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- The IOTA based project Deposy has achieved a breakthrough in the development of a new algorithm that allows the necessary scalability of the project.
- Deposy intends to tackle the problem of recycling plastic waste.
The recycling of plastic waste is a major problem worldwide, which heavily pollutes the environment. The majority of plastic waste is not sorted at all, but ends up directly in incineration plants. Today it is usually cheaper to burn the waste than to separate and recycle it. The IOTA project “Deposy” intends to tackle this problem.
The developers of the project, BIOTA, have developed a reward system that aims to create an incentive for separating waste. As the Deposy team points out, the population must be encouraged to cooperate in the disposal of plastic waste. From the point of view of the BIOTA team, this can only be achieved by a monetary incentive. For this reason BIOTA has developed the deposit system “Deposy”.
When buying a product, which is provided with a special QR code, an additional deposit is charged. The IOTA Tangle serves as storage for product information. This information includes the CO2 footprint as well as special features of the product. After use, the empty plastic product can be returned to a deposit machine. Whoever returns it receives the refund as an IOTA payment on their wallet, for example. Via cooperation partners, the amount can also be paid out to an account in local currency.
New algorithm enables better scalability
The biggest problem at the moment is the sheer amount of data the IOTA Tangle would have to process. Just one ton of plastic waste, at about 50 grams per package, generates 20,000 packages (and IDs). With millions of tons of waste in the world, extreme scalability is required. As the BIOTA team writes in a blog post, discussions with plastics manufacturers revealed that the introduction of a unique product ID at Deposy must keep pace with the speed of the production processes.
This is the only way to ensure optimal cooperation between manufacturers and Deposy. So far, a “bottleneck” has occurred due to waiting for confirmation of the previous transaction. Only then a new product could receive its product ID. This took far too long. The Deposy team therefore researched and found a solution in recent weeks.
They developed the Deposy NTA (Non Transactiontime Algorithm). This allows product IDs to be generated independently of transaction times:
No further seeds are required. The big step forward is that the orders can be processed rapidly. This way huge amounts of Deposy Product ID’s can be generated in a very short time. This is necessary to successfully implement the Product ID in the Deposy project on an industrial scale.
As the BIOTA team writes, the first stress tests went very well. The new algorithm could create the conditions for the Deposy system to be used in a machine-to-machine economy:
It also sets the course for implementing the Deposy system in a machine to machine economy. Individual machines will be able to process the order to create a Product ID themselves.
Deposy roadmap for 2020
For the year 2020, the BIOTA team has planned numerous developments. Among other things, an artificial intelligence for QR code/number recognition and an API for the exchange with partners are to be developed and a prototype built. In the roadmap already published in early December 2019, BIOTA also wrote that it has initial requests for two testbeds. These tests are to be accompanied by experts from the waste management sector in 2020.
In addition, a project-accompanying working group will be set up, consisting of representatives from recycling companies, plastics manufacturers and politicians. The Deposy team writes about this:
This group will consist of representatives from recycling companies, plastics manufacturers and politicians. Some interested companies from the fields of waste management, blockchain and DLT have already asked to participate. The aim is for this group to accompany the progress of the project and to contribute experience and knowledge. Thus the systems can be developed directly from the start practically and with the best technology.
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