SKYFchain : SKYFchain The First blockhain based businees to robot (B2R) Oprating Platform

SKYFchain

SKYFchain Operating Platform (hereinafter SKYFchain  OP) is the first B2R (business-to-robots) blockchain based operating platform applicable globally inall sectors of a developing cargo robotics industry. It will be initially developed and tested by using the first industrial cargo airborne robot –SKYFdrone –which will also give SKYFchain instant access to its client base for development of unmanned business processes. Later all other unmanned cargo systems: in th air, on the ground and at the sea will be connected to SKYFchain.

SKYFchainas ablockchain with built-insmart contracts will provide trusted source of data and reasonable control over unmanned assets for clients, logistics operators, insurance and leasing companies, banks, and authorities worldwide.

SKYFchain Operating Platform technical details and economics

Blockchain concept for the SKYFchain OP

SKYFchain architecture is based on two building blocks:

1. SKYFchain blockchain itself -private permissioned blockchain customized for the most effective usage in the industry;
2. Ethereum ERC-20 SKYFT tokens-based perimeter of public blockchain for processing and settling SKYFT tokens transactions and communicating them back and forth with SKYFchain. Private (permissioned) blockchain is required to simplify the development and support and give an opportunity to choose solution most appropriate for each particular task. More over we want to be independent of the performance of public networks (e.g. scalability issues with Ethereum) and not wait for transactions to be committed in public network. At the moment we are considering three different approaches for the SKYFchain: creating our own Ethereum fork, SKYF-specific custom platform, built on top of either Exonum libraries or instance of R3 Corda blockchain.

All tokens issued at public Ethereum network at the ICO stage are ERC-20 compatible and can be bought and sold on stock exchange. So we keep them in the public Ethereum network. At the same time these same tokens are going to be utilized as a cryptonomic fuel for the permissioned SKYFchain, so it essential to synchronize balances between public Ethereum network and the SKYFchain.

SKYFT tokens synchronization

SKYFT tokens are the currency for all operations in the SKYFchain. All contracts are processed in SKYFT tokens. Although tokens are issued at public Ethereum network they are also fully used at SKYFchain. There are several options for synchronization. Using public Ethereum network transactions is the obvious way, but it locks SKYFchain performance due to different speed of transactions. More over additional public Ethereum network operations costs can ruin main advantages. Creating additional “internal tokens” as an alternative approach is going to dramatically increase complexity of the system because it depends on resource-consuming synchronization process between internal and external balances.

The problem of storage and token balances reconciliation between SKYFchain and public Ethereum networks is solved by using payment channels and keeping balances in Ethereum public network. There are already several implementations of payment channels. And with Plasma project evolution sharding, parallel transaction execution and most of all the scalability problem are going to be addressed

Payment channels are part of a special middleware over blockchain database. They form a payment networkand allow two or more parties to make funds transfers from one to another. In our case we create payment channel from public Ethereum network to the SKYFchain.

Payment channels work in the following way. First a connection between the SKYFchain and public Ethereum network is established by execution of a special transaction in public Ethereum network. This transaction reserves certain amount of SKYFT tokens for this connection -payment channel. When SKYFT tokens are required for any operation at SKYFchain then they are used from the payment channel funds.

Operations on payment channels are extremely fast since there is no need waiting for a commit of transaction on blockchain. A receipt signed by two parties is used for confirmation and payment validation. At any time either party can close the payment channel and spread reserved tokens based on received receipts.

So we get an architecture where the SKYFchain is separated from public Ethereum network and all transactions could be processed at their own speed without any additional delays. And at the same time there is only one source of truth about balances -public Ethereum network.

SKYFchain architecture

Building private (permissioned) blockchain is required in order to fully support all industry operations at reasonable fee and speed. Selection of an appropriate consensus protocol is one of the key points for this. The most popular (and proven to be more or less effective) are: Proof-of-Work (POW) like in Ethereum public network, Proof-of-Authority (POA) like in system of authorized nodes in the Ripple network, Proof-of-Stake (POS) like in Decred public network, and different variations. We will start with Proof-of-Authority consensus.

In the beginning of our private blockchain there will be an administrator which will set the rules (governance), which may be written in the form of legal contract. Such administrator will invite other participants. In case of rules violation their node may be suspended and certificates annulled.

It is essential to clearly state private network governance policy. we are planning to offer governance roles in our blockchain to professional industry participants: Leasing and Insurance companies, Logistics Providers and their clients, State Authorities and market analysts, manufacturers and service providers. Thus in the beginning the network will be centralized, but as new participants join the system it will become more and more decentralized. 

We plan to extend the blockchain to 300 nodes during first three years of operations. While reserving 20-30 nodes as to ensure stability of the system. Other nodes would belong to ICO investors and to other market  participants. Thus our platform will be ~90% decentralized till the third year and even more so after the third year.

Although the SKYFchain will be based on the universal platform we are going to use it for a particular industry. So blockchain transactions would be optimized for operations of different roles. This will simplify admission of new participants and their initial adaptation.

In blockchain database each block holds batches of valid transactions that are encoded into a Merkle tree. Each block has a hash to the previous one, so no one could alter the chain in any way later. Merkle tree is a tree of hashes, and it is optimized for size and speed to check if a particular data was included in a set of objects.

SKYFchain is a permissioned blockchain, because only members have access to it. Transactions log in SKYFchain is public and accessible for all participants. It is required for validation of the blockchain. On the other hand any  participant can decide to hide commercially sensitive data and post only hash of that datain transaction while still  maintaining its accuracy and completeness. Merkle tree structure allows seamless integration of such transactions into blockchain. This is a so-called "anchoring". Later such partner (network participant) could provide data and confirm validity with hash in blockchain. Anchoring also allows to optimizethe size of stored data.

Anchoring and local decentralized transactions could be used to provide confidentiality when it is required for a certain contract. In case of disagreement administrator and legal parties can be brought in to validate contract andoperations, check governance and make a ruling.

Proposed data structure of SKYFchain OP

SKYFchain gets together all the participants of unmanned vehicle market. Each participant will store and request data from SKYFchain.

Developers and Producers

Can get financing, insurance and customers through SKYFchain

Store data on SKYFchain:

device ID data

digital specification of each device

flight tests and tests of acceptance reports

certificates and documentation for each country/authority

Licensees

1. Can get customers from SKYFchain and unique drone blueprints  from  developers  and producers
2. Store data on SKYFchain:

• licenses for assembly
• licenses for software
• licenses for operations
• device ID data
• digital specification of each device
• flight tests and tests of acceptance reports

Technical services

1. Can provide services to participants of SKYFchain
2. Store data on SKYFchain:

• device’s technical maintenance data
• device’s incidents data
• repair and units’ replacement reports
• software versions and software update data

Operators and End-users

1. Conclude and execute smart contracts to use unmanned drones
2. Store data on SKYFchain:

• development and approval of missions / itineraries
• development and approval of logistic smart-contracts
• missions/ smart-contracts reports
• charter contracts (temporarily) 
• orders data
• payments data
• incident reports
• ratings (for devices, for operators, for end-users)

Authorities

1. Authorize and control the available itineraries for drones on their territory 
2. Store data on SKYFchain:

• device certification
• safety control
• missions approval
• mission reports control
• fast routes blocking, if required
• no-flight areas regulation 

Analysts

1. Analyze  performance  of  different  drone  models  and  of  market  participants,  provide  scoring and recommendations
2. Store data on SKYFchain:

• robo-assets analysis
• ratings / scoring for fintech
• recommendations for market players

Financial markets

1. Provide financing to international market participants on SKYFchain network, based on scoring from analysts and using  remote block function in case of disruption of payment for a drone or related service
2. Store data on SKYFchain:

• asset information for each device
• records of transactions and encumbrances 
• device booking for a financial deal
• blocking of a specific device (or a group) in case of convenience (for authorized users)

All these transactions will be supported by SKYFchain OP and will technically be executed using smart-contracts and SKYFT tokens. 

SKYFT-token –the internal currency of SKYFchainSKYFchain OP will use the SKYFT -a utility token issued through ICO. SKYFT properties include:

• Internal currency of the SKYFchain OP required for any transaction,
• Fixed amount of 1 200 000000 tokens,
• The ICO-end price will be ~0,065 USD per 1 SKYFT,
• SKYFT are compliant with USA’s SEC and available for US accredited investors
• The blockchain super-node holders harvests 50% of transaction fees,
• 25% of transaction fees goes to all token holders,
• 25% of transaction fees goes to the Community Development Fund to sustain constant system development and expansion.

The economics of the SKYFchain OP

Users may pay in fiat or crypto currency accepted by the system. Thus, inside the system, the transactions must be paid in SKYFT tokens, which may be bought automatically and invisibly for the user to execute transactions.

We expect SKYFchain to have two main types of transactions:

• Operational transactionsof around 0.1 USD per transaction (e.g. one data fixation by adrone done several times per day).
• Fintech transactions –This would be of a much bigger value up as a fraction ofcost of one drone financed through the system (SKYF price ca 250000 USD), but more rare.

SKYFchain key figures (projections)

Commissions will be split among SKYFchain participants as described below:

• The blockchain super-node holders would harvest 50% of transaction fees (by Proof-of-Authority concept)
• 25% of transaction fees would go to all token holders (by Proof-of-Stake concept),
• 25% of transaction fees would go to the Community Development Fund to sustain constant system expansion.

Projected Super Node holder’s income

Super Nodes holders will have an income:

• from transaction commissions (approximately 1,5% of transactions volume),
• during  the  first  three  years  of  blockchain  operation -from  the  Network  Development  Fund created at ICO, which would contain 180000000of SKYFT tokens (15% of total tokens).

Hardware server costs are expected to be around 5000 USD  duringthe first year and 1000 USD yearly spend from the second year on. The node server would require a stable internet connection and on going technical support.

market segments and SKYF drone applications Infrastructure segment -$45bn

In report “Clarity from above” PwCestimates the addressable market of drone powered solutions in infrastructure at $45.2 bn Drones are able to provide the data required at each phase of the construction process. During the pre-construction phase, drones can significantly improve the speed and quality of the design process by providing better field data. Data collected by drones can also be used to create Digital Terrain Models (DTMs), which ensure better contract valuation. During the construction phase, drones are perfect for quick surveys of sites and for the precise gathering of data for progress reports. In the last phase of the construction process drones can be used to assess environmental impacts of the final work and for reporting purposes.

Drones can be used in infrastructure companies for stock-taking and inventory management. Performing inventory assessments with drones allows companies to cut costs and accelerate the entire process, while providing more detailed information about the assets. It also increases workplace safety, as rotary-wing drones can fly into places that are difficult to reach without risking human lives.

We can expect to see drones not only diagnosing problems in crumbling infrastructure such as cracks on tarmac roads, bridges and building facades, but also repairing them. In the future, 3D printing technology will be combined with drone technologies to maintain and repair infrastructure. Monitoring and repair are not the only drone applications being developed within the infrastructure industry. Start-ups are testing drone technology in performing hazardous tasks at certain heights, such as  painting and window cleaning. Ultimately, they will be able to perform most of the jobs at certain heights, replacing humans and reducing the risk of death and injury, as well as increasing efficiency.

Agriculture segment -$32bn

Agricultural production has drastically increased in recentyears, and studies predict that aggregate agricultural consumption will increase by 69% from 2010 to 2050. This increase will be mostly stimulated by population growth from 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050. PwC estimates that the addressable market of drone powered solutions in the agricultural industry at $32,4bn

Today, drone technology offers a large variety of crop monitoring possibilities at lower costswhen compared to traditional satellite imagery. Furthermore, dronescan be integrated in every stage of the crop lifecycle, fromsoil analysis to seed planting to choosing the right momentfor harvesting.

Once the later stage of a crop life cycle is reached, the farmer’s main objective turns to keeping the plants alive and healthy, which requires constant field monitoring. Drone monitoring possibilities are constantly being enhanced, providing the opportunity to reduce risk in the industry. Crop spraying is another area  where drone can be applied in the agricultural. Drones can scan the groundwhile maintaining the right distance fromthe crops and spraying the correct amount of liquid, modulating spraying in real time for even coverage.

SKYFdrones can provide aerial application of chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers, for pest control. Moreover, our vehicles are suitable for fast planting of seedlings in biodegradable capsules for the restoration of large forest areas after deforestation, fires, etc. Finally, SKYFdrones equipped with meteorological radars can be used in precipitation management during summer and winter (accumulation of snow in fields, decrease of snow in cities), and fire prevention and extinguishing.

Russian agricultural market breakdown

• $1.1bn –Russian pesticide market size
• 35.8mln ha –the area of land treated with crop protection agents
• $330.5mln –$545.8mln –annual costs of spraying for crop protection
• $280mln –$460mln –market size for SKYF drones

Average cost of aerial chemical spraying services:

• Russia –$4 –$5 per hectare
• USA and Europe –$30–$40 per hectare

For reference -In the US, up to 20% of pesticides are sprayed through aerial vehicles.

High-performance aerial dusting means can be applied in 75% of cases. They not only increase the air spraying accuracy, but also allow farmers to work at night as well as to reduce the cost of aviation spraying. 

SKYF drone solution has fundamental advantages in target service areas in the agricultural market.

Key advantages of application of SKYF drones in the agricultural market

• Safety -unmanned means no human error and no pilot on board
• Productivity -24/7 operation (pilots can’t fly at night) 
• Price–they are cheaper than helicopters
• Precision -GPS/GLONASS state-of-the-art flight control programming allows for hovering, low speed movement and route precision down to 4 inches
• Effectiveness -precise amount of dusting liquid or irrigation, which keepthe soil and underground waters intact

Transport segment -$13bn

Drones are certain to become an integral part of the transport industry very soon, offering a method of delivery of both services and transport. The industry will turn  to drones because of speed, accessibility and low operating costs, which are much better when compared to otherforms of transport that require human labour.The addressablemarket for drone powered solutions in the transport industry is $13bn, according to PwC estimates.

Within e-commerce, time of delivery is paramount when choosing a carrier. Drones enable fast delivery to a specific predefined point, without much humanaction required. Established corporations, garage-based start-ups and all kinds of companies in between, are looking into optimal ways of using drones for transport. In the goods delivery sector, another concept is gaining popularity; delivery of spare parts. Maersk, which operates a large fleet of tankers, currently uses barges to eliver spare parts to its workers. As this process is expensive, the company has been looking into other options, and has also conducted drone delivery tests. The positive results revealed that Maersk will be able to save $3k to $9k per ship annually when using drone technology.

Another application for drones is in medical logistics. Delivering medical supplies to remote rural areas is the most likely application of drones in the transport sector, because the need is high and the risk is low. Another potential medical application of drones is as flying defibrillators. A drone can be summoned by a patient with heart attack symptoms; the device can fly to the location of the patient, travelling at speeds of 100 km/h, locate and identify him or her and then perform automatic defibrillation. 

One of the most promising uses of drones in transport may be in food delivery. Providing products such as frozen food, ready-to-eat dishes or even daily groceries from  large chains may be the next big thing in the food and restaurant industries. At first, drones will be used to deliver such products to remote, difficult-to-access places that depend on external food supplies, such as oil rigs, research

stations and isolated islands. Once proper regulations have been established, drones may perform the same tasks in residential areas, decreasing delivery times and increasing the efficiency of the entire transport chain.

The Oil & Gas companies alone spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year on helicopter logistics.

Helicopter logistics expenses in Oil& Gas companies

Global helicopter logistics market breakdown

• $8.2bln –commercial helicopter market size globally in 2017 (data by Report Buyer)
• the global helicopter market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.5% between 2018 and 2023

Key advantages of SKYF drone applications in the transportation market

• SKYF drone will save on up to 50% in delivery costs for 500 offshore rigs suppliers worldwide
• The average delivery payload is around 50 kg
• SKYFdrones are faster, cheaper and are less risky when compared to deliveries by ship or helicopter
• SKYF drone saves up to 50% of the total annual budget for helicopter logistics (depending on a particular cargo mix)
• The average price of helicopter services per hour is $1-1.5 thousand. The price of a SKYF drone per one hour of flying is approximately $150.

Mining -$4bn

The mining industry has untapped potential in drone usage. The commercial applications of drones in the mining industry are not so obvious at first glance; however, they can replace humans in dangerous and monotonous jobs. Moreover, they are more cost-effective and versatile when compared to helicopters; they are also faster, easier to navigate and cause less pollution when compared to other mining vehicles. In open-cast mining, PwC identifies four main areas of drone-applications: planning, extraction support, environmental protection and reporting. To assess the addressable market of drone powered solutions in this industry, PwC looked at particular cost categories and estimated the value at $4.3bn.

Open-cast mines usually cover several square kilometres, on varying surface levels, which translates into long routes for land vehicles and crew. Drones can be used to quickly map the area, optimize hauling routes and provide control information. Drone applications during mining exploration range from providing data that enables resource calculation through mapping a mining area, to management. Drones can be equipped with special features to supply spare parts or take soil samples for deposit  analysis.Drones are able to detect soil erosion, track changes in vegetation and search for defects in mining infrastructure that may endanger the environment, more easily, and definitely faster than people on foot or manned aircraft can. Drones can also be used to monitor the production process in open pit mines and for early detection of deviations and threats. By creating a digital model of anopen-pit mine, and the current state of work progress and detecting changes in the structure of the mine (landslides, damages to infrastructure), mine owners can increase safety and decrease costs of controlling processes.

Security segment -$10bn Areas need to be monitored constantly for security purposes. Drones can quickly cover large and difficult-to-reach areas, reducing staff numbers and costs. They also do not require much space for their operators. As drones are controlled from small pilot stations, operators can gather in one place, as with traditional video monitoring. PwC estimates the addressable market of drone powered solutions in security industry at $10.5bn.

Drones have a competitive edge over stationary cameras as intruders cannot easily step out of sight, and they can cover areas that are normally out of reach. Drones have expanded their function beyond basic monitoring and can also ensure the safety of key sites or infrastructure, such as ports and airports. In addition to monitoring and rapid reaction, drones can provide detailed pictures and documentation of premises, enabling effective data analysis, identification of risks and security planning.

In the future, we envision that the data gathered by drones will be instantly processed in the cloud, providing complete scene recognition and supplementing human supervision. Thanks to machine learning software, motion sensing and biometrics-based behavior analysis, as well as facial recognition, drones will not only recognize unauthorized entry into a site, but also identify precisely who the intruder is.

Pre-ICO and Terms crowdsale 

Pre-ICO will be launched on 1st of March 2018

Join the white-list to receive a 40% discount on your SKYFT tokens!
The pre-ICO targetis $1 000000.
The pre-ICO hard cap is $2000000.
Only 51 300000 SKYFT tokens is reserved for Pre-ICO.
Minimum tokens purchase volume is 3000 SKYFT.
Collected funds will be stored on several accounts to limit potential impact of an attack byhackers.
We accept contributions in ETH and BTC. If you want to contribute BTC, you still need the ETH address in order to receive tokens.

ICO is planned to be launched in May 2018

Exact ICO dates areto be announced.

ICO hard-cap is $30000 000.
The final SKYFT token price at ICO will be $0,065.
528 000 000 of SKYFT will be available for purchase at ICO. Unsold tokens will be burned. For each SKYFT token sold at the crowd sale 1,27 tokens will be created and will be split between special token funds (see pie chartbelow). 
Thus the maximum number of tokens is 1 200 000 000 SKYFT.

Team and advisors

Roadmap

2014–2017

• securing $5 mln of VC funding;
• design and manufacturing of SKYF cargo drones;
• successful aerodynamic tests; 
• fully autonomous flights Q4 2017

2018

• SKYFchain project spin-off from the SKYF project;

1. research into the most suitable technology and development of a private blockchain network;
2. Development of logic and data of the SKYFchain OP in tight cooperation with all cargo robotics market stakeholders (hardware producers, operators/clients, authorities, banks/leasing companies);
3. creation of the international legal structure;
4. sale of the first assembled SKYF drones and expansion of the partner network in the regions without strict regulation sondrone flights (CIS, Asia, and Africa)

2019

• dissemination of the private block chain network nodes among market participants;
• launch of the with a franchise of a drone logistics operator and a license for third-party drone producers.

2020

• rapid growth inSKYF drone sales, as a consequence of expansion of the franchise of a drone logistics operator and growth of number of licensed drone producers around the world;
• start of educational campaign and workshops for producers of other types of drones.

2021-2022

• inclusion of third-party airborne drones into the SKYFchain;
• lobbying  for  new  regulations  in  developed  marketsthrough  industry  associations  and  round-tables.

2023 –2025

• inclusion of ground and sea-bornecargo robotsinto the system.

Please Visit :

Website https://www.skyfchain.io/
Whitepaper https://fpivc.box.com/v/SKYFchainWhitePaper

Twitter https://twitter.com/SKYFchain

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SKYFchain-2030350540582744/

Medium https://medium.com/@SKYFchain

Reddit https://www.reddit.com/user/SKYFchain

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-DT1JZyAafpJ05jZXQJ8Q

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