Please describe your proposed solution.
Cardano Beam is our Catalyst-funded platform that allows anyone to place an Asset on the World map by specifying the GPS coordinates (link: <https://cardanobeam.app>).
A smart contract locks Assets on the Cardano blockchain; to unlock them, someone must pass at that GPS location. Once the user passes at the location where the Asset was locked, the smart contract unlocks the asset and gets transferred to the user’s wallet.
This platform facilitates value transfer without payment terminals, without prior agreements, so long as the person receiving the payment is physically present at the specified location and conforms to the other conditions of whoever placed the Asset there.
Hundreds of users have already used the Cardano Beam platform, many of them from outside of the Cardano ecosystem, where their introduction to Cardano was through our app. The improvements will make the onboarding smoother and improve the user experience.
View of the world map with Assets placed globally using Cardano Beam at over 300 locations
We have also built an Events Marketplace that brings event organizers and Cardano Beam users together. We plan to offer this marketplace to businesses to host their events and advertisement campaigns
We will use the funds from Fund 10 to make five key improvements to the app:
-
Rebuild the UX/UI to make the experience intuitive for the average user, especially those not familiar with crypto. This will drive adoption and bring unique users to the Cardano ecosystem.
-
Business development. The team needs to be expanded to deal with the flow of enquiries and create actionable proposals for business owners.
-
Enhance ticket validation for the same ticket to be used only once. The existing ticket approach is to confirm the ownership of a ticket without consuming it. We will extend this with an option to consume the ticket to accommodate high-value use cases where the same ticket should not be used more than once.
-
Snap & Mint functionality where a user takes a photo at their location, the app turns the photo into an NFT and locks the NFT in a smart contract at that location for others to pick up.
Integrate proof of presence by leveraging the technology built by Kieran Smith. The proof of presence is an additional physical device that sends a message through a decentralized network such as Helium of World Mobile and records the location of the physical tower transmitting the message - making it possible to prove the location from where the message was sent. <https://iwozear.art/device>
<u>Events Market Place</u>
Cardano Beam lets event organisers publish their events and sell tickets to them. All in one place, thereby simplifying the user experience. Users can see the events around them in our Cardano Beam Mobile App and purchase tickets with ADA or Credit cards.
At the Event, the user shows the ticket as a QR code, and the event organiser scans it to let them in. The event organized can also leave POAP certificates in a GPS-enabled Smart Contract, which the user collects when at the event.
Each event organizer curates their event to their liking. Some create Treasure Hunts, others Sports events. Some have multiple checkpoints from where ticket holders can redeem prizes; others check the ticket at one location to grant you access.
Events are listed on our Events page https://cardanobeam.app/events and in our Mobile app.
How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?
Cardano Beam is an innovation that helps the ecosystem reach its potential and helps improve the systems we use across the world for organizing and managing IRL events and for any application where rewarding for being at the right place at the right time is important. It will bring a sizable new user base to Cardano, as shown by the number of events successfully used over the last 12 months and the growing user base.
Cardano Beam is a new use case for the blockchain. It targets a specific area where blockchain can improve logistics and change how a part of the industry operates. The uptake of this innovation can attract a new and untapped user base to the Cardano ecosystem. Millions of small businesses worldwide are looking for an edge that allows them to reach customers in engaging, innovative ways. Therefore, a slight uptake of these use cases would increase the transaction volume on Cardano by a substantial amount.
It increases the number of products and integrations that offer new solutions for people to interact with and benefit from using Cardano.
The proposal directly addresses the challenge’s focus areas of “Creation or improvement of different products that provide value to the Cardano community and wider ecosystem.” by being a unique product on Cardano and other blockchains that creates GPS-enabled smart contracts with a ticket system for event managers.
It also offers Integrations with other existing services as has been used by several event organizers on Cardano and there are also several proposals in Catalyst Fund 10 that plan to use the Cardano Beam platform in their project:
- dSafari in Zambia - https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/106185
- Cardano GPS Adventures - https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/103120
- Cardano Cycling Tour - https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/103586
This shows the adoption and familiarity with the platform by the Cardano Community
This product is suitable for execution right now and the Cardano ecosystem has the right technical requirements. Smart contracts and the eUTXO model are very convenient for location-based events as guarantee 1 person per 1 UTXO - so queues can be managed effectively. A fiat on-ramp to bring non-crypto users has been implemented in Cardano Beam, making it accessible for the general public.
We received our funding from Catalyst Fund 8 and developed the platform to its current state over the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023.
<u>A list of events that used Cardano Beam since its roll-out in 2022 and 2023</u>
-
A bike ride from Lisbon to the Algarve in October 2022, where 6 participants completed a 220km journey and collected prizes along the way dropped by the community. Viewers saw live where the participants were at all times and dropped additional rewards for them to pick up
-
An Easter egg hunt organized by Web3 User Group and Directed in April 2023 where tens of participants purchased an Easter ticket which then gave them access to easter egg prizes hidden in the real word <https://twitter.com/Web3UserGroup/status/1642945517385646086>
-
NY NFT conference where tickets were sold through Cardano Beam and users collected prizes at the location and around New York https://twitter.com/dynamic_io/status/1645111383686512642
-
GPS Adventure pass, organized by the Web3 User Group who organize IRL adventures <https://www.jpg.store/collection/web3gpsadventure?tab=items>
-
NFT Adventure Pass, a business created to run adventures on Cardano Beam <https://www.xplore-nft.com>. The adventure pass encourages outdoor activities and is geared toward tourists looking for a curated hiking route and have placed unique NFTs at the top of the 5 tallest mountains for participants to pick up https://twitter.com/xplore_nft/status/1647010552722358273
-
Finding Octo, an educational project and augmented education experience for the young ones where the completing online tasks is complemented with outdoor activities <https://www.slfdrvn.io/findingocto>
-
Yoga events were organized, and tickets sold for events in Lisbon through the Cardano Beam platform.
<u>Prospective engagement</u>
-
In discussion with a large cycling event in the Netherlands with 1000s of participants to distribute prizes to participants with discounts to collaborating stores
-
A carnival organizer in San Diego planning to user the app to sell tickets and distribute POAPs to participants. Over 300 news users are expected to use it during the event.
-
Digital Safari in Zambia, a local entrepreneur in Zambia is organizing artists to create unique art pieces of wildlife and distribute them at GPS locations for a curated safari tour. This is done in collaboration with NMKR to support the minting of art pieces and Dynamic Strategies providing guidance on the ground.
-
Chicago auto tour, a member of the local community of auto enthusiasts, is in touch to distribute minted assets from their community on Cardano Beam for members to collect.
-
Dead Rabbit Society, a Cardano NFT community <https://deadrabbits.io> are in talks to organize a treasure hunt.
-
Discussion with NMKR and Web3 User Group to bring Cardano to large German charities by demonstrating practical use cases of the blockchain through Cardano Beam.
-
An influential member of the surfing movement on the West coast of Lisbon, Portugal is pushing for creating a surfing collection to be collected by holders of a particular surfboard at most iconic surfing spots in Portugal.
-
The local municipality is exploring the possibility of creating a digital twin of its geocaching route by using Cardano beam as well as selling tickets to its farmer's market with our ticketing solution.
-
A gaming company in Finland, focusing on Minecraft gaming is planning to extend the game to real-world locations. They have shown a preference for having multiple locations, but are very sensitive to the costs - we are investigating a possible use case for Hydra given the need for fast and cheap transactions and where there is tolerance for lower security guarantees. <https://www.sog.gg/>
In addition to events, the team has rolled out unique features that advanced the platform and the Cardano ecosystem
-
A new ticketing solution was built where ownership of an NFT is verified in 5 steps by independently verifying the ownership of the NFT on chain and time bound with a short time interval by generating and scanning a QR code in the Cardano Beam app.
-
An events marketplace that lets event organizers create an event and advertise it on the Cardano Beam website. Participants can buy a ticket to the event, which is delivered as an NFT to their Cardano Beam mobile app, which they use to gain physical access to the event and collect rewards at the location.
-
Fiat on-ramp was built that allows non-crypto native users to participate in events by buying tickets with a credit card. This uses a cross-chain bridge (which the team also built) where payments made with a credit card are converted on-chain on the Polygon network, and the ticket is delivered on the Cardano network. Very few other projects on Cardano accept fiat payments which is necessary to drive adoption across non-crypto users.
We received positive feedback about the capabilities of our technology and how it helps to solve real-world problems. Decision-makers from most walks of life understand its use cases. The platform was featured in the Portugues business journal as the up-and-coming start-up solving real-world problems <https://www.jornaldenegocios.pt/negocios-em-rede/detalhe/queremos-atrair-fixar-e-desenvolver-talento-em-cascais>
How do you intend to measure the success of your project?
Cardano Beam is a new solution for people to interact with and benefit from using Cardano.
We expect to Increase the number of users and events hosted on the Cardano Beam app. We are looking for a 5 to 10x growth in active users and several events hosted on the platform at the end of the project. And significantly more in the long term.
Because Cardano Beam supports Credit Card payments, it creates a seamless onboarding for non-crypto users into the Cardano Ecosystem. During onboarding, each user receives a Cardano Wallet that they can use to interact with other apps in the Cardano ecosystem.
App statistics to date and target on project completion
- Increase the number of live Events from 7 to 30+
- Increase the number of Mobile app users from 300 to 1,000+
- Increase the number of New Cardano Wallets from 300 to 1,000+
- Increase the number of GPS locations from 387 to 1,500+
- Increase the number of Assets locked from 700 to 3,000+
Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?
The project will result in new features built for the app. This will be visible through the apps:
- Webpage <https://cardanobeam.app>
- Web-app <https://cardanobeam.app/web>
- Android and Apple iOS apps
Projects will be shared on the platform’s Twitter and Discord channel:
- <https://twitter.com/cardanobeam>
- <https://discord.gg/nxXqkEJjwg>
Video tutorials will be created for the new features and added to our youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ3ih4vRMdMUU71THE4-3bg
Additionally, we will monitor the following KPIs and report back to the community through the monthly progress reports
Build KPIs
- Number of weekly commits
- Total lines of code for web app, phone app, smart contracts
User engagement KPI
- Number of new wallets created
- Number of transactions
- Number of contract interactions
- Number of phone app downloads
- Number of average daily visitors to web app
Stability KPIs
- Average CPU and RAM utilization on server
- Peak CPU and RAM utilization on server
- Total % server downtime