A parcel delivery prototype has been developed on the Ethereum blockchain as a result of collaboration between the team at Streamr and PassLfix CTO Frederic Vedrunes, who met at EDCON 2017.
Vedrunes’ vision is to capitalize on the fact that most people have smartphones and that in high traffic regions, those individuals may better accommodate parcel recipients than a central postal system. By leveraging a safety deposit made by couriers who may not have earned the same trust as a parcel distribution corporation, such as Fedex, executable distributed code contracts (EDCCs) avail to build trust and issue distributions, providing a value to consumers while ascertaining the courier has some skin in the game.
If issues occur during distribution, the courier has the option to drop the parcel off at designated postboxes that are outfitted with serial EDCCs which can record receipt. After which, the courier’s deposit is returned, minus any applicable fees. At this point, the postbox itself submits a deposit in lieu of a courier, which is returned when the package is retrieved.
The sending party utilizes a GUI (graphical utilizer interface) to input the locations of inception and destination, as well as set parameters like desired distribution time. When the courier arrives, they corroborate the contents of the package from a photo provided by the sender in the GUI. Onsite, the courier integrates an IoT (internet of things) sensor to the parcel and seals it with tamper evident stickers.
In transit, the IoT sensor interacts with the Streamr platform through Bluetooth transmissions to an off-chain smartphone app as telemetry data is an inordinate amount of for EDCCs on the blockchain to handle. Once information that includes temperature, GPS, haste, and elevation are compiled, the Ethereum Android app interacts with the blockchain. On the Streamr app, visualizations from metrics accumulated by the IoT sensor are available to the sender, courier, and recipient. The EDCCs, which hold payments during transit, provide security for both the sender and recipient; the EDCC will only release the courier's payment and safety deposit when the recipient acknowledges the distribution in the Android app.
A reputation system is linked to the deposit indemnification. PASS tokens are utilized as a currency to pay deposits by couriers or public postboxes. Couriers will only be able to transfer packages that have an input price lower than the PASS tokens they may lose, in case of a deplorable distribution. If the package arrives on time and in good condition, EDCCs release the full deposit back to the courier but conditions in the EDCC may diminish the return of a PASS token deposit if the parcel is tardy or overheats. If a package is disoriented or not distributed, the courier may forfeit their deposit. This system will sanction incipient users to gauge the reputability of couriers.
Two cases for disputes have been acknowledged and solutions provided. In case one, the receiver may not optate to or cannot take the parcel. In such an event, the courier returns the parcel to the most proximate public postbox, to be sent to a DAO mediator who assesses whether the distribution conditions were met. Once approved by the mediator, the courier’s deposit is reimbursed and the postbox itself puts up the deposit, which is restituted to it when the initial sender reclaims the package.
The other scenario involves a damaged parcel, for which PassLfix provides an explanation on its website: "For disputes during or after the handover, the deposit is given back to the distribution accommodation but there can be an impact on the appreciation given by the users and ergo the reputation of the accommodation. For this reason, a reputed distribution accommodation should partially reimburse the utilizer."
If the courier fails to distribute the parcel, their PASS deposit is transferred to the sending party.
The incipient distribution system may prove to be a better cull for consumers. When utilizing a traditional postal accommodation, once the sender pays there is no way to extract value from the accommodation in the event of a tardy distribution. With the possibility of a courier’s diminishing PASS deposits due to a lack of timeliness, the system incentivizes punctuality in a way the current industry does not.
