Talk with Dr. Ming, to further understand Blockcloud
Several days ago, Blockcloud has an online interview in China, which rose quite a lot influence with many positive feedbacks.
"I learned a lot in this science knowledge interview."
"Thank you Dr. Ming. Your answer solved the questions which troubles me a long time."
"It's amazing, because you can explain such a top science technology to a simple thing, by making comparison with our daily life. Thank you very much."
So what did Dr. Ming say on earth? We organized hot discussed content. Let's check it out!
Technology Questions:
Q1:
You are proposing to develop an underlying TCP/IP architecture for IoT. This is extremely ambitious. Can you summarise how to plan it?
Dr. Ming:
Blockcloud aims to reinvent the roads on which modern applications drive on. It is a blockchain-based advanced TCP/IP that improves and upgrades the existing Internet. Combining the advantages of blockchain and Future Internet technology, it reconstructs the technology layers below where current blockchain networks and Internet applications operate. Blockcloud serves as the "building block" to provide constant connectivity for dynamic networks. It will provide better mobility, credibility, incentives, security, fairness, and scalability to upper-layer applications.
IoT is one of the use cases of Blockcloud but Blockcloud is not limited to IoT. Traditional Internet applications and other blockchains can also run over Blockcloud.
If we take the underlying layer of Internet as the road, the upper-layer applications are kinds of cars. The road (Internet) was designed many years ago, as more and more cars (applications), the transportation (connectivity) becomes slow and unstable. Blockcloud is to upgrade a better Internet from underlying protocol so that internet will be faster, safer and more stable.
The relationship of Blockcloud with other Blockchains, of IoT, of the Internet, is Blockcloud as road, applications are cars running on it. That is to say, Blockcloud is not just designed for IoT or Blockchain, but for evolving the Internet. As long as the internet becomes better, everything on it runs better.
Q2:
IoT still faces many challenges around connectivity, scalability and security. How do you plan to overcome these challenges and why is Blockcloud unique?
Dr. Ming:
Thank you. This is a very good question. The problems is not on IoT, but because the Internet was designed 50 years ago (invented in 1969). At that time, the Internet was designed for telecommunication between military command posts and was not designed for large-scale dynamic networks. While in future IoT, there will be trillions of devices connected to the Internet, with lots of devices being mobile or dynamic. That's one of the important reasons why the current Internet cannot provide sufficient connectivity, scalability and security to IoT.
In Blockcloud, we solve this problem by combining the future Internet technology and blockcloud technology together. Using a Service-centric Networking (SCN), we enable applications directly communicate with service rather than IP addresses. In such a way, the upper-layer connection can be stable regardless of the dynamics of the underlying IP addresses. And with blockchain, we invent Proof of Service (PoS) to verify the services provided to the network, and CoDag for fast recording the transactions between the service providers and users with the help of smart contract.
Q3:
You have quite a long roadmap, but I understand you're hitting your milestones. Can you breakdown what you've achieved and what's next for the coming months?
Dr. Ming:
We have finished the theoretical work. Currently the team is doing extensive development. We decided to implement the system by layers, with the CoDAG layer implemented first. We will release the CoDAG code when it's runnable, which won't be too long.
Also, we have a MVP for SCN. Currently it is in our private git repo which is not published to the public. But we have collaborating with some authoritative companies to do the code review for SCN. The public will see their review articles in the near future.
We have also developed our ERC-20 smart contract for token sale. It is also under the review of authoritative companies.
Company and Team Questions:
Q1:
Blockcloud was born out of Shenzhen Oudmon Technology. Can you tell us about that and the company's specific experience, products and customers in the IoT sector?
Dr. Ming:
The Blockcloud team indeed operated Shenzhen Oudmon Technology, but Blockcloud was not born out of Oudmon. Blockcloud and Oudmon are completely separate.
Oudmon is now a matured and profitable company, with around 100,000,000 RMB sales each year. It produces smart health devices, smart home devices and vehicle-to-vehicle communication modules. The team's experience in Oudmon let us understand the art of operating a company, which will definitely help us to make Blockcloud successful.
But because Oudmon is in matured and profitable stage, the core team (especially the development team) has been fully involved in Blockcloud and we hire new people to operate Oudmon.
Oudmon can be one of the strategic partners of Blockcloud and its business will run over Blockcloud when the main net is launched. But Blockcloud was not designed for Oudmon, but for improving the Internet. The future imagination of Blockcloud is greatly bigger than Oudmon.
Q2:
The team itself is very experienced. Can you give us some of the highlights? Who are the all-stars and what are their achievements in the blockchain and IoT sectors?
Dr. Ming:
All the team members are very important to Blockcloud. We are a family and have been working together for many years. For the achievements, you can refer information on our website block-cloud.io. Besides, the team members have published a number of top-tier research papers in international conferences and journals, and applied more than 50 patents of innovation.
Q3:
Blockcloud have an extensive and very experienced technical and business advisory board. How to contribute to the success of Blockcloud?
Dr. Ming:
The members of the advisory board are not just names. Most of them have been working with us during the past 10 years in the Internet research and industry field. They will help us to support Blockcloud in the academic field, promote Blockcloud in the industry and work with us in formulating international standards.
Q4:
Blockcloud have 70+ investors and partners from over 18 countries around the world. Are you able to tell us more about them and how to increase value to the project?
Dr. Ming:
For now, we have 100+ investors from 19 countries/regions :). We do not receive investment only for the "money". We always try our best to attract strategic partners who can help the project in a long term. For the onboard investors, they will help us to build a global successful project from the perspectives of development, marketing, community, industry collaboration and exchanges.
Linkedin of Dr. Ming: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhongxing-ming-08733234/