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Author: Fishmarketacad , APAC BD of Monad
Compiled by: Tim, PANews
I’ve been watching videos of robots walking, and was thinking on my walk this morning: what if robots ran on a blockchain?
The core of DeFi is to automate financial processes through code, while robots are dedicated to automating physical tasks. The combination of the two is a natural extension of the development of automation. If we believe in the power of programmable money, smart contracts and artificial intelligence, then extending this programmability to robots, that is, physical programmable AI agents, is the next logical evolution.
One of the strongest leaders in the field of robotics today is Yushu Technology.
Although it will take many years for robots like Yushu Technology to truly enter mainstream applications, and putting robot data on the chain sounds more like an unattainable fantasy, it does not prevent us from daydreaming.
Today’s robots don’t interface directly with blockchains at a hardware level. They don’t have built-in blockchain nodes or cryptographic processors (an interesting idea that will be explored later).
Therefore, to bring existing robots onto the chain, we need a bridge layer or middle layer (usually an off-chain service or server) to connect the robot and the blockchain. Each robot also needs to be assigned a dedicated wallet address.
Yushu Robot uses its existing communication capabilities (such as Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and possibly supported cellular networks) to connect to off-chain services through standard network protocols (such as HTTP, WebSocket, etc.). Subsequently, the off-chain service will use standard blockchain libraries and APIs (such as Web3.js, Ethers.js) to interact with the blockchain.
Smart contracts on the blockchain can trigger the Yushu robot to perform actions through off-chain services. For example, when the off-chain service detects that a payment has been made to the address associated with the robot, it will send instructions to the robot to perform a specific task.
I also envision a future where robots can be programmed like smart contracts, able to execute various "action scripts or robot strategies." These strategies can be created by independent developers, allowing robots to be considered physical smart contracts or AI agents.
Initially the scripts created will probably be in a "wild west" state where you can program the bot to do anything except certain prohibited actions, and there will be an independent security or management system monitoring and preventing the bot from doing anything dangerous. Again, we are still dreaming.
This will allow robotics companies to focus on robotics technology itself, rather than robotics services. Robot services will be "outsourced" to developers to implement. The on-chain robotics service running through the off-chain service is called RobotFi.
In other words, RobotFi will be a vertical track where participants can earn on-chain income by funding or developing robot-related activities.
One of the most popular applications of humanoid robots is domestic service.
Running a bot service for the first time can carry a lot of risks.
Robots may malfunction, make mistakes, be damaged or fail to achieve the expected results. The traditional rental and service model relies on trust in the platform or service provider.
This is where RobotFi gets interesting.
Developers no longer need to rely on centralized insurance companies or corporate guarantees, but can develop off-chain services to bring robots onto the chain, and further develop supporting services for robots (such as housekeeping services). In order to ensure the safety and reliability of the service, developers can attract LPs on the chain to inject collateral, which will serve as insurance and economic security. In return, LPs will receive actual income generated by the service.
Mechanism analysis:
In the above examples, I described the robot and robot policy separately, but the same mechanism would work if the robot and robot policy were combined into a single rental program. In this case, the security can be extended to the robot itself. For example, if the robot itself is damaged during the rental period, the relevant compensation will be paid to the robot owner.
The tenant may also need to pass certain KYC verification (to prevent him from running away with the robot), and the tenant's credit qualifications are likely to affect the developer's insurance premium costs. For example, if the tenant has a good on-chain reputation and/or has a high income (zero-knowledge proof verification), then the developer needs to pay a lower premium, and vice versa.
To summarize by analogy with blockchain:
Strictly speaking, you don’t have to buy insurance. Although there are certain advantages to obtaining robot services through on-chain payments, these advantages are not significant. Since robots are in the real physical world, buying insurance can effectively improve consumers’ trust and acceptance. In contrast, it is difficult to obtain the same degree of user recognition without insurance services.
This insurance/collateral system creates strong economic incentives for good bot behavior and responsible strategies, benefiting all participants:
LP incentives:
Incentives for robot owners/strategists:
Incentives for Robot Manufacturers/Developers:
Incentives for users/tenants:
Although the concept of RobotFi is interesting, there are many challenges and we are far from ready. The main challenges are concentrated in the two core aspects of centralization/data verifiability mechanism in the field of robotics and the quantitative evaluation system of insurance claims.
This is not a serious article about RobotFi, just a potential vision. While the concept of RobotFi is interesting, its feasibility depends on overcoming many significant technical, economic, and centralization challenges.
It’s not clear yet whether the RobotFi concept offers enough advantages over centralizing the entire robotics ecosystem in the hands of a few key companies that pre-design their own robots with fixed functions.