Technology has always been a double-edged sword. With every new discovery and deployment of a technology, there are benefits and downsides. Technology’s advance in the last decade or so has been very fast, especially in the area of connectivity. More and more devices are coming in the market with internet and GPS capabilities.
Location verification is very important in many aspects of our daily lives, but with spoofing and fraudulent signals, this can be counteracted and used for illegal activities. The need of having a foolproof geolocation system that does not have weaknesses, and therefore, cannot be exploited is paramount.(https://xyo.network/)
XYO: Geolocating With Blockchain
(https://xyo.network/)
XYO is a novel approach towards ensuring that geolocation information is authentic and untampered. Using Blockchain technology, XYO is a decentralized, secure, trustless Proof of Location platform. XYO allows developers to make smart contracts that interact with the real world as if it were an Application Programming Interface, or an API.
Proof of Location has its roots in another system, called Proof of Origin. Traditional systems relying on Proof of Origin need a private key for signing transactions on a system or a contract. This is a good system since it relies on nodes within the system to verify the location or origin, and the resulting locations the package moves into. This is valid until one realizes that if the private key is compromised, the ability of Proof of Origin protocol fails.
XYO understands the issues in Proof of Origin. Assigning individual IDs to source of data is not the best option since it can be spoofed. Private key signing is not a deterrent either since nodes may not be physically secure in the first place.
To counter this, XYO has developed what it calls a Transient Key Chaining. This allows a series of packet data to be chained together using a temporary private key for two successive packets. A public key is stored with the data when moving forward, that will pair with the temporary private keys.
A receiver can verify that both packets were signed by the same private key. Moving the packet to another receiver will require another temporary private key that should match with the public keys of the now sender and the new receiver. In this manner, the data in the packet cannot be altered without breaking the chain of keys, assuring receivers that data received is intact through the whole chain.
Source: (https://docs.xyo.network/XYO-Deck.pdf)
Components of XYO
XYO consists of four major components, which allow the platform to ensure geo focused, trustless and consensus building verification of transmitted data:
• Sentinels: As heuristic witnesses, Sentinels vouch for certainty and accuracy of heuristics through temporal ledgers.
• Bridges: These components are heuristic transcribers. They relay the ledger information transmitted by Sentinels in a secure manner to higher components. This adds an extra layer of Proof of Origin into the system, ensuring that data received from sentinels is done through a secure channel and is not compromised.
• Archivists: The main function of these components is to store all data in a decentralized manner, such that it can be reproduced with a greater accuracy. Even if a few of the Archivists fail or are compromised, the data on other Archivists will enable it to be reproduced without alteration, with just the accuracy of geolocation at a lower level.
• Diviner: This component answers geolocation related queries of data through judging the witnesses based on their Proof of Origin. Unlike Sentinels and Bridges, Diviners are incentivized for their work through Proof of Work, adding an additional security to the system.
How Does XYO Help In Real Life?
With so many Blockchain platforms available, it is easy to get confused over why a new protocol and standard is being developed by a platform for a service that already exists. XYO is a trade verification system that uses smart contracts and fool proof geolocation to verify data in the physical world.
Let us take an example of a package that has to arrive at location B, sent from A. The sender and receiver, both can verify the movement of the package as it transits from A to B. As soon as the package is received at B, the smart contract can not only verify that the package has arrived, but ensure that it was not tampered with and can release money locked in the contract to person or party at A.
XYO Token
The platform’s services are monetized by its internal, Ethereum based, ERC20 standard token, the XYO. The main token generation event of XYO is live and will end in two months. The XYO is available at a rate of 1 ETH to 100,000 XYO and the rate is changing with each purchase, ending at 1 ETH = 33,333 XYO. There is no limit to the amount of tokens available for sale, but to preserve the value of the token, any, and all tokens that are not sold by the end of the event will be burnt and destroyed.
For more information, visit the XYO website: https://xyo.network/
Official Website: (https://xyo.network/)
Whitepaper: (https://docs.xyo.network/XYO-White-Paper.pdf)
Telegram Channel: (https://t.me/xyonetwork)
Official YouTube Channel: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyZDqb9pgntVHJVt1pxXtsw)
Twitter Channel: (https://twitter.com/XYOracleNetwork)
BitcoinTalk Anne Thread: (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3040825.0)
BitcoinTalk Bounty Thread: (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3053801.0)