XYO Network
With the growing presence of connected, location-reliant technologies, our privacy and safety rely heavily on the accuracy and validity of location information. Various attempts have been made to eliminate the need for centralized entities controlling the flow of location data, but every attempt has relied on the integrity of the devices collecting this data in the physical world.
What is XYO Network?
XY Oracle Network or XYO Network offers a trustless and cryptographic location network that makes use of a novel formulation which is based on a chain of zero-knowledge proofs. This allows for a high degree of certainty about the information related to the location. XYO facilitates layered, location verification across multiple protocols and device classes. At its core sits a set of novel mechanism of cryptography, known as Proof of Origin & Bound Witness. It combines the power of blockchain technology and real world data collection into a system for direct applications.
Problems Faced in Location Accuracy and Data Integrity
The divination of the location of a physical world item depends on multiple factors, like relay, reporting, storage and processing components of an oracle. All these components are not free of error and can be corrupted. There are additional risks of data pollution, manipulation, collusion and data loss. This causes the problem of accuracy and certainty of location which are adversely affected due to the lack of a decentralized and trustless oracle. Platforms like Ethereum and EOS have extensively been used as they allow for secure online interactions. The primary use cases of these platforms include fundraising escrows in the form of Initial Coin Offering. The problem with these platforms is that they give focus to the online world, not on the physical one. The reason for this is that the current information channels of the physical world involve the use of data whose integrity is corruptible.
Solutions Offered by XYO
XYO Network is working to allow the developers, like those writing smart contracts for blockchain platforms, to interact with the physical world like the way it were an API. It is the first of its kind protocol in the world that allows two entities to transact in the real world without the involvement of a centralized third party entity. The abstractions of the platform make the verification of location trustless. This has allowed for novel use cases with the protocol, which was not possible earlier.
The network will be built over 1,000,000 devices circulating in the world. Bluetooth and GPS devices of the company allow the people to place physical tracking beacons on the things they want to keep track of. These things could include luggage, expensive items, automobiles and even pets! They can always locate these objects on their smart phone application. Currently, XYO boasts of the largest consumer Bluetooth and GPS network in the world.
Historical Background
The concept of provable location has been around for long that can be traced to ground-based radio navigation systems like LORAN. These days, we have location services that stack multiple mediums of verification on top of one another. This is done to have a Proof of Location using GPS and triangularization services. However, these approaches can’t detect fraudulent signals and also disincentivize the spoofing of location data. In such a scenario, the crypto location platform that focuses on proving the origin of physical location system is going to be the most significant one.
Shortcomings of Proof of Location
The Proof of Location leverages the powerful properties of blockchain, such as time stamping and decentralization. It combines these powerful properties with off-chain, location aware devices that are expected to be resistant to spoofing. Weakness of the smart contracts is that they center around the oracle using single source of truth, and the same problem is faced by crypto-location systems. The vulnerability of the crypto-location technologies is dependent on the off-chain devices that report back the position of an object. Off-chain data source is an Oracle in a smart contract.
How XYO Network is Unique
The case with XYO Network is quite different. In this ecosystem, the off-chain data source moves around in the real world as a specialized type of Oracle, which they call as Sentinel. The core innovation of the network centers around an anonymous, location-based proof to create a protocol that is based on crypto-location and is trustless too.
XYO Network aims to create a decentralized and trustless system of location oracles which is not only resistant to attacks but also provides highest possible certainty when queried for the available data. The platform developers achieved this by implementing a set of abstractions that greatly reduce the risk of location spoofing. For this, they make use of zero-knowledge proofs along the components of the system. The system makes use of a protocol of connected devices to provide high certainty on the location data. The users can issue transactions or “queries” to get the location data on a blockchain compatible platform.
How Does XYO Network Work?
XYO Network aims to take advantage of location-verifying beacons that are already in place worldwide. XYO Network wants to leverage this network in order to decentralize location-reliant services.
In other words, you can sell location data online to support various services that rely on location data.
The XYO Network website explains that there are already over 1 million location-verifying beacons in their network today, with more added to the XYO Network every day.
The world is becoming more and more reliant on location data. Self-driving vehicles, package-delivering drones, and smart cities will continue to require location data. There’s a need for a decentralized system capable of taking location data from an array of different location-tracking devices.
XYO Network sees itself as the solution to that problem. It facilitates trustless location data using an ecosystem of crypto-location technologies and protocols.
Everything in the world is defined by their XYZT coordinates. Physical objects cannot leave that space. Everything from jewelry to cars to people can be tracked using XYZT coordinates.
The “T” coordinate refers to time. As people travel along their T coordinate, they interact with one another to create what’s called “metadata”. Two people might hold a conversation, for example. The conversation serves as a record of that interaction. Here’s how XYO Network explains what happens next:
“The conversation is a record of the interaction. In the case of the XYO Network, we are taking this interaction as the time signature between these two parties — two people taking a selfie, making two copies of the selfie, signing both of them, and each taking one. That metadata which was generated is now also a permanent link between the two entities; this is a core protocol that underlies the XYO Network’s platform and is covered in detail later.”
The end result is a decentralized, cryptographic location network built for the work of tomorrow.
XYO Network Features
XYO Network emphasizes all of the following features:
Decentralized:
Verification does not involve any large, fee-based corporations or institutions. The network runs on a completely transparent and autonomous system. The system is free to use (open source) and has no entrance barriers (for fair competition).
Trustless:
Power and trust is shared between XYO Network participants. It’s not concentrated in some centralized entity.
Identityless:
Location data is shared anonymously to protect the privacy and safety of participants on the network.
Proof Of Origin:
Proof of origin is the key to verifying that ledgers flowing into the XYO Network are valid. It relies on the concept of a Bound Witness (which we’ll talk about next). It also uses “Transient Key Chaining” in order to make it impossible to falsify the chain of origin for data. All oracles are verified using an “Origin Chain Score”.
Bound Witness:
Bound Witness allows Origin Chains to be built for use in determining proof of origin while maintaining a trustless, zero knowledge proof system. The network ensures that nodes were in proximity to each other, verifying that the node provided accurate location data.
Multiple Participants:
XYO Network will have multiple participants, including Sentinels (location witnesses that observe data and vouch for data accuracy), Diviners (those who answer a given question by answering historical data stored by archivists), Archivists (those who store location information from Bridges in a decentralized form to make data available to Diviners), and Bridges (location data transcribers that securely relay heuristic ledgers from Sentinels to Archivists). All of these participants can be considered XYO Miners.
Excited to Learn More About the Project
Website: https://www.xyo.network/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/XYOracleNetwork
Telegram: https://t.me/xyonetwork
PUBLISHED BY
NEERAJ PODDAR
Address : 0x65587ce30e145EDa20a882d712A70179046DC9Fc
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