While Bitcoin is typically used by companies for its benefits as a form of electronic cash and data handling, its value and use cases are much broader than that. Nowhere is this more evident than Predict Ecology, an environmental and ecological consulting firm which uses the BSV blockchain (BSV) in novel ways to offer rigorous science, real-world data, and predictive modelling.
In this episode of Blockchain Hustlers, Founder of Predict Ecology Daniel Keane details how his firm is using BSV to help ecologists record and track natural life around the world.
What is Predict Ecology?
Keane explains that Predict Ecology was first founded in 2019 after he faced repeated issues trying to collect real-world environmental and ecological data. A tropical ecologist by trade, Keane explains that the capabilities of BSV blockchain open up completely new avenues for ecologists trying to find and record immutable datasets.
‘The biggest advantage of storing data on-chain, or at least representation of data on-chain, is the fact that it’s immutable. Additionally, there (are) levels of verification and validity that blockchain technology allows you to undertake,’ he said.
He noted that many ecologists still typically collect data with a notepad while in the field – which is not secure, verifiable or permanent.
‘The simplest methodology is to use space and time. Plants and particularly trees are unique in that they are all sessile and stay. So you can plant a tree and in ten, 100, or in some cases even a thousand years, that tree will still be in the same location. Once you’ve got your space tethered it’s a matter of tokenising a piece of space and then augmenting that with data.’
Why Predict Ecology uses BSV
Keane said that there are several benefits to building Predict Ecology on BSV – but that the biggest advantage is that the protocol is stable.
‘The fees are low and the transactions are instantaneous. I’m not interested in a blockchain which desires a number to go up. I’m not going to drive around in a Maserati or a Lamborghini. I’m here for the science and for the technology and the ease of being able to work with something.’
Keane also praised BSV for its ease of use and the ability to tokenise information quickly.
‘If I am in the middle of the jungles of Borneo and I’m a local villager, I have a mobile phone because mobile phones are pretty ubiquitous. So with that IoT device, I can collect information on the surrounding environment, the plants and animals, some of which may very well be endangered. Maybe orangutans, or maybe rhinos.
‘I can collect that information and then be rewarded for the collection of that information. And in an ideal world, these things can be valued.’
Opening up the natural world to everyone
Keane added that these tools are not limited to data tracking and recording, but could help open up nature to more people than ever before.
‘If you live in the Amazon Amazonian rainforest and every morning there is a wonderful chorus of birds, you can record that using your IoT device and you can stream that, upload it, and store it on the blockchain.
‘And somebody who might never get an opportunity to ever hear that there’ll be someone who’s in a wheelchair or a hospital bed in Switzerland, Prague, the United States, or Sydney. They can experience and appreciate the natural environment and you can be rewarded for the collection of that information.’
Demonstration of Predict Ecology
This episode of Blockchain Hustlers also includes a demonstration by Keane on how Predict Ecology works, including:
- An introduction to Predict Ecology’s field data collection app;
- An explanation of how field ecologists can track and record data;
- The ability to include multiple datasets – including photos.
- How timestamps work and other features such as note-taking.