We have had a lot of interest in the
Vender-Experience Budget Proposal. We appreciate the constructive questions. I have updated the proposal to add an FAQ to help everyone understand this proposal. For more details or to vote, here are the links and voting command.
https://www.dashwhale.org/p/Vendor-Experiencehttps://dashtalk.org/threads/budget-proposal-vendor-experience-updated.7863/dash-cli mnbudget vote-many 1cfc2525f33d8dee81640f6860fc85751acea552724ec58d6619f7fcee694ea1 yes
The Vendor-Experience Budget ProposalWe believe the best way to grow Dash is to
give users a place to spend their Dash. Dash has an advantage over any other crypto with InstantX that can enable point of sale purchases without risk. We plan to utilize this advantage to show projects in the real world.
The initial project we implemented was the Dash N Drink soda machine. The key to making this project was to implement InstantX detection and trigger a machine credit. This has now opened the door for the next phase. The next projects we will work on will include more sophisticated interfaces that will take engineering and software to connect to properly. We will be updating mobile wallets so they work quickly and easily. We expect to deploy actual products in actual stores.
The core team members coordinating this project are Camosoul and Solarminer.
We view this proposal as a core requirement for Dash adoption, not something that is for a single merchant application or single product. If anyone would rather only support this proposal for 1 month/3 months just vote it down when you want. We plan to deliver and keep pushing the envelope of possibilities so there is no reason to think about ending this project.
The PlanWe plan to initially target easier devices and as we learn get to more complicated infrastructure projects. This is the plan as we have it
now, but that could change based on vendor participation or types of products available. We expect to complete each of these projects in about 3 months.
Vending machine with multiple products that uses a custom interface. Upgrade software for Raspberry PI or Odroid-XU4 as needed to make this all work.
Design software to communicate with serial interface or more complicated multiple item vending controller
Implement multiple product selection within the dash wallet along with a more stable interface.
Implement multiple product selection and inventory tracking with QR codes and addresses
Gas pumps Design software and hardware to communicate with the pump controller
Implement a wifi captive portal checkout with one product.
Enable prepay with return change
Dash Sky Store Checkout Design a wifi captive portal with multiple products.
Enable shopping cart functionality on phone or portal.
Implement the Dash Fast Lane - start wifi cart on entry and pay when you leave without a checkout line
Enable phone to store product scanning (skipping the need for registers)
We will be getting assistance from inside and outside the Dash space. Each application will win press releases and additional status as a
leading crypto similar to how we won publicity with the Dash N Drink.
As for the questions about what happens to the products after we are done, we expect them to be in the hands of a merchant who will actually use them. This will bring ongoing publicity along with proof of concept for other merchants to adopt and a base for testing. The valuable part of all these projects is the software, publicity and to gain adoption. The software will be open source as much as possible. The intent is not to make a business to sell products but to show how products can be used in real world scenarios.
FAQsCan we have some more information about the project, the vending machine and how you’re planning
on operating this?The goal is to create the software and hardware to easily interface with a wide variety of products. We have outlined a multiple item vending machine to add software features as the initial product. The vending machine or future devices will be operated by a merchant similar to before our upgrades. The idea isn't to be in the vending business but to adopt a real product for Dash.
We don’t know what’s happening to the vending machine that was already made(Dash N Drink), who owns this vending machine and what’s the plan for it?The Dash N Drink is being stored at Camosoul’s. Anyone is welcome to offer it a home. We still have some bugs in instantX detection to fix before it can be in an unattended location. Of course, the reason for building the Dash N Drink was to build a demo to test and use InstantX. It was a success at the Miami show, which was our primary goal.
What are you goingto be purchasing with the $3000?A portion of the funds will go to the developers for coding enhancement to the software and wallets. There may also be a portion for outside support with gas pump controller software or point of sale devices. A large amount will go to modifying customer machines or buying hardware to interface with pumps/registers?
Can you give us an itemized breakdown?We are looking at this as a development project. We don’t know what the breakdown of expenses will be. There will be some on-going costs like 4g internet and server space. Otherwise, we are putting the remaining funds into hardware and software.
Can you give us a plan on how you aim to use these funds each month?The first few months will be sourcing a vending machine along with a merchant that wants to display it. We may also be able to find a merchant willing to let us convert their machine. We will begin to engineer a way to dispense each product with a specific QR code with coded price or with multiple QR codes. We will also work on an inventory system based on dash addresses. Some of these features are possible but we won’t know how effective they will be until we do them.
Would it be possible to come up with milestones for this project? What are you planning on accomplishing? How will it benefit the ecosystem? Setting specific milestones is difficult to nail down aswe will need to work with several groups who are already working on projects. I would expect every 3 monthswe would finish a product and start work on a new product. The goal here is to find applications that are similar to a wide family of products. Then another merchant can easily adopt from what we started. The benefit is to answer this question,“Where can I spend Dash?” We believe that question is what gives Dash it’s value.
Are you planning on selling vending machines, components of them eventually, or something like this? Who will earn these rewards?This is not planned to be a profitable undertaking. We are not planning to sell products. We expect the final result of any of our builds to be machines that are in use in the real world making money for the merchant. All code will be open sourced as much as possible to enable DASH-specific projects to flourish.
I would assume if the masternode network is funding your operation, it should receive a cut of the profits each quarter paid out as dividends. I would like to also establish some sort of agreement between yourselves and the Darkcoin foundation as well to make that agreement official.
As for profits, we don’t expect any. If we do get to the point where there are no new projects to develop we will ask for the proposal to be voted down.
I’m curious what the answers are, as that will inform the decision of the masternode network. Funding is starting to get tight on the network so we definitely need to be careful that we’ll have great return on the network’s investment.We understand that there a lot of other projects that are valuable. With the success of the Dash N Drink, we can’t help but think this is every bit as valuable as other projects.The key to success of any crypto project is real world adoption. This kind of development will stimulate that process.
