每個 DePIN 都有一個故事

Helium 聯合創辦人 Sean Carey 表示，去中心化實體基礎設施（DePIN）可以解決現實世界的問題，同時獎勵用戶。這是他期望未來看到的。

Every DePIN Has a Story

每個 DePIN 都有一個故事

By Sean Carey - Apr 25, 2023

作者：肖恩凱裡 - 2023 年 4 月 25 日

This is what to expect from decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) in the future.

這就是未來去中心化實體基礎設施（DePIN）的期望。

In 1987, I sat outside the Medco Center in Springfield, Kentucky, with my grandfather, Bob Burns, a blind ex-industrial laundry worker from Boston. At 80, Bob spent many of his final days at Medco Center, seated in a folding chair and following the sun like a human sundial. One day, he showed me a remarkable watch that, with the press of a button, would speak the current time – a fascinating device for a seven-year-old. This moment marked the beginning of my curiosity in how technology could change everyday life, and the start of my journey in what is now called decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN).

1987 年，我和祖父鮑勃·伯恩斯 (Bob Burns) 一起坐在肯塔基州斯普林菲爾德的醫療中心外，他是一位來自波士頓的盲人前工業洗衣工人。 80 歲的鮑勃在 Medco 中心度過了他最後的大部分日子，他坐在折疊椅上，像人類日晷一樣追隨太陽。有一天，他向我展示了一款非凡的手錶，只需按一下按鈕，它就會說出當前時間——對於一個七歲的孩子來說，這是一個令人著迷的裝置。這一刻標誌著我對科技如何改變日常生活的好奇心的開始，以及我現在所謂的去中心化實體基礎設施（DePIN）之旅的開始。

This op-ed is part of CoinDesk's new DePIN Vertical, covering the emerging industry of decentralized physical infrastructure.

這篇專欄文章是 CoinDesk 新的 DePIN Vertical 的一部分，涵蓋了去中心化實體基礎設施的新興產業。

The charm of a DePIN project lies in its origin story. For many of us, DePIN is about scratching that metaphorical itch that comes from the quirks and gaps in business and society. During my tenure at Helium, one of the significant challenges we faced was incentivizing hosts to plug in our hotspots. While it was easy to get friends and family on board, achieving widespread adoption in 2013 seemed nearly impossible. Six years later, Amir Haleem, Marc Nidjam, Andrew Thompson, and the team cracked the code by creating the Helium Blockchain. This moment marked the genesis of DePIN for me and many others. With the network rapidly growing beyond and sustaining nearly 400,000 devices, the seemingly impossible became possible.

DePIN專案的魅力在於它的起源故事。對我們許多人來說，DeP​​IN 是為了解決來自商業和社會的怪癖和差距的隱喻性癢癢。在我任職 Helium 期間，我們面臨的重大挑戰之一是激勵主機接入我們的熱點。雖然讓朋友和家人參與其中很容易，但在 2013 年實現廣泛採用似乎幾乎是不可能的。六年後，Amir Haleem、Marc Nidjam、Andrew Thompson 和團隊透過創建 Helium 區塊鏈破解了程式碼。這一刻標誌著我和其他許多人 DePIN 的誕生。隨著網路迅速增長並支援近 40 萬台設備，看似不可能的事情變成了可能。

Helium is often cited as the purest example of the power of decentralized physical infrastructure. Hardly a day goes by without hearing this sentiment. But Helium did more than create a blockchain and nifty hotspots; it pioneered a new way of thinking.

氦氣經常被認為是去中心化實體基礎設施力量的最純粹的例子。幾乎每天都會聽到這種情緒。但 Helium 所做的不僅僅是創建區塊鏈和漂亮的熱點；它開創了一種新的思考方式。

DePIN Brings Simplicity

DePIN 帶來簡單

Let’s face it, Web3 can be complex and challenging to grasp. One of the strengths of a DePIN is its tangible nature, which makes it easier for participants to identify and understand. Not only can the average consumer comprehend what a DePIN is, but in many cases, it also enhances the user experience for them. Consumers are therefore likely to participate at more than one level within an ecosystem.

讓我們面對現實吧，Web3 可能很複雜且難以掌握。 DePIN 的優勢之一是其有形的性質，這使得參與者更容易識別和理解。一般消費者不僅可以理解 DePIN 是什麼，而且在許多情況下，它還增強了他們的用戶體驗。因此，消費者可能會參與生態系統中的多個層面。

DePIN also democratizes concepts traditionally controlled by large corporations. For example, consider a project called Wingbits, which aims to democratize the sharing of ADS-B data for tracking airplane paths. This data is valuable not only commercially but also for society. Many flight tracking projects rely on users supplying ADS-B data, yet these users typically receive no benefits. With Wingbits, users are rewarded for tracking flight data through ADS-B, for which they earn a share of the revenue through a token infrastructure with sound economics.

DePIN 也使傳統上由大公司控制的概念民主化。例如，考慮一個名為 Wingbits 的項目，該項目旨在民主化用於追蹤飛機路徑的 ADS-B 資料共享。這些數據不僅具有商業價值，對社會也有價值。許多航班追蹤項目依賴用戶提供 ADS-B 數據，但這些用戶通常不會獲得任何好處。借助 Wingbits，用戶透過 ADS-B 追蹤航班數據而獲得獎勵，並透過具有良好經濟性的代幣基礎設施賺取收入份額。

Differentiating DePINs

區分 DePIN

More recently, DePINs have moved beyond custom hardware. Now, DePIN projects include everyday items like phones, computers, servers and even standard hardware bought for general purposes. Because of this, we’ve decided to categorize DePIN into two types: Commodity and Bespoke. This way, we can explore and make the most of both everyday and specialized hardware in expanding the DePIN ecosystem.

最近，DePIN 已經超越了客製化硬體。現在，DePIN 專案包括電話、電腦、伺服器等日常用品，甚至是為通用目的購買的標準硬體。因此，我們決定將 DePIN 分為兩種類型：商品型和客製化型。這樣，我們就可以探索並充分利用日常和專用硬體來擴展 DePIN 生態系統。

Commodity DePIN is all about scalability, versatility and inclusivity. It empowers projects to use a wide range of hardware, from laptops and smartphones to specialized platforms like Raspberry Pi units. By separating infrastructure software from specific hardware requirements, Commodity DePIN allows projects to adapt easily to different environments and resource constraints. Whether in bustling cities or remote areas, Commodity DePIN thrives by utilizing everyday hardware resources, democratizing infrastructure development and promoting grassroots innovation. Another big advantage is its potential for rapid growth, as supply chains don’t hinder the onboarding of existing hardware. Examples in this category include UpRock, Natix and Silencio.

Commodity DePIN 的核心是可擴展性、多功能性和包容性。它使專案能夠使用各種硬件，從筆記型電腦和智慧型手機到 Raspberry Pi 設備等專用平台。透過將基礎設施軟體與特定硬體需求分開，Commodity DePIN 使專案能夠輕鬆適應不同的環境和資源限制。無論是在繁華的城市還是偏遠地區，Commodity DePIN 都透過利用日常硬體資源、民主化基礎設施開發和促進草根創新而蓬勃發展。另一個主要優勢是其快速成長的潛力，因為供應鏈不會阻礙現有硬體的使用。此類別的範例包括 UpRock、Natix 和 Silencio。

In contrast, Bespoke DePIN is all about precision and optimization. This approach involves designing and creating custom hardware to meet specific project needs. Companies like Hivemapper, GEODNET, Ambient and Dimo Network are great examples of Bespoke DePIN. They engineer hardware solutions tailored for specific tasks, such as mapping, connectivity or data processing. This customization offers unmatched performance, reliability and scalability. It also opens up new possibilities for innovation, allowing projects to push the boundaries of what’s possible in fields like IoT, telecommunications, and environmental monitoring.

相較之下，Bespoke DePIN 則著重精確性和最佳化。這種方法涉及設計和創建客製化硬體以滿足特定專案需求。 Hivemapper、GEODNET、Ambient 和 Dimo Network 等公司都是 Bespoke DePIN 的典範。他們設計針對特定任務（例如繪圖、連接或資料處理）量身定制的硬體解決方案。這種客製化提供了無與倫比的性能、可靠性和可擴展性。它也為創新開闢了新的可能性，使專案能夠突破物聯網、電信和環境監測等領域的可能性界限。

There is no reason why DePINs cannot simultaneously be both commodity and bespoke. A DePIN may initially operate as a commodity network, and as it grows and gains financial stability, it can transition to offering bespoke solutions that enhance the network’s capabilities. In certain instances, bespoke devices may even prove to be more beneficial and rewarding (due to the cost and complexity of the device rewards are greater in many cases) to own than their commodity counterparts.

DePIN 沒有理由不能同時兼具商品性和客製化。 DePIN 最初可能作為商品網路運營，隨著其發展並獲得財務穩定性，它可以過渡到提供增強網路功能的客製化解決方案。在某些情況下，事實證明，擁有客製化設備甚至可能比商品設備更有利、更有回報（因為設備的成本和複雜性在許多情況下回報更大）。

DePIN Trends

德品趨勢

While predicting the future is

雖然預測未來是