As the development and demand of IoT technology shifts and increases, smart devices with computation, storage, and network capabilities are becoming more diverse and growing rapidly. In 2020, connected smart devices will reach 50 billion globally and manufacturers (including brands, channel distributors, producers, etc.) will be updating product firmware multiple times throughout a product’s lifecycle to continuously improve product functionality and performance to satisfy their customers. Smart devices no longer act as stand-alone devices and their ability to connect, transfer messages and files will be the primary area of development in functionality, especially in smartphones.
Firmware upgrades requiring OTA (over the air upgrade) or transfer from smart product and phones at the user-end will involve the transfer of massive amounts of data; the maintenance of OTA update or relay transmission servers that facilitate cloud storage and remote transfer of files will involve costs regardless if they are constructed in-house, by contractor, or outsourced.
Research institute Strategy Analytics estimates there are currently approximately 20 billion IoT devices around the world and this number will grow to 50 billion in 2020. The average scenario of IoT devices involves connected devices transferring notifications or files, such as remotely controlling smart appliances through a smartphone, sending energy consumption statistics to the power company, and smart street lights sending traffic information to vehicles; the economic impact of this data flow when converted into cost is staggering. Furthermore, each IoT smart device manufactured or currently in the market will require software/firmware updates, adding more to operation costs that have been an issue for smart device manufacturers and operators. The cost associated is one of the reasons IoT devices have not been able to proliferate and further evolve.
Taiwanese Startup ioeX Saves Developers Massive Costs by Building “Decentralized P2P Network”
Taiwanese startup ioeX was formed by a team of former Foxconn engineers and the company has continued to develop its business and increase its ranks since founding. The development of a decentralized P2P network at ioeX links numerous smart devices of varying functions by building a viable decentralized storage and transfer network that provides smart device manufacturers with a solution to connect, transfer files, and provide OTA firmware upgrades. ioeX uses software solutions to setup “bootstrap nodes” and “peer nodes” that allow them to search, connect, and form a decentralized peer-to-peer network when devices are turned on and connected. Each smart device in the network can contribute their bandwidth and storage for other devices in the network through the management solution provided by the ioeX team.
ioeX aims to gain a foothold in the market and expand its’ services by providing solutions to the difficult issues of “external network transfers” and “software/firmware OTA updates” faced by smart device manufacturers. Furthermore, smart devices loaded with ioeX software can be upgraded to provide users with remote file access and act as personal cloud storage.
Extending the Concept of Existing Technology, ioeX Provides Personal Cloud Storage
By extending the basic capabilities of the aforementioned network, ioeX has created an application for personal cloud storage. Users can allocate a segment of any smart device loaded with ioeX node software to designate storage for personal cloud usage. The personal cloud app developed with our ioeX phone node SDK allows remote backup from external networks into personal cloud devices in the home while also providing file access and playback on smartphones. This allows users to securely store personal files or sensitive data onto private devices in the home or office and avoid the risk of data leaks in public cloud backups. Think about it, if you have a smart refrigerator with ioeX node software at home, it’s pretty cool to be able to show friends a video of your refrigerator at home through your smartphone! Similarly, if we change the smart device to a company’s internal file server and include mechanisms to manage multiple accounts, company file servers can be used more efficiently to save on data transfer costs; when used in blockchains, management mechanisms can produce records to show who downloaded, transferred, or edited a file at what time.
Pivoting to Commercial Sales Platforms through Hardware and Personal Storage
The ioeX blockchain mechanism utilizes a hybrid blockchain that pairs and combines the functions of two complete blockchains for use; to differentiate the two, the chains are designated as Main Chain with PoW and Side Chain with DPoS. The side chain is used to record the proof of space-time of each piece of equipment in the node including public nodes that provide assistance to device nodes joining the network, facilitating with relay file transfer in nodes. The side chain establishes a smart contract for proof of space-time and issues a side chain token (GAS) for the amount of contribution.
The primary purpose of GAS is to allow owners to check their proof of space-time, reward quotas, and not for public issue. The main chain will then read the records of the side chain to issue corresponding IOEX digital currency that can be transferred and accepted by their owners. The ioeX team will build IOEX application scenarios such as obtaining services or purchase of other smart devices so that the rewards of work contributions will have specific benefits.
In addition to applying blockchain functions to the field of decentralized cloud backups, ioeX has also partnered with globally renowned company Elastos to build a scaled network. Together, ioeX and Elastos will co-create a sub chain under Elastos for personal cloud backup so that device owners can check the status of their remote access and backups. The business model will be conducted simultaneously by ioeX in combination with ELA (digital currency issued by Elastos).
A large part of server equipment from the public nodes in the ioeX network will simultaneously perform mining functionality in the ioeX main chain to assist in the generation of ledger blocks; a portion of mining machines in the main chain will be designated in the role of arbitrator in the ioeX side chain and be responsible for producing blocks in the side chain.
The ioeX team is recruiting VIP and super node partners globally to act as main chain mining machines and side chain arbitrators in the public network nodes constructed by the company. Partners will be able to earn digital currency rewards with work in public network nodes, main chain mining machines, and as side chain arbitrators.
In summarization, the primary functions of ioeX networks and blockchains differs from other blockchains by providing diverse applications, access and storage, and use in computing in addition to differing from concepts in other blockchains that act as a platform for basic functions. The general function of ioeX can be described as a platform that “is driven by networks formed by smart devices to create networks with value”. ioeX aims to successfully establish its services in the market by providing a solution to smart device manufacturers for the massive costs derived from firmware iteration updates, issues towards establishing connections with smartphones, and freely provided ioeX software to upgrades smart devices into “personal cloud storage devices for device owners”.
The smart home is one of the targets of ioeX. This includes smart appliances but also emerging sectors such as smart speakers, multifunction massage chairs, and hanging interactive display products; these are all welcome partners at ioeX. The company is also striving towards connecting and transferring multimedia files between electric scooters, car entertainment computers, and car owners. The increasing smart street vending equipment such as those that develop social media photos or vending machines for digital currencies and other products, automatic food ordering machines, restaurant billing machines, smart beer vendors and pay registers are all areas that ioeX is striving to forge partnerships.
ioeX is currently recruiting node partners globally. We welcome partners from all around the world with interest to e-mail info@ioeX.co. For more information about ioeX, please visit our official website at https://www.ioex.co/.
