In the previous Discover Cecil articles, we looked at the structure of the foundation, as well as the proposed industries and technologies Cecil Alliance planned to integrate with. In this article we get our first look at the actual platform. This is a simplification of the actual platform, for more details, please await the release of our Project Manifesto and technical documentation.

Plenty of projects can target an industry and organize a foundation around it. However, we believe that the technical strengths of the Cecil Alliance Platform (CAP) are what separates us from the rest. The CAP includes the software, IoT chips, interfaces, and APIs that people will interact with when using the CAP.

Our first priority is to give animal owners a way to create digital identities on the blockchain, so that we can begin building the Internet of Animals by creating a network of verified and trustable data. We believe that once medical records, vaccination history, and breeding information can be confirmed through the use of digital identities, animal owners will be able to make more informed medical decisions while also purchasing or selling animals with confidence.

The Animal Data Assets (ADA) — The Core of the CAP

Owners of animals will be allowed to create what we call an ADA — a digital identity for your pet. This will include essential information such as sex, species, breed, place of birth, and name. While this data will be public to other CAP users, additional identification and medical data is private and can be shared with other users, authorized professionals, and data-oriented applications at the owner’s discretion.

By default, the ADA relies on the CECIL token to be shared in exchange for the transfer and verification of data. The creation of an ADA requires a minimum preload of CECIL tokens to be held, which will later be used to reward authorized veterinarians and other professionals to verify data, as well as pay blockchain transaction fees. Users will be able to earn more CECIL tokens by sharing data, encouraging new users to sign up, register and verify their animal’s data. Combining the ADA with the CECIL token works well to spread adoption while incentivizing both users and professionals to take part.

Software and Mobile Apps (iOS & Android)

When Cecil Alliance initially launches, there will be a focus on two main uses — the Animal Owner dAPP and the Veterinarian web portal.

For most people, they will start with the Animal Owner dApp: this is the part of the CAP that allows animal owners to register their animals for a digital identity. This iOS and Android app will allow users to:

Get to know Cecil Alliance

Upload, Manage, and Share animal data

Interact with others, including authorized veterinarians

Approve/Decline new data entry suggestions from authorized veterinarians

Manage CECIL Tokens

Earn CECIL tokens by sharing data

Transfer ownership of animals

Authorized veterinarians will be able to access a web-based application with the following features:

Request data read & write access on animals in their treatment

Suggest new data entries

Decline or Approve data entry suggestions from animal owners

Receive and manage Cecil Tokens in exchange for services

In order to ensure data is accurate, it must be approved by both the animal owner and an authorized professional (such as a veterinarian) before becoming verified. Unapproved data will be designated in the CAP with an unverified data icon. All data will be encrypted and stored on private databases, with verified data including hashes stored on a blockchain. This makes the digital identities secure and fraud-resistant, as key data, once confirmed, can’t be freely tampered with.

Third-Party Development of the Platform

The platform comes with a number of technologies making the ADA ready for external third parties to build and improve upon. The ADA is designed to be “Plug and Play” in the sense that others can build additional applications on top of it. This means the ADA is very versatile, and can be customized to fit a number of industry use cases such as studbooks, zoos, wildlife conservation organizations, livestock enterprises, pet shelters, and charities, to name a few. One example in action is MustangChain, which will be using the ADA as the core, while redesigning the look and feel of the apps and NFC cards to better fit their industry and branding needs.

MustangChain also is the first to be released later this year before rolling out the general versions of the dApps. The MustangChain product also contains a Studbook dApp alongside the Horse Owner dApp and the Horse Veterinarian dApp.

The ADA will have specific guidelines about what type of data should be collected and stored, making sure the format of the data is optimized for interoperability across the platform, regardless of who collects it. Other than these guidelines, developers are free to think outside the box, finding new ways to collaborate and expand the platform. This affords third-party developers and businesses a rare opportunity to improve or create new business models, spreading the use of the Cecil Alliance Platform and CECIL token, while improving our awareness of animals and their welfare on a global scale.

Conclusion

Just to recap, the Cecil Alliance Platform, with tamper-proof digital identities at its core, is meant to be built upon. In addition to Cecil’s standard dApps and hardware, third parties can adapt the platform to fit their business or organizational needs. Blockchains and private databases will be used to securely store animal data in a universal format, constructing an interoperable network that can span many industries. Mobile and web apps will connect users to the platform, and allow both professionals and pet owners to interact with the data, manage CECIL tokens, and explore new ways to enrich their pets while working towards the embetterment of animals everywhere.