uh for the various you know industrial deployments and whatnot that they're looking for and also be driving utility back to the network uh for everything that we do that's amazing and with this the dpin the actual physical infrastructure Network how does that tie into web 3 and blockchain you know I'm

5:24guessing there's some mechanism that allows people to contribute and then also they're rewarded and it's on uh well I mean the the data itself so every sensor has an nft uh and every nft then uh you know it tracks through through the systems that we have uh of course a number of things you know the type of sensor where it is has been deployed uh and ultimately the sort of

5:48rewards that it should receive based on the data that it sends back to us uh and that's how you get reward initially uh and for every commercial deal that we bring into the network then there's a benefit that's distributed to the network or burned uh or uh you know uh or purchase tokens purchase back uh uh from from the market very cool and I I feel like this is a a topic of utmost

6:12importance because you know as we get closer to the the deadlines for the sustainability goals um is more people are going to be talking about this so I feel like you're getting ahead of the curve if it can be a few years ahead hey we already built out the the networks and their dpin networks which are even better then you're going to be ahead of those uh uh of that um now I saw

6:34actually on uh on socials that a few great blockchain Partners invested into uh ambient Network like Salon aventures borderless can you can you talk about uh the Investments that you guys just had from from the blockchain side and and where you guys are at with that uh well you know the the the partners that uh came on board certainly fantastic support from them uh you know

6:57they they saw an opportunity to ultimately leverage the network that already exists again to start to pursue and expand the remit that uh that we have uh and the commercial opportunities that we can go after on one side on the other you know there's fantastic uh excitement around deepen uh this year it's already been building up for for some time uh you're seeing some great

7:19deployments especially on salana and a fantastic ecosystem uh that uh really uh we're keen to leverage uh we're keen to uh leverage the likes of The Saga phone as well um and uh and ultimately the excitement that's that's built around that so uh it's part of you know catching that wave in in a big way that's very cool and I love that you mentioned the The Saga phone that would

7:40be great to uh use it as a uh one of those dpin sort of nodes or something like that um with with salana Ventures investing I'm sure the underlying infrastructure is salana can you talk about why that is a good blockchain for for ambient Network and and for dpin in general well you know I think it's the reach uh the reach you know ultimately uh the developer ecosystem uh again it

8:06goes back to uh the size of the network what we're seeing the adoption uh really uh it has the eyes and ears uh and the excitement of also of other deep ends being part of the space that ultimately we want to uh work with because uh I think it will it's important to leverage the communities that really understand what we're doing especially at this early stage uh and so uh it's a great

8:31home for us of course being backed by Solana Ventures uh doesn't hurt either uh and uh we're excited to be building this view this environmental deepen view as part of their ecosystem no I feel like it's a great touch and I've seen uh around the d-end narrative you know smart devices usually combining some kind of AI either for for transit or for just smart devices for entertainment but

8:56I haven't seen as many for environmental impact which is probably even more important because if you don't have a good environment you know entertainment is is a a secondary thought after actually breathing fresh air and this is the the exciting thing right it's about number one building uh something that will have impact uh and also a sustainable business at that

9:18ultimately we always need to be driving utility back to the network and it's important for us to find that you know product Market fit when it comes to the the sort of services and and uh and data uh ultimately in products that we're delivering back to various Industries and the opportunities that we find but also that will feed the the network and the belief by our Network participants

9:41ultimately to of course want to continue to deploy their sensors uh and uh and be part of the network uh provide that data back and of course the benefits that we provide uh yeah definitely and to become a a network participant you know I from what I different types of sensor that maybe uh don't have as much data some have a lot more how can I become a

10:05network participant do I have to go buy some Hardware you know what's the the the cheapest way I can sort of start getting involved in helping bring in data yeah so um you know we are relaunching our storefront so the exciting bit is that there will be a new experience later the summer uh as part of the road map uh you know beta stor running Q3 uh and uh um you know we'll

10:28be introducing uh a range of uh you know new sensors as well that hopefully lower the barrier to entry because in the past um there were you know a few hundred sensors uh up to you know $2,000 sensors uh we believe that we can uh you know introduce uh even lower cost than you know with uh just as good quality uh data capture and metrics uh and ultimately you know for to expand the

10:54footprint and the network that we already have uh to tens of thousands more right uh and uh um for everybody to be able to participate expand in areas that we don't have coverage today uh and uh and again help us and our mission and ultimately get that environmental uh map and coverage out definitely and what do you think will be some of the Catalyst

11:16factors for just the the the the growth in and and hopefully uh deep in altogether but also just ambient Network do you think it's going to be a combination of just uh en environmental consciousness or interest in dein devices interest in Bitcoin and ethereum ETF which trickles into the other sectors you know what do you think will help grow this initiative I think it's it's a number of

11:42things you know by the sound of consensus uh you know recently everybody wanted to be a deepen project I think that's that's quite a good thing it also has created I'm sure some annoyances out there but ultimately it's great to see that excitement all around um and uh you know the the the overall macro Market I think great conditions uh uh to see more

12:02folks get want to get involved um we're also taking a you know slightly uh different approach or hybrid approach where it's not just an exclusively Hardware sensors we're coming out with a mobile app called ambigo uh uh later this month which will uh as a first experience anyway uh get folks to be able to participate in the ambient ecosystem uh get folks to go around the

12:26places that they visit on a day-to-day basis uh to help us create part of that environmental map by answering a few questions by uh rating places uh ultimately we believe that there's also an opportunity uh to expose more of this data uh to the the the consumer and and to the general public especially you know going around cafes or restaurants or Cinemas gyms and whatnot because uh

12:49most of the air quality uh monitoring that's done today is outdoor but there's also you know we spend a lot of our time indoor on a day-to-day basis and uh we believe that anyway there is an opportunity to create a a a map specifically targeting uh you know Everyday Use cases um but also of course to to get folks to get rewarded for that initial data uh and it it may start in a

13:16qualitative way but over time we believe that through even just a mobile phone there's an opportunity to to capture more quantitative data uh and so to use the microphone and the camera for example for noise pollution and and those sort of metrics of course it can capture air quality but over time uh you know there's already a whole lot of capability built into these uh these

13:38microm computers so may as well utilize them in conjunction with the uh you know the hardware sensor Network that we've created definitely no I think that's a great point and a great addition U everyone has a a smartphone to be able to just uh be able to contribute to the network of saying hey you know I I can tell the air is bad in here I don't need

13:58to sensor to tell you that the inside of this building sucks uh we need fresher air if you can if you can add that you know manually input that through the app that you guys are building um there's value in that as well definitely 100% um and it also enables us to create a a funnel of participation right because uh you're getting folks that may know very little about this

14:22ecosystem uh whether they come from the blockchain and crypto space or they don't ultimately here is a a application that rewards you for just going around and and participating in this ecosystem and and following some of the basic steps uh that we provided and over time I think that will create also a funnel again to uh for for uh censor ownership for hard uh Hardware sensor ownership uh

14:47and to participate at some of the higher reward levels as well uh and uh and ultimately this will have come from you know not just participation but greater awareness about you know our mission and the things that we capture and ultimately some of the impacts that that we believe are all around us that we we measure naturally that are all around us um and that will help us

15:11educate and you know create that that drive for change very interesting Luca and and you mentioned the the the app coming in the future the there's a new hardware store I'm sure you have much more maybe you can uh elaborate a little bit on the road map moving into Q3 Q4 towards the the end of this year what else is ambient Network working on so the you know this uh Q2 we've been

15:37calling it The Birth of ambient there's a lot on our plate ultimately we're uh launching tokenomics uh we're uh launching the ambigo uh app uh we're also launching a bit of a migration incentive because ultimately we have an existing Network that's on alaran today that will be migrating over to salana uh so that is uh you know quite quite an achievement in it of itself what we'll

16:02be doing but in Q3 uh you know that deployment will go live with all of the uh acutrans if you will you know the the reward engine the uh the rebranded on boarding Services the the Explorer the my sensor dashboard all of that being rebuilt uh for this new ecosystem right uh and um and of course that will coincide with the token launch itself and you know what we need to do for uh

16:29you know every Network participant that's already on the network ultimately not just swap those tokens but also get the nfts over for the sensors and for the licenses and all of that good stuff and once that's done uh you know later the summer we'll be in a fantastic position then to scale up uh and to scale up in a big way uh to relaunch the storefront um and um and to start to

16:53look at also how do we now that we've taken care of the fundamentals uh really build on a better ux uh better uh experience and journey ultimately across you know the whole range of our digital footprint um and um uh and also how we drive um you know the Enterprise uh and uh dashboarding abilities uh that we're targeting because we have a number of p

17:20poc's in the work uh in the works with with a number of uh you know hotels and uh and campuses and and other uh sort of Enterprise CL that that will be announcing anyway over the next few uh few weeks as we start to deploy them it's all very exciting but it gets us to uh you know test the solutions that we're bringing together for those specific verticals and ultimately again

17:44drive that commercial traction back into the network and showcase uh What uh uh what the strength of the network you all coming together really means uh so so really exciting rest of the year uh and road mapap ahead definitely no that's a lot on on the plate um I I'm wishing you guys all the best and it sounds like you're moving in the right direction you

18:06know I uh the migration to salana I think is a great idea and the the the software app to contribute through mobile phones I think is a great idea and a hardware store is also very cool there's I I have gotten a few deepin Hardware devices in the past and like they're just so cool um so I I would love to contribute to that myself when it does go live um and and I'll definit

18:28be setting you up yeah awesome that sounds great and and what is the best way for people to follow along with the migration and to get started I'm not sure if they should get started now with with the hardware or wait for the changes how can they follow along so that they can get started on day one when when it's best to start contributing and getting rewarded on the

18:47network so first thing is follow ambient network uh follow our Twitter um follow my LinkedIn Luca franki U where you'll be able to get all the latest greatest we'll be announcing over the next few weeks the uh mobile app launch and and how you'll be able to use it and download it um you'll be able to uh follow all the developments on the storefront as well uh and ultimately you

19:12know there is no way to participate beyond the mobile app today uh so that will be the first thing unless you're already a network participant and you have an old sensor we're asking everybody to bring them back online we'll have a number of incentives out uh you know as part of the migration for folks to bring their sensors back online uh if they may have disconnected them

19:31but ultimately you know really uh taking this wave in in in full uh into salana amazing I'm wishing you guys all the best uh our discussion was a breath of fresh air uh for me so uh it's a really nice to see somebody impacting the environment in a positive way uh using dpin and and web 3 I'm I'm going to make sure that the links to the socials for ambient Network and and your Twitter and

19:56Linkedin as well if anyone wants to reach out uh our in the show notes below and wishing you guys all the best on on the updated uh mobile app launch move to salana and let's definitely follow up in the near future uh when all of this comes to fruition sounds great thank you Ashton pleasure speak soon