Introducing Ambient: The Environmental DePIN on Solana
Ambient is the leading DePIN for environmental data. This May we announced the acquisition of an existing air quality monitoring DePIN on Algorand (PlanetWatch), 25k sensors across 20+ countries strong, raised $2m seed funding, including from Solana Ventures, and we are migrating it to Solana with the objective of building the largest environmental monitoring platform in the world. We have published our tokenomics and opened our AmbiGO! App for early access sign ups. Our network has already generated 11.2 billion air quality data streams to date and we’re on a mission to empower communities to drive change.
Explore our live network map here (shows only outdoor hardware sensors)
Describe your project in 5 sentences:
- Ambient is building the world’s largest decentralized network of environmental sensors and ambient data
- Starting from air quality monitoring, we will incentivize the expansion to complimentary environmental metrics, including noise and light pollution (as well as supporting other commercial use cases), via Ambient Network-certified physical sensors
- We will launch our AmbiGo! mobile app (sample screenshots below) in Q2 2024 to enable the capture of human-driven environmental data by smartphone users
- Through our environmental data APIs we will build access to a subscription dashboard, intelligence, and recommendation engine with actionable insights for consumers and enterprise deployers alike
- Ultimately leading to greater awareness of the dangers to our health and to empowering participants to help drive change through our platform
Team members:
We have a brilliant leadership team that brings a wealth of experience from DePIN projects like Helium and PlanetWatch, to IoT and enterprise expertise.
- Luca Franchi, CEO - Previously led growth at several startups and large corporations in US and Europe (Telefonica, 02 UK, Sky) for enterprise and consumer verticals. Follow him on Twitter & Discord.
- TJ Rancour, Chief Growth Officer - Former co-founder & President of CalChip Connect, the leading distributor of Helium and DePIN-related devices.
- Ivan D’Ettorre, COO - Previously Chief Information & Technology Officer of PlanetWatch and founder of several companies in the telecoms sector.
- Kassir Kayani, CTO - Former founder of Hive (Centrica) with over 20 years of experience in the media (Sky), telecommunications (Orange, 3, O2 UK) and tech industry, with a proven track record in strategy and delivery.
- Prof. Pratim Biswas, Scientific Advisor - Expert in Aerosol Science and Technology, serving as Dean of the College of Engineering, University of Miami. He is a Professor of Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering with a joint appointment at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami.
- Uri Stav, Advisor - Technology, security, and cryptography professional with over 25 years of experience, involved in digital asset and blockchain since 2009. Former Chief Security & Development Officer at the Digital Currency Group (DCG) and subsidiaries.
Links
Socials
- X / Twitter: Ambient Network
- LinkedIn: Ambient Network
- Medium: Ambient Network
Communities
- Discord: https://discord.ambient.network/
- Telegram: Ambient Network
Giveaways
- Short Burst Alpha on Gleam.io (Token Airdrop) (Ended on 7th July)
- Long Shot Growth on Gleam.io (Token Airdrop) (ongoing, join now!)
Background information in the ecosystem - previous projects or web3 experience:
- PlanetWatch
- Helium IoT / 5G
Describe partners, supporters, or collaborative efforts:
- Borderless Capital, leading DePIN investor, and Emrit, leading Helium and PlanetWatch miner deployer, are incubating Ambient, providing access to its resources and guidance.
- Solana Ventures is likewise connecting Ambient to key Solana ecosystems players, as is the Solana Foundation.
- Our strategic investor Parami Investors, the largest deployer of Helium 5G and PlanetWatch devices in North America, is introducing us to enterprise deployments to expand the network and generate significant commercial opportunities.
- Our scientific advisor, Dr. Pratim Biswas, is bringing scientific rigour through his air quality laboratory at the University of Miami, connecting Ambient to US federal government grant opportunities, as well as creating a template deployment for campuses all over the world.
Main pitch on how Ambient collaborates with the Jupiter & Solana ecosystem:
Ambient Network intends to leverage the Solana DePIN ecosystem by collaborating with Jupiter, other relevant projects and via airdrops, including exclusive collaborations for Solana Saga phone owners.
Potential synergies between Ambient and Jupiter users, DAO, holders, etc.:
Our integration with Jupiter aligns with our goal to provide liquidity and accessibility to Ambient participants from the start, from within our new home, the Solana ecosystem. Our synergies will lie in providing Jupiter’s users with innovative ways to participate in our environmental monitoring mission, to earn and grow their crypto assets through Ambient’s AmbiGo!’s mobile app, as well as to own and operate physical sensors for even higher rewards. Ambient users will naturally benefit from Jupiter’s liquidity and swap functionalities, creating mutual value that enriches and strengthens both communities. With over 50,000 wallets connected to our current network, and hundreds of thousands more expected from our consumer mobile app, AmbiGo!, which achieved over 21,600 early signup in just one week.
We are thrilled at the prospect of partnering with Jupiter.
AmbiGo! Mobile App
SIGN UP HERE FOR EARLY ACCESS (FREE !!!)
Every check-in and review helps Ambient create a map of the places where future sensors will provide the best monitoring opportunities across your cities. AmbiGo! rewards you for every action, rating, and question answered.
Approximate date for TGE: Target July 2024
Tokenomics
Overview
Ambient will issue a Solana Program Library (SPL) utility token in the second half of 2024 with a maximum token supply of 1 billion.
Token distribution is split across the following allocations:
| Allocation | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Mining Rewards & Programs | 40% |
| Core Team | 20% |
| Investors | 15% |
| Ambient Network Foundation | 10% |
| Legacy Network & Ecosystem Airdrops | 10% |
| Public Sale | 5% |
The mining rewards release schedule will start with 200,000,000 in the first year. This rate will be halved every year over 10 years until the total number of reward tokens released reaches 400,000,000.
| Year | Tokens/Year | Total Tokens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 200,000,000 | 200,000,000 |
| 2 | 100,000,000 | 300,000,000 |
| 3 | 50,000,000 | 350,000,000 |
| 4 | 25,000,000 | 375,000,000 |
| 5 | 12,500,000 | 387,500,000 |
| 6 | 6,250,000 | 393,750,000 |
| 7 | 3,125,000 | 396,875,000 |
| 8 | 1,562,500 | 398,437,500 |
| 9 | 781,250 | 399,218,750 |
| 10 | 781,250 | 400,000,000 |
Data Reward Policy
Ambient is a global network of sensors deployed by community members to deliver hyperlocal and real-time environmental monitoring. Today this means an extensive body of air quality data, over 11 billion streams, from the tens of thousands of live sensors connected to the network. In the future this will include complementary environmental metrics and sensors to capture an increasing range of environmental data sets that impact our lives and that represent commercial opportunities for the network.
Token rewards are issued to sensor owners for the delivery of valid data streams, based on the intrinsic value of metrics captured by each sensor. The value of a stream depends on data content and reliability, as well as the commercial value derived from the markets that Ambient will sell into.
Sensor types
In order to cover all the environmental monitoring use cases identified by Ambient, we need different types of sensors. While this mix may change over time, and new categories could be created to capture demand and commercial value, taking a view of the sensors already live on our network we can categorize participating devices as follows:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Outdoor | Including premium (formerly known as Type 1 like TEA’s Airqino devices) and consumer (formerly known as Type 2 like TEA’s Turtle devices) grade outdoor sensors |
| Indoor | Including premium (formerly known as Type 3 like Kaiterra’s Sensedge Mini devices) and consumer (formerly known as Type 4 like Terrabee’s IN5 devices) grade indoor sensors |
| Wearable | Specific to wearable and portable consumer (formerly known as Type 4 like Atmo’s Atmotube PRO) grade sensors |
| Commodity | Specific to data capture derived from Ambient’s smartphone application AmbiGo! |
Each category represents a total number of metrics captured, which in turn determines the maximum number of streams to be rewarded. Example metrics include:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Outdoor | PM2.5, PM10, NO2, O3, CO, temperature, humidity |
| Indoor | PM2.5, PM10, TVOC, CO2, temperature, humidity |
| Wearable | PM1, PM2.5, PM10, VOC, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure |
| Commodity | Location and qualitative environmental data |
This categorization becomes more evident when viewed from a data sales perspective, apart from a desire to simplify. Outdoor metrics remain most valuable for global weather and mapping providers, while the majority of indoor deployments do not lead to commercial demand, though we are exploring the creation of an enterprise grade indoor category that could challenge that. Data from wearables is likely to be less reliable and of lower commercial value, while participation from smartphones represents a promotional opportunity to grow the network, create a funnel for sensor ownership, and generate a clear set of location-based revenues. This matrix allows Ambient to consider sensors deployed to date, as well as the introduction of future sensors with additional capabilities and metrics captured, enabling a dynamic balance of rewards based on the total achievable metrics by category.
In light of these categories by metric and commercial weights, and considering the 1st Year distribution:
| 1st year | |
|---|---|
| Mining Rewards | 200,000,000 |
| Annual Mining Rewards A+B+C | 126,000,000 |
| Annual Mining Rewards D | 14,000,000 |
| Network Multiplier Bonus | 50,000,000 |
| Staking Bonus | 10,000,000 |
Ambient grades participations as follows:
| Category | Sensor | Value | Daily Rewards | Annual Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Airqino | 7 | 39 | 14,244 |
| A | Turtle | 4 | 22 | 8,140 |
| B | Sensedge Mini | 1.8 | 10 | 3,663 |
| B | IN5 | 1.5 | 8 | 3,052 |
| C | Atmotube PRO | 0.7 | 4 | 1,424 |
| D | AmbiGo! | 1 | 365 |
Category D, AmbiGo!, is defined by a saturation value of 38,356 total rewards across all participants for the first year. Depending on the number of users, unused tokens from the daily mining reward pool will be allocated into a dedicated Reward Pool wallet and will be used to incentivize the existing network or ecosystem growth.
Reward Rates
All network rewards earned are split as follows:
| Sensor Owners | 80% |
| Ambient Network Foundation | 20% |
Once Ambient launches its sensor management platform it will provide a tool allowing sensor owners to split rewards with a third party (e.g. a friend hosting the sensor).
Network Multiplier Bonus
To encourage the legacy community to migrate to Ambient, a snapshot of the legacy network will be taken on a specified date, and existing sensor owners with connected devices will be eligible for a network multiplier bonus on top of their mining rewards once they connect to the Ambient network and remain online, sending data for a defined period. Details will be released in due time.
Staking Bonus
A staking program will be announced to enhance project participation and offer returns for locking up certain amounts of tokens. Details will be released in due time.
Grid Overlay (only for Category A)
Mapping grid overlays will be based on H3 hexagons classified according to a 2-tier system:
| Tier 1 | Areas with high population density |
| Tier 2 | Rest of the world |
Tier 1 hexes are based on areas with population density estimated at 2,000+ inhabitants per square kilometer. The tier structure is instrumental in equipping as many global high-population density areas as possible with outdoor sensors. Rewards in Tier 2 will be capped at 50% in respect of Tier 1, i.e. if an Airqino reward is 39 in Tier 1, another Airqino in Tier 2 will be rewarded with 19.5
Superhexes will be created for special focus areas and incentives, with rewards funded separately as opportunities arise to contribute developments that expand the network, possibly in areas outside of Tier 1 considerations, or with new categories of sensors.
As part of Ambient’s initial launch, we will allocate additional rewards for new sensor deployments in hexes with a 0.5% bonus pool from the network’s monthly mining share.
Sensor Reputation System
Each sensor is awarded a 100-point setup bonus the first time it is connected to the Ambient network. The performance of each sensor in the network is assessed daily and a score is assigned. If a sensor has delivered more than 50% of the expected daily data streams, it is deemed qualifying and it earns one point.
If the sensor fails to deliver more than 50% of the expected daily data streams, it is not qualifying and loses one point. In each hex, the sensor that gets installed first and streams data for at least 30 qualifying days from that hex is entitled to a 100-point Pioneer bonus. These bonuses can only be earned once in a sensor’s lifetime, even if the sensor changes location.
For a given sensor, a Local Reputation Score applies in each hex. If a sensor is moved to a new location in another hex, its Local Reputation Score in this new location starts at 0, regardless of its score in the previous hex(s). Over time, it will earn reputation points in the new hex (if it qualifies) and lose points in the old one(s).
The Global Reputation Score of a sensor, summed across all relevant hexes, is only relevant in the context of governance since voting rights are linked to a sensor’s aggregate reputation score across all hexes.
Distribution of Rewards by Hex
In each hex, the maximum category A rewards for that hex will be distributed evenly among the first 5 category A sensors present in that hex with the highest Local Reputation Score. Other outdoor sensors in that hex (if any) will be regarded as backup sensors and will not receive any rewards.
If two or more sensors of the same type have the same Local Reputation Score in a given hex, priority is attributed to the sensor that first streamed data in that hex. In each hex, sensor scores are updated daily so lead status is reassessed every day.
Data Monetization and Value Accrual
The data generated by Ambient will initially be monetized in stable/fiat currencies to make it easy for more traditional enterprise actors to purchase Ambient’s data sets. Thereafter, 100% of the (protocol) revenue will be used to buy Ambient tokens from the market before being distributed to sale channel allocations.
A Reward Pool will capture part of this value initially to be used for network expansion, data commercialization, development or R&D costs. At later stages, Ambient plans to allocate protocol revenue increasingly for grants, token burn, marketing, airdrops as well as staking programs. The exact allocation or the structure can change during the project and will be subject to governance.
To achieve its data monetization objectives, Ambient will work with several channel participants:
If your project were to succeed, how would it fundamentally change the web3 space?
Decentralized infrastructure networks can power environmental monitoring use cases with commercial and humanitarian value. Enterprises can embrace decentralized, distributed solutions and receive non-token benefits like carbon credits, planting trees, or a similar miner rewards value given to their charity of choice. And ultimately we can build a sustainable business powered by blockchain to drive significant impact and making a difference at global scale.
What would you say is your biggest challenges or obstacles as a project?
The fact that we are starting from an existing network, having to migrate it to a new chain; updating tokenomics and creating migration incentives to maximize participation; creating and adding a new mechanism (AmbiGo!) for community engagement and data capture; working with environmental data providers to identify key use cases (and devices) to power future network needs; introducing an improved end to end experience, including lower barriers to participate. There’s lots to do across exciting areas of development and we’re tackling all these points and more (see our freshly released development roadmap below).
What advice would you give to another team launching a token in web3?
Everything takes longer than expected, plan meticulously, bring on others that have done it before to help avoid pitfalls, build for a sustainable business not just a token launch.
What is something most tokens get wrong, and what steps are you taking to ensure that you won’t experience these pitfalls?
We spend a lot of time thinking about what we are incentivizing and how to create the right levels of utility in our network as part of our mission. But we also need to build the right level of excitement and use for the token ahead of a launch itself, as the competition in the market is fierce and differentiation is key. Ambient is making sure its tokenomics are appropriately aligned and will be using marketing campaigns and a mobile app to drive interest around its token launch. And ultimately, we are targeting key commercial use cases to drive long term value from more traditional industries and players to our decentralized network.
Appendix/About:
- Website: https://ambient.network/
- Community and Socials links:
- X / Twitter: Ambient Network
- LinkedIn: Ambient Network
- Discord: https://discord.ambient.network/
- Telegram: Ambient Network
DePIN hardware is the perfect match for environmental data on global scale.
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