We’ve made quite a few announcements in the last months and we have even more surprises coming up. While this is very exciting, it can also be a little bit overwhelming, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to concisely explain how the various elements we’re working on at Slock.it fit together.

From the get-go we wanted to build a bona fides DAO framework for anyone to fork, modify to fit their needs and deploy. In our introduction video, Christoph made it clear that under this framework, the token holders that will stay in control of their ether, and a DAO is the only way to achieve this.

Christoph Jentzsch explains the Slock.it DAO model at Ethereum Devcon One

Building a true DAO framework comes with its own set of challenges of course. Version 1.0 of the smart contracts is looking very solid. I will post a high-level overview of our goals for the DAO framework on this blog very soon.

In the context of our Proposal to a suitable DAO, the DAO has the option to charge end users for using the products it ordered from its Contractors. This creates an incentive for the DAO’s actions and maintains its economic sustainability. Therefore, the DAO depends on a number of compatible smart object deployments and a certain degree of adoption in order to become profitable. Creating partnerships with existing lock providers, real estate companies and smart object manufacturers is one of our priorities, but it will take time, and even if we are able to integrate with say, 10 different smart locks within 6 months, it still would represent only a small fraction of what’s out there. Clearly this is not sufficient.

Enter the Ethereum Computer (EC). The EC speaks zigbee and zwave so it can already talk to just about any smart object out there. This vastly increases the number of supported objects in the wild from day one, and forms the core of a sharing economy ecosystem. This goes a long way in ensuring there will already be objects to find and rent when we release the mobile app.

Tying it all together with Ubuntu Core

The Ethereum Framework for Ubuntu Core nicely ties the project together. First, it provides us with a proven, secure operating system for the Ethereum Computer. Second, it enables Ethereum to be deployed on almost any embedded device, giving our upcoming Slock.it Snappy app access to an unprecedented IoT ecosystem.

Last but not least, there are our partners. During the next few weeks, we’re going to announce a series of critical partnerships with established and leading companies in their respective fields.

I hope this gives you a quick overview of our project. Stay tuned to this blog for exciting announcements, and do not hesitate to ask me or the team any questions on our reddit or in Slack chat room.