For newcomers to the Ambrosus community, the meaning behind certain words and processes will be broken down so as to illustrate the use-cases of the Ambrosus Network, AMB-NET. I should prequel this and say that at its core, the Ambrosus Network appears to be a solution built for today, tomorrow, and the decades to come. At the same time, it is also a solution which can be picked up and used by entrepreneurs, enterprises, and the average individual.

Let’s start with Industry Trends: What in the World is GS1 Digital Link, and why does it matter?

If you follow Ambrosus closely, then you were probably with me in being a little unfamiliar with the recent announcement of GS1 Digital Link and Ambrosus. Let me explain to you my biggest takeaway from this announcement: barcoding is on the way out, and something new involving QR codes is on the way in (as of this year). So in the future, when you go to the store the QR code on the package will be a more personal and ‘information filled’ version of what barcodes do today. The consumer will be able to see a clear breakdown of ingredients, and also, as the article mentions, access special things like loyalty programs. The remaining question is, what is going to make the consumer actually trust all of the extra information that has been put into the QR code? Well, ideally this is where blockchain and internet of things will come in.

The point here, is that the entire industry standard of GS1 is moving in the direction of QR codes, and as it happens this is going to be one of the central focal points of the Ambrosus Network. The timing could not be better, and overall, this is a solid starting point for introducing one of the main goals that Ambrosus has consistently emphasized: building a blockchain based network that focuses on improving quality assurance for the end consumer. With GS1, this is the equivalent of a ‘green-light’ for what Ambrosus is planning on building their entire ecosystem around.

How can the data be configured for the consumer? What kind of benefits can be built into that data?

Not a ton of information has been given by Angel or Vlad on the specifics of App development and customization. But perhaps one of the best places to start putting the pieces together is with Vlad’s talk at the Ambrosus Warsaw Meetup. In this talk, he demonstrates with a ‘Beer’ how easy it is to create an Asset or Event on the Ambrosus Network. What I don’t think is fully appreciated is the flexibility of what is possible if you get a little creative: since the SDK’s have already been made, a skilled app developer or entrepreneur could very easily develop customizable applications for a company or industries’ needs that can then be also be easily accessed and used by the consumers.

More specifically, the past Ambrosus Blog Post, discussing Ambrosus in relation to Commodities and Electronics, alludes to a number of ‘niche’ industries which would be primed for disruption and could possibly use customized applications:

“Importantly, this non-exhaustive list is only an indication of the various products or industries that the Ambrosus solution can be applied to. Many more commodities ranging from Canadian Maple Syrup, to Iranian Beluga Caviar, to Japanese Ceremonial Matcha Tea are also applicable.”

In every case that an application is built, from now and into the future, a company would have to store their data on the Ambrosus Network in order to have that same data appear for a consumer wishing to scan their product. This means that applications that are developed for specific industries or regulations, in fact also possess the ability to add bundles of data to the network. The ease from which a company can adopt this solution, is thanks to the configuration of the Hermes Masternodes on the network — this bring me to my next point.

Who can access what data?

This is the most important part of the entire ecosystem, as it will allow for traction to be gained in the future. It can actually be explained in two different pieces: Hermes Masternodes, and Data Selection.

Hermes Masternodes provide a REST API to the various devices seeking to transmit data to the blockchain. As explained by Vlad in the most recent tokeneconomics update, there will be two versions of Hermes Masternodes — Enterprise Hermes Masternodes for companies, and Community Hermes Masternodes which are open source and available to download by an individual:

“As you can see, it is vital for us to lower the barrier for Hermes nodes as much as we can: they’re the ones creating (and thus paying for) bundles on AMB-NET, so the more active Hermes nodes, the more bundles created. To achieve this, we have decided to reduce the deposit required to run a basic Hermes node on mainnet to zero, nada, nothing. This means all you need to run a Hermes node is to download the latest version from our github and run it. You’ll then be able to create bundles by paying 12$ like everyone else. Note that this Hermes node, is the “Hermes Community Edition”, which is entirely open-source and provides the basic functionality of Hermes nodes.”

The real value of this quote is that it shows plans for scaling the Ambrosus ecosystem in size. By open-sourcing Hermes Masternodes, or even allowing enterprises to access their own, the applicability of the Ambrosus Ecosystem rises exponentially: any city or government could leverage one to build a smart city — a trade organization could implement one into their standards for traceability — even a restaurant chain could buy one to monitor the conditions of their facilities. The sustainability of AMB-NET is guaranteed by the move to open-source the Hermes Nodes.

Data Selection: All data, recorded in the form of an ‘Asset’ or ‘Event’ must be first sent to a Hermes Masternode in order to be ‘bundled’ together. In this sense, all of the data is accessible to the operator of the Hermes Masternode. The operator, or the third-party who is using the operators node, is then at liberty to decide which data is to be kept private, which data can be shared with selected parties, and which data should be openly visible to the general public (i.e. public, private, and semi-private data). Importantly, regardless of the categorization of the data, the timestamp, asset or event ID and the owner of the data is always incorporated onto the blockchain in what can be labelled ‘Meta-Data’.

For real-world adoption, this nuance is essential (and to my mind also unique for Ambrosus alone). Companies can basically decide how much information they want to publicly share, but still put a proof of such private information on the blockchain anyway. In this way, AMB-NET possesses all of the benefits of a private blockchain (i.e. selective information sharing, and privacy about certain pieces of information) while still retaining the functionality of a publicly distributed ledger.

Where we Stand?

The main idea I hope to convey is that in virtue of the intelligent design behind AMB-NET, Ambrosus is gearing up to be easily adopted and practically used across the board. Of course, growth will take time as well as industrial adoption — however in terms of the fundamentals, I think the open-source, customizable, and easily built upon nature of the Ambrosus Network is a fundamental advantage that few — if any — blockchain and IoT companies have. Combine this with the recently released GS1 digital link news, and it becomes clear that little by little the world will begin to tilt in favor of the exact type of solution that Ambrosus is building. We here are the one’s early to the game.

Reminder: None of this should be taken as financial advice. Always consult a certified financial advisor before investing in volatile cryptocurrencies.