In this episode of IoTeXperts Live, Robert and Giuseppe have a conversation with one of IoTeX's Halo Grant latest awardees, EnviroBLOQ. CEO Will McCann and CTO Charles Cobern talk about their plans for this MachineFi dApp to lay the foundation for the future of smart homes.

One of our latest Halo Grants awardees, EnviroBLOQ, is a MachineFi dApp that aims to connect smart homes to the IoTeX blockchain, compiling their data into a comprehensible dashboard for homeowner analysis & third party utilization.

During our latest live stream, an interesting conversation sparked between our IoTeXperts, EnviroBLOQ and members of the IoTeX developers community, that touched upon the current problem with smart homes, EnviroBLOQ's solution, and the broader implications of data driven machine economy.

Q & A with EnviroBLOQ:

Q: What is EnviroBLOQ?

EnviroBLOQ is the solution to bridge smart homes to the blockchain. We'll be installing Pebble trackers in attic spaces and connect them to the IoTeX blockchain as a proof of concept. Our ultimate drive is environmental concerns, such as energy consumption, energy saving and efficiency, but in a web3 model, where we reward users that provide data that we can then analyze, package and sell to various consumers.

Q: How do you know if your home is energy efficient and how do you trust this data?

You can't really trust any data that you're getting from your smart devices. There are so many different variables in the real world - the hardware of a certain device could have been hacked or the data could have been manipulated. MachineFi opens up this data collection sphere where entities in the industry can finally trust the data they are receiving in the IoT space for the first time. We also want to collect and use data to prove the validity of commonly accepted practices in the industry, which will make a huge impact on the future of smart homes.

Q: How does your reward mechanism work for the users providing this data?

We're still working out all the details, but we're going to start out with IOTX tokens as physical rewards. Once we hit 1000 data providers, i.e. 1000 properties, we'll then release the $EBLOQ token, backed by IOTX, which will allow us to expand our reward mechanism. We want to be able to incentivize people that are either making improvements to their homes, or have really efficient spaces, because they are theoretically saving money and energy. For property owners, our goal is to be that tokenized driver to push improvements across the line. As a potential buyer, you'd want to know how much utilities cost for a certain space, and how efficient that space is.

Q: Do you already have an idea of how much this data could be worth for homeowners, for example?

We need more data at this moment to determine what its value could be. At the same time, we need to understand how much data consumers are actually willing to pay for this. We were recently reading an article saying that each individual's personal data could be worth about 3000$ per year. We expect this number to grow in the future as the concept of machine economy grows. We're starting by proving that people can actually be rewarded for their data, and we're going to package that data in a way that makes it worthwhile for potential consumers to purchase it.

Q: How does EnviroBLOQ envision distribution of the product?

One of our first approaches is going after home builders to get these Pebble trackers into new homes. Pebble trackers are already connected to the blockchain, and they already have a trusted hardware, so they are the perfect way to start. W3bStream will also open up many possibilities by the end of the year. This is our proof of concept, after which we'll tap into Google Nest, solar generation, water consumption, and even irrigation system data.

Q: Could I use my Pebble tracker for this?

We're working on our beta, where we'll invite the current Pebble tracker owners to participate.

The most attractive thing in the web3 model for us at EnviroBLOQ is user-empowerment. Almost all apps on the market today cannot be used unless the users agree to give the app permission to use all their data. Our web3 model sees the user provide data for a token reward that can be exchanged for financial incentives. What makes this data valuable for a possible data consumer, is that this data can be, for example, used to improve their product. We're in line with the MachineFi vision, and our goal is to allow device owners to monetize the data created by their machines. For a company like ours, that web3 tokenomics system drives the mass, organic adoption of our product in this space.

Q: Let's talk about your product timeline: What do you envision for the next 1 to 2 and for the next 5 to 7 years?

We're going to do a 30 day beta testing, analyzing data from two identical properties, and then (as part of our first Halo Grant Milestone) we'll have 5 more properties online. The short term goal is to then open the beta testing for Pebble tracker owners in a controlled setting by Q1 or Q2 of 2023.

By Year 5, we will be gathering data from 25,000 properties, each with an average of 4 devices connected to the EnviroBLOQ network (Pebbles, smart thermostats, solar panel generation, weather and utility consumption data) which will be analyzed and packaged for at least 7 Data Consumers.

At this point, we will have a very clear picture of the efficiencies of different types of structures, but will also gain valuable insights into how different smart devices can feed off of each other's data in order to further optimize operational efficiency for the entire property as one 'intelligent', cohesive unit, rather than segregated devices independent of each other.

These numbers will further grow by year 7, as we're planning on gathering data from 1 million properties, each with 5 devices connected with EnviroBLOQ, and packaging this data to at least 15 Data Consumers.

Q: How can users be more involved with EnviroBLOQ?

Follow us on Twitter to get the latest updates, learn more about web3 and how the decentralized web gives power back to the users, and look around you for more possible areas of improvement in your homes. We are extremely excited by the potential for all of the different ways to bridge smart home devices to the blockchain for improving the efficiencies of properties everywhere. Not only will EnviroBLOQ empower owners to make more educated decisions regarding their utility consumption and future upgrades, but it'll also have the potential to affect future building designs.

Discord Updates from Discord Jeremi

Our new bi-weekly segment sees Jeremi gather the more robust and relevant questions coming from our developers community on Discord and present them to our IoTeXperts Live audience.

This week's first tip revolves around a common mistake that users make when they first join IoTeX and start staking. Sometimes new users decide to have all their tokens staked, which might cause an error, since there is no IOTX left to cover gas fees for the transaction. So, when you do your first stake, leave up to 10 IOTX in your wallet for gas. Maybe think about supporting multiple projects, as well, as you explore different delegates.

The next tip is about archival states of the blockchain. Some blockchains offer what we refer to as Archival Node. This type of node stores all the data and transactions that ever occured, including all the smart contracts state changes. This does not currently exist on IoTeX, but the developers team is working on releasing one in the near future.

The last tip is about the IoPay private key derivation. There have been a few questions on Discord from users that ask why their addresses change when they import their IoPay wallet's private key into Metamask. That is because the IoTeX blockchain has its own representation format for addresses. There is a different process to generate an address given a private key, which then results in a different address being displayed, despite being derived from the same private key.

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About The IoTeXPerts Livestreams

The IoTeXPerts Livestreams are a way for our community to stay in touch and get updated on the latest news from the world of IoTeX. Developers can join and share their projects built on our platform, maybe ask for advice or debugging tips, or even help other developers along the way and engage with other members of the community.

The livestreams happen every other Wednesday at 8:15PM UTC and can be accessed through our Youtube channel.