The Future with FOAM

Exploring potential use-cases enabled by the Three Elements of FOAM

FOAM’s three elements; Crypto-Spatial Coordinates, the Spatial Index & Visualizer and proof of location will play key roles in our decentralized future, opening new marketplaces enabled by privacy-preserving location data. Not only will proof of location enable new applications, but it will help to fix old problems too, making it possible to ensure the geographic distribution of files or proof of stake validators.

In this post we explore potential use-cases in what we currently see as the biggest verticals for FOAM; Mobility, Geospatial Data, Gaming, Supply Chain, IoT & Location Intelligence.

FOAM’s protocols will enable an ecosystem of independent applications in an array of verticals. In this post we explore potential use-cases in what we currently see as the biggest verticals for FOAM; Mobility, Geospatial Data, Gaming, Supply Chain, IoT & Location Intelligence. We encourage you to think about alternative applications enabled by our core protocols, as the use-cases we are most excited about, are the ones we can’t even envision yet.

All applications discussed are fictional examples for illustrative purposes.

Mobility

Supporting the growth of mobility services and autonomous vehicles through location tracking and fraud prevention.

Decentraxi is a peer to peer ride sharing platform. The service is about sharing value between drivers and riders, and so the platform must ensure both parties can be trusted. The drivers need a map with consensus-driven points of interest, so the platform uses data from FOAM’s Token Curated Registry for Points of Interest and the Spatial Index to visualise customers’ routes. The customers need to be sure drivers are not manipulating their location to hike up fares. Decentraxi makes use of proof of location and FOAM’s distributed network of radio beacons to confirm each taxi’s location

As part of our work within this vertical we are part of the Blockchain Mobility Consortium.

Geospatial Data

FOAM enables decentralized data-markets so that spatial data can be verified.

Carbon Zero manages a decentralized network of carbon sinks, around the world. They need regularly updated high resolution data of their natural assets to allow their users to trade carbon offsets. To do this, Carbon Zero has marked key locations as Crypto Spatial Coordinates and has designed smart contracts to offer payments to human and machine surveyors for providing data about growth, canopy height, and levels of oxygen or carbon dioxide. They use proof of location to verify the source of the data and make sure the surveyor was where it claimed to be. All of the data collected is added to a map of Carbon Zero’s assets around the world, based on the Spatial Index interface.

As part of our work within this vertical we are an associate member of the Open Geospatial Consortium.

Gaming

Secure location services allows games to offer players location-based rewards and tokens.

Token Puppies is a location-based game. Players collect and trade unique characters that they find hidden around the city. As each puppy is a unique non-fungible asset with market value, it is important that spawn locations cannot be manipulated. Players visualize the location of characters through an adapted version of the Spatial Index interface. The puppies themselves are actually tokens held within location-specific smart contracts, Crypto Spatial Coordinates. When a player approaches a character in the real world, Zones verify their location to confirm their proximity to the puppy they claim to catch.

Supply chain

Goods can be tracked through a decentralized ecosystem with verifiable and secure spatial attribution.

Horizon is a leading luxury manufacturer and online retailer with operations around the world. They want to expand their retail offerings in key markets, but have much of their working capital held up in the global supply chain that they own and operate: between materials suppliers in Shenzhen, craft workshops in Paris, and their distribution hub in New York. Proof of location means Horizon can verify the location of their products at every stage of the manufacturing process. With secure Crypto Spatial Coordinates, they can offer the gradual payout of the working capital previously locked up until final delivery in New York. This means more liquid capital to invest in growing new markets. Managers visualize everything happening on their supply chain with the Spatial Index.

As part of our work within this vertical we are part of the Ethereum Alliance Supply Chain Working Group.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Secure location verification and localization for networks of IoT device sensor data.

3nergie is a peer to peer energy trading platform in the Netherlands. They enable trustless transactions between energy producers and energy consumers. To do so, 3nergie uses a distributed network of cryptographically-secure smart meters that measure the amount of energy generated and used. Each smart meter is assigned a Crypto Spatial Coordinate so that it is able to hold tokens, pay for electricity, and receive payment for energy generated. 3nergie embedded radio beacons into each smart meter to provide location-based services on the proof of location protocol, earning additional revenue for each user. The smart meters play a key role in a network of automated electric vehicle charging stations that 3nergie is developing. With proof of location, the charging stations will also be able to provide location verification for decentralized taxi services, and eventually autonomous vehicles.

As part of our work in this vertical we are a founding member of the Trusted IoT Alliance.

Location intelligence

Adding spatial attribution to the toolkit of blockchain-enabled analytics.

After multiple accidents between food delivery cyclists, pedestrians, and heavy goods vehicles, urban planners in London put forward a proposal to change the hours that road access is restricted. They use the Spatial Index to access open data from FOAM’s Token Curated Registry to identify key points of interest, such as the most popular stores, cafes, restaurants, offices, and museums across the city. The planners look at public data recorded by proof of location to model the movement of vehicles, cyclists, and people at different times of day historically. This helps them to identify several busy intersections that fall outside of the existing restrictions on heavy goods vehicles but are in proximity to points of interest at unexpected hours.