In this article you can find a recap of the 2nd of February AMA with our CEO, Claudio Parrinello.

Main announcements

New App update

We released a new App update with several relevant and useful features. For instance, you’re now able to seamlessly set and change your sensor location directly on a map instead of manually typing the address, and to manage your collectibles. Currently, PlanetWatch has released only one limited-edition collectible NFT which is owned by a small cohort of Early Bird PlanetWatchers. However, we’re looking to release additional PlanetWatch exclusive NFTs in the future.

FAQ improvement

We’re receiving new tickets by the hundreds on a daily basis, which puts our resources under great pressure and makes it hard to timely reply to all of you.
In order to reduce your need to submit tickets, we’re working on improving and extending our FAQ section, making sure it’s up to date and as comprehensive as possible. Once we’ve completed this process, tickets should then only be opened as a last resort, when you have a very specific doubt/issue which isn’t covered in the whole FAQs and requires us to step in.
In the meantime, before opening a ticket please check the information available on our current FAQ section, on our blog posts (namely the weekly AMAs recaps) and on our social media (Twitter for community-related topics) and support channels (Telegram and Discord) to be sure your doubt/issue hasn’t already been addressed. Help us help you.

Q&A with Claudio

When will you introduce shipping updates for sensors?
We’re aware that we must enhance our customer journey. Therefore, for the next batch, we’ll introduce additional touchpoints in the form of follow-up emails sharing updates on the status of your order to keep you better informed about the process.

In the future, for Type 1 sensors, will something like a “reserved location” feature be added to the Explorer? That way people could use their license purchase number to withhold the pixel where they intend to deploy the sensor.
Such a feature won’t be added since it’d spark a pointless competition to secure premium locations and we don’t believe that this is in the best interest of the project. The world is big. All spots are important. All contributions matter.

In the future, who will benefit from data sales? Will only owners of the sensors that supplied the sold data be rewarded or will all worldwide owners be rewarded?
As it is stated in our White Paper, whenever data generated by PlanetWatch sensors is sold to a stakeholder – such as a local government for example -, owners of the sensors that provided that data receive additional PLANETS. Referring to a practical use case, if there are 100 outdoor sensors deployed in a certain city, and the data they are streaming eventually gets sold to the local government, only the owners of these sensors will be rewarded. It wouldn’t make sense to reward all owners of the same type of sensor regardless of their location since they didn’t play a role in this very project.

Keep watching our Planet and get ready to help us make it greener by staking your PLANETS!

The post February 2 PlanetWatch AMA recap appeared first on Planet Watch.

In this article we will guide you through the key features introduced in the latest App update.

Since our App (Android and iOs) was first released back in November, we’ve been working hard to enhance user experience and to address PlanetWatchers’ needs. With every update, we wish to deliver an even more reliable and useful tool to complement our air quality monitoring devices.

So, let’s see what’s new…

Add your sensor location seamlessly


Before this update, when you first added your sensor location to the App you were given a form to fill in with the address and, once the process was completed, in case you wanted to change it, you needed to do this on the Explorer. Worry no more! You can now assert your sensor location directly on a map within the App.

Change the wallet linked to a sensor with one tap

If you have more than one Algorand wallet, you’ll be able to select the one in which you want your rewards to be credited.

Pick your sensor name 

When you activate your sensor it shows up on the App with its official ID, which may look to you like a random set of letters and numbers. It’s now possible to change this standard name to one of your convenience.

Check your collectibles 

In the wallet section, there was already a collectibles tab. But now, those of you who joined as Early Birds and received our limited-edition collectible NFT, Palingenesis, will be able to find it stored there.
We pioneered Green collectibles on the Algorand blockchain and, in the future, we are looking to release additional PlanetWatch exclusive NFTs.

Delete your account

If you feel like your journey with us has come to an end, we’ve made it possible for you to permanently delete your account. Once your account is deleted, the license will be removed from the sensor and we no longer receive any data.

Discover more about our App features and if you are left with any questions be sure to take a look at our FAQs. 

Keep watching our Planet and stay tuned for more!

The post PlanetWatch App 1.2 update appeared first on Planet Watch.

In this article you can find a recap of the 26th of January AMA with our CEO, Claudio Parrinello.

Main announcements

Network issues

We’re working round the clock to solve network issues. Once we finish testing our network extensively, hopefully by the end of the 1st week of February, we’ll be able to put in place an actionable strategy to fix all issues. 

New license policy

Until now, our license policy stated that PlanetWatchers could buy up to 5 licenses per type with Basic KYC and if they wanted to buy more than 5 licenses per type, they were asked to pass Advanced KYC. Beyond 100, we’d look into a relationship with them as a business.
As of February 4, 6pm CET, we’ll be introducing a new license policy and each PlanetWatcher will only be able to purchase a limit of 5 licenses (all types of devices combined). Those who already own 5+ licenses won’t be able to purchase more.
This measure is aligned with our goal of building a more balanced network of sensors in order to generate relevant data in major cities worldwide.
Before making this effective we will undergo a transition period. What you need to know:
– All users that want to purchase 5+ licenses prior to the new license policy being introduced need to open a ticket before February 1, 6pm CET asking us to enable their accounts.
Only users that have completed Advanced KYC are eligible.
Users must select the option “Licenses beyond 5” when opening their tickets.
– Users whose accounts are enabled can then purchase 5+ licenses until February 4, 6pm CET.
– Potential business partners interested in deploying a large number of sensors (100+) should reach out to [email protected]

Important: Since January 27 6 pm CET, as announced on the January 20 AMA, we paused selling Type 4 licenses. This is a temporary measure which does not affect renewals of existing licenses.

Some questions you might be asking…

1) What’s the deadline to buy 5+ licenses and what do I have to do? 
If you’ve already passed Advanced KYC, in order to be able to buy 5+ licenses before the new license policy is introduced, you need to open a ticket (select the option “Licenses beyond 5”) until February 1, 6pm CET asking us to enable your account for the purchase. Once your account has been enabled, you must buy before February 4, 6pm CET.

2) Do I need to open a ticket even if I have Advanced KYC?
Yes. If you want to buy 5+ licenses prior to the new license policy being introduced you must open a ticket before February 1, 6pm CET requiring your account to be enabled for the purchase.

3) I haven’t completed Advanced KYC. What should I do?
If you’re having any trouble with the KYC process, contact Synaps.
Please beware that if you’ve purchased licenses using two accounts, you need to merge them. Otherwise, you won’t be able to complete the KYC verification. 
For the merger, you need to open a ticket (select the option “Merge Accounts”) stating which is the main account you want to keep and the email address you wish to merge.

4) If I already own 5+ licenses but still don’t have my sensors, can I activate them after February 4, 6pm CET?
Yes. This new policy isn’t retroactive, which means that all the licenses you already own can be connected to your sensors when they become available. For example, if you, in compliance with the previous license policy, bought 20 licenses and are still waiting for the purchase emails for the sensors, we’re not going to interfere with that.

5) If I own 5+ licenses, can I renew all my licenses when they expire?
Yes. Renewal will be granted to those who already have 5+ licenses. The change of rules will only affect new buyers.

Q&A with Claudio

Do you plan to onboard new sensors soon?
We’re indeed planning to onboard some new sensors. Two weeks ago we already showed you the prototype of a new Type 2 sensor which uses Helium network connectivity. Besides that, we’re testing several devices for other types. 
We only onboard sensors which comply with our quality standards. When the time comes, we’ll disclose all the details regarding them.

When should we expect to receive the purchase emails for Type 1 and Type 3 sensors belonging to the Q1 2022 batch?
Purchase emails for Type 1 and Type 3 sensors belonging to the Q1 2022 batch will be sent out by the end of March 2022.
It’s worth reminding the meaning of belonging to a quarter batch. If you go to our website, fill in the information regarding your order number and the system tells you that you belong to the Q1 2022 batch, this isn’t the quarter in which you bought your license, this is the quarter in which we expect your sensor to become available.

Since the waiting list is very long, do you recommend or have connections to any 3rd party vendors?
We’re working to shorten the waiting time between buying a license and a sensor. That’s also why we’re testing new sensors to be onboarded.
However, these days, PlanetWatch sensors keep popping up for sale on online marketplaces such as eBay. Buyer beware: we don’t have partnerships nor endorse any of these 3rd party vendors.
All the sensors onboarded by PlanetWatch are excellent devices – Airqino, Kaiterra Sensedge Mini, Awair Element and Atmotube – which, besides earning you tokens, deliver important information that you can use to change your habits and protect you and your whole family. It’d be a shame if you bought from a random vendor a device which may be second-hand or faulty. The call is yours to make but just be mindful of the fact that you’re taking some risks because, if you run into any problems, you’re very likely to not have any adequate customer support.

When will PlanetWatch and the city of Miami sign a contract making the partnership official? Are municipalities going to purchase sensors with PLANETS? 
We’re having high-level discussions with the Miami Mayor’s office and working on the deployment strategy. Nevertheless, deals like this take time to get from the decision of collaborating to the stage of signing a contract. We’ll keep you updated.
Regarding the way municipalities are going to purchase sensors, it wouldn’t be realistic of us to ask a small city mayor to use blockchain tokens. For this specific kind of partners, we allow payment to be handled in fiat because it can make a difference between closing an agreement or not.
From a mid-term perspective, we’ll push all partners to buy in PLANETS but, at this point, we need to be reasonable and customize the payment terms depending on the type of stakeholders we’re dealing with. The most important element is for cities to endorse PlanetWatch and buy data from us to develop projects that can protect people’s health.

Keep watching our Planet and get ready to help us make it greener by staking your PLANETS!

The post January 26 PlanetWatch AMA recap appeared first on Planet Watch.

In this article you can find a recap of the 20th of January AMA with our CEO, Claudio Parrinello.

Main announcements

PLANETS freeze and clawback

These features have been permanently disabled now, which means you’re in full control of the PLANETS in your wallet.
This also means that in case anything bad happens (e.g.: dispute or theft), we have no more power to freeze or retrieve PLANETS like we had up until this moment.

Analysis of technical issues in progress

We’ve been in discussions with Awair and, at the same time, performing some technical tests on our own infrastructure. These tests will be concluded by the end of the first week of February. Based on the outcome, we’ll decide how to proceed in order to sort out the technical issues we’ve been facing in the past few weeks. 
In the meantime, we feel it’s best to slow down the growth of our Type 4 network for now. Therefore, as of January 27 6 pm CET we’ll pause selling Type 4 licenses until further notice. This is a temporary measure which will be reviewed once we complete the technical tests mentioned above.  
For those who have a Type 4 sensor but don’t have a license yet, you should buy it until January 27 6 pm CET if you wish to connect your device to PlanetWatch. For those who don’t have a Type 4 license nor a device, our recommendation is to wait until testing is completed. License renewals for active Type 4 sensors will be granted.

Balancing network’s growth

We currently have a total of +45k sensors in the network:
– The wide majority goes for Type 4 sensors;
– Type 1 and Type 3 sensors still make up for a small fraction but are gaining traction;
– Type 2 sensors are at a disadvantage because we have not been selling these devices for a long time.

To meet our scientific and business goals, we need to grow our network across different types of sensors in a more balanced way. 
So, in the future, we might set monthly quotas for the number of licenses available for certain types of sensors.

Token model

PlanetWatch isn’t a mining scheme. We aim to create scientifically relevant air quality datasets.
The process of collecting this data is complex and it can be affected by several factors – some of them have to do with us, but others are unpredictable and completely beyond our reach (e.g.: power outages on your side). Rewards depend on data streams. 
Our White Paper (section 4) mentions max daily rewards in an ideal setup. It’s important bearing in mind that this is by no means a guaranteed level of rewards. Performance can vary over time.

Q&A with Claudio

What exactly is the compatibility of the new Type 2 device with the Helium network?
One of our new Type 2 sensors will use Helium network connectivity to broadcast data streams. As explained before, it won’t mine HNT. 
Nonetheless, this is just the first step in a PlanetWatch-Helium partnership roadmap. Additional opportunities might come about in the future. 

Are PlanetWatch’s sensors going to be available in the United Arab Emirates?
Please refer to the information on our website. Sensor certifications for different countries is the manufacturer’s responsibility. If we stated a certain sensor isn’t available in the United Arab Emirates, most likely it’s because the manufacturer has told us they aren’t authorized to ship the device to the country so far. Ultimately, in case of doubt, you can directly contact the manufacturer.

What are you doing about packages that get lost in transit? 
We work with courier companies to ship our devices worldwide and all packages are insured. Therefore, if a package goes missing, there’s a specific procedure to follow: the loss is reported to the courier, they carry out an investigation and, if they aren’t able to find it, they eventually issue a refund.
On our side, we have to wait for the courier to check and tell us if the package was really lost in transit – sometimes they manage to find them – to be able to reship you a new sensor.
All these steps take longer than desirable but the bottom line is that you don’t have to worry since, if your package gets lost in transit, you get a replacement.

When will the shipping of Type 1’s Q4 2021 batch be completed?
We have now shipped all Type 1 sensors belonging to the Q4 2021 batch. However, couriers have informed us that due to the holiday period and the limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, a high volume of shipments may be delayed.

Is there anything being done to address the Airqino sensors damaged in shipping?
Whenever you buy a sensor from us and you receive it damaged, we’ll take charge of the device’s replacement.
But please remember you aren’t supposed to open the sensor and tamper with it because that voids the warranty.

Could you explain how the recycle bin works?
As stipulated in the White Paper, we have a daily reward budget to distribute amongst the sensors in our network according to the number of eligible data streams received by PlanetWatch and subject to a max reward limit. 
The recycle bin is where we put aside the part of this daily reward budget that we aren’t spending. 
As the network grows and we have more and more sensors connected, we’ll go over the saturation point (when the daily reward budget is just right to cover the max daily rewards for all sensors), and the daily reward budget will no longer be enough. To make up for that, we’ll then use funds from the recycle bin. 
Yet, one day, the recycle bin will get empty and, at that time, max daily rewards will decrease as they’ll only be supported by the daily reward budget being shared across eligible sensors.

At the moment, we have a total amount of 337.33M PLANETS across all six recycle bins:
– Type 1 sensors based in Tier 1 pixels and Type 1 sensors based in Tier 2 pixels have their own recycle bins;
– Same with Type 2 sensors based in Tier 1 pixels and Type 2 sensors based in Tier 2 pixels;
– Type 3 and 4 sensors aren’t related to any pixel structure, so there’s one recycle bin for each.
The first five show a positive (green) daily variation (Type 1 Tier 1, Type 1 Tier 2, Type 2 Tier 1, Type 2 Tier 1 and Type 3), which means we have leftover tokens from the daily reward budget and the balance of the recycle bin is increasing.
The last one (Type 4) shows a negative (red) daily variation, which means we’re already using recycle bin tokens to top up the daily rewards. 
As you can see, we’re well beyond the saturation point for Type 4 sensors and that’s why, as we explained above, it makes sense to grow our network in a more structured manner. 

Any updates regarding new exchanges or staking?
Getting listed on a major exchange is a big endeavor, not only cost-wise but also because, before you even get considered, you need to pass a number of tests, have good liquidity for your token, etc. Our token is still very young, yet it’s performing well, so we’re preparing the ground to hit Tier 1 exchanges. 
As for staking, we have a “Stake for the Planet” initiative coming up. The plan is that instead of getting additional PLANETS, you‘ll be able to plant trees in sustainable forests. 
As soon as there are relevant updates to either, we’ll let you know.

How can a non-profit organization access PlanetWatch’s air quality data?
We’re a for-profit company which means we can’t give free access to our data lightly. But we’re keen on collaborating with non-profit organizations and academic institutions. We only have to find the right terms to do it. 
Thus, if you’re part of a non-profit organization or an academic institution and you’re interested in our project, please get in touch with us.

Have you heard of the Ecosia project? Would you consider a partnership with them?
We appreciate all the messages we get from the community letting us know about cool and interesting projects, some of which we wouldn’t have been aware of otherwise.
We consider establishing partnerships with any entity that’s aligned with our mission and goals.
That being said, we’ll look into it as we do with many other opportunities that come to us.

Keep watching our Planet and get ready to help us make it greener by staking your PLANETS!

The post January 20 PlanetWatch AMA recap appeared first on Planet Watch.

In this article you can find a recap of the 12th of January AMA with our CEO, Claudio Parrinello.

Main announcements

Type 1 and Type 3 Q4 2021 batch

We’re closing the sales. By now, all emails have been sent out.
Please bear in mind that when you buy a license for a sensor we’re selling directly, such as Type 1 and Type 3, you get placed on a waiting list. Unfortunately, at the moment, we can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to buy the device in the same quarter – typically it’s a quarter later. 
So, in fact, the Q4 2021 batch refers to people who have bought their licenses prior to that (Q3 2021).
Our goal is to shrink this time gap in 2022.

Helium-ready Type 2 device on the making

As we’ve previously announced, there’ll be two new Type 2 devices, one of them which uses Helium network connectivity, this being the first step in the PlanetWatch-Helium partnership roadmap.
Check the video below to have a sneak peek at this prototype. We’re still testing and optimizing it as well as finishing all the details regarding the materials, appearance and pricing.  

New Type 2 and Type 4 devices

We aim to put up for sale before the end of Q1 2022 two new Type 2 and a new Type 4 sensors. 
If demand exceeds supply, people who own unused Type 2 and Type 4 licenses will be placed on a waiting list based on the date of purchase of their license.
This is PlanetWatch’s policy for all devices that we sell directly: people who own unused licenses have priority over new buyers.

Q&A with Claudio

What is the interval for Type 1 sensor calibration?
For Type 1 sensors, we can anticipate that recalibration may be needed every two years. When the time comes, we shall let you know what to do. 
If your sensor is working properly, you don’t have to worry about recalibration for now.

When do you expect the data we are streaming to be sold? Are there any companies currently interested? How does the collaboration with Helium affect our market value and the company productivity?
Summing up, there’re two scenarios for selling the data streamed from the sensors deployed by our community:
– Short/Mid-term – We can sell it at a local level and for that we need not only to reach high density in a certain city but also to get the decision makers interested.
– Mid/Long-term – We can sell it at a global level, which will require more time because, before attracting interest from providers of Mapping and Health & Fitness Apps, we have to broaden our coverage worldwide.
For the first scenario, we’re engaging in conversations with some stakeholders. The best-known local project is the one we’re undertaking in Miami, where the Mayor has already announced a partnership with PlanetWatch. We’re currently discussing the details.
Regarding Helium, our collaboration is still at an early stage but we see a very strong potential for further synergies in which we leverage each other’s community and network to scale faster. All in all, PlanetWatch can be both a use case for Helium and a global partner.

Why isn’t tracking information sent to customers via email? The devices are very expensive and customers are left guessing where their packages are.
That’s an element we hope to improve in terms of customer service very soon.
At the moment, when you buy a sensor from us, we hand it out to a courier and they shall send you a tracking number within a few days after the purchase.
In the future, we’ll email you as soon as we’ve sent the sensor to the courier so that you can have more visibility over the whole process.

Canada is all about clean air and we even pay a carbon tax. I’m sure Canada would find the sensor data useful. Have you approached the Canadian government?
We haven’t approached them directly. We’re currently talking to some large corporate Canadian players who are very interested in partnerships and perhaps can help us get in touch with government agencies at some point.

The UK government announced they were placing air quality monitors in schools. Have PlanetWatch looked into participating in this?
The opportunities for PlanetWatch are ever-growing so, unfortunately, it’s almost impossible for us to be on top of everything on a global scale. We truly appreciate your heads up and we’ll look into it with some UK partners. 
We believe that having reliable local partners is very important to reaching the negotiations table with governments and taking part in large projects like the one mentioned.

The recent announcement of PlanetWatch collaborating with Helium on a sensor that will work on the Helium network is very exciting news! Would PlanetWatch ever consider collaborating with any other decentralized networks, such as MXC? 
Also, can you promise you won’t do business with Fastminers?
We always review all partnerships very carefully to assess what is the value attached and what are the risks involved for PlanetWatch and for our community.
We’ve been very transparent since the beginning so you can trust us on this matter.

Can we correct the address for devices, namely Awair Element, on the PlanetWatch App?
We were experiencing a location bug a few days ago, which has already been fixed.
For onboarded devices, you should check their location on the Explorer and see whether it matches your exact location or not.
For new devices, you should put your actual location and then check on the Explorer to confirm it’s showing the correct location. 
In case you need to bring any changes to your location, please do it directly on the Explorer. 
On the next App upgrade, we’ll add a feature that makes it almost seamless to insert your location.

There were a lot of discussions that might need clarification about Helium. People think the new device will mine Helium HNT and PLANETS. My understanding was that it uses the Helium LoRa Network. Maybe you can clarify on that?
You’re right indeed. PlanetWatch’s new Type 2 air quality sensor will only use Helium network connectivity to broadcast the data and won’t mine HNT.
Later on, there might be other devices in the pipeline but, for the time being, we’ll be using Helium’s connectivity not providing it.

What’s next to help the owners of the Awair Element sensors? I currently have 4 onboarded and the two free months extensions are finished and nothing fixed yet. The manufacturer is still selling them when they can’t keep up with more units being onboarded.
We’re expecting feedback from Awair related to these technical issues in the upcoming days. 
These difficulties have been going on now for way too long but we’ll find a solution as we always have. In the meantime, you may want to wait before purchasing your Awair Element sensors.

Keep watching our Planet and get ready to help us make it greener by staking your PLANETS!

The post January 12 PlanetWatch AMA recap appeared first on Planet Watch.

In this article you can find a recap of the 7th of January AMA with our CEO, Claudio Parrinello.

Main announcements

Type 1 and Type 3 Q4 2021 batch

All remaining purchase emails for the Q4 2021 batch regarding Type 1 and Type 3 sensors will be sent out by the 10th of January and from the moment you receive the email you have 10 days to buy your sensors. 
We aim to ship all devices by the 20th of January.

New Type 2 devices

There’ll be two new Type 2 devices, including one that’s able to connect to the Helium network. More information on this is coming soon.

Type 4 Awair Element technical issues

We’re facing data transfer issues with Awair Element sensors, which result in missed streams and reduced rewards. However, we’re discussing an improved SLA with Awair and we hope to have news on this in the upcoming weeks.
In the meantime, we ask you to please don’t open additional reward-related tickets for Awair Element sensors.

New Type 4 devices

We’re currently evaluating different market opportunities and assessing devices.
There’re some sensors on PlanetWatch’s onboarding pipeline. But don’t trust any rumours you read on the web. When it’s time, you will hear it from us through our official accounts.

PlanetWatch and Helium

We have a roadmap for collaboration with the Helium network and we’re working on a combo device putting together a Helium router and an air quality PlanetWatch sensor, but we still don’t have a timeline set.

PLANETS freeze and clawback

Next week we’ll be taking a step further towards decentralization as we’ll permanently disable freeze (i.e. disabling token transfers from an account) and clawback (i.e. the possibility to take back tokens from an account), which means you’ll have full control over your PLANETS.
From now on, you’ll need to be even more careful with what you do with your PLANETS and which platforms you trust because, in case of dispute or theft, PlanetWatch has no power to act upon it.

Q&A with Claudio

Did you see a big impact of New Year’s Eve fireworks on your air quality data?
Broadly speaking, no. The density of our sensor network isn’t still high enough to detect all firework activity and this year we weren’t specifically looking for this correlation but we know for a fact that fireworks are harmful for the environment. In the past, we’ve studied the impact of fireworks on air quality in a specific city and we found a huge increase in PM 2.5.

When will the new updated PlanetWatch app be available on Google Play? I have issues with Android not showing my sensor nor my wallet.
The issue stated doesn’t have to do with the App, it has to do with the database which isn’t getting updated fast enough. Due to the increasing number of sensors, there’s a need to scale up our servers even further. We’re currently working on a fix but, meanwhile, you don’t need to worry since it doesn’t affect the rewards.

What’s the latest with air purifiers and purchasing them with PLANETS? Also, how many PLANETS will we need to stake for each tree?
Both of these features are overdue but we hope to be able to launch them properly by the end of Q1 2022.

When we finally get the option to buy the sensor by holding a license, the time awarded to complete the purchase is very short. In case you are not able to complete the purchase on time what would happen? Would you go to the last place in line or can you request the opportunity to buy again by submitting a ticket? 
If you miss the 10-day purchase window for a good reason, just open a ticket and we’ll do our best to help and try to add you to the next batch.

Can I use Type 1 in Thailand?
Please refer to the information on our website. Country restrictions are mostly related to manufacturer’s policies. The countries listed for each sensor are the ones to where the devices can be shipped.

What are the batch dates and the estimated delivery times?
There’s a page on our website where you can check which batch you belong to.

Can you support the replacement of a module sensor for Type 3?
It’s still early to discuss this but we’re on top of it.

TinyMan is compromised. For New York, we can’t use BitMart or MEXC. Can the period to buy sensors be extended or always able to use fiat?
Please open a ticket mentioning you are a New York resident and we’ll gladly help.

Did any new projects sign with PlanetWatch to buy the data we are streaming?
We’re talking to several stakeholders, both in the US and in Europe and the level of interest is high.
First and foremost, we have to ensure the data’s quality. That’s why we’re about to release outdoor deployment guidelines for sensors, which we’ll be asking all PlanetWatchers to comply with.

Any research or collaboration on the correlation with air quality and Covid-19 infection rates?
We have already submitted a research proposal on indoor air quality together with some academic partners. For now, we don’t have a project to study the direct correlation between air quality and Covid-19 in mind. Nevertheless, it’s something that can happen in the future.

How will we know if the data from our sensors gets sold?
It all comes down to decentralization. In an ideal world where everything is managed by the blockchain, the sale of the data would take place directly on the blockchain. Since we’re not there yet, at the moment, PlanetWatch will be selling the data and handling all the process, as well as sending the additional rewards for people generating the data that’s getting sold. That being said, whenever your data gets sold, you’ll hear it from us.
In our technical roadmap we’re looking to further decentralize all the processes, including this very one.

Keep watching our Planet and get ready to help us make it greener by staking your PLANETS!

The post January 7 PlanetWatch AMA recap appeared first on Planet Watch.

This article summarizes the answers that our CEO, Claudio Parrinello, gave in the AMA session on December 29.

Before answering your questions, let’s start with some announcements.

Sensors sales

We’re doing our best in a very difficult global market context. US sales and shipping have been a bit delayed. Type 1 Airqino sensors are being shipped today and this process will continue in the coming days. 

We’ll soon be sending additional purchase emails for Airqino to North American PlanetWatchers.

We should also be able to send a lot of purchase emails for Type 3 Kaiterra next week. The goal is to complete sales for the Q4 2021 batch with a slight delay with respect to the initial goal, by January 10 2022.

Governance vote and White Paper 1.1

We recently had a Governance vote and we asked the Community to say whether they supported our proposal to raise rewards’ rate for Type 3 sensors. We suggested this due to the quality of the data coming from these sensors.

Our proposal was approved with a very large majority, so as of yesterday the new rates have been implemented in the reward engine.

It has also allowed us to test run our decentralized governance model and we’re happy to see that things have worked out.

This change to the rewards’ rate demands a quick update of the White Paper.

App

We encourage everyone to update the App to the latest version (1.1.3) – Android or iOs – since a number of issues have been fixed in this new version.

New prices for sensors sold by PlanetWatch

Prices for the devices we sell, namely Type 1 Airqino and Type 3 Kaiterra Sensedge Mini, had to be raised because there’re several factors creating price pressure, such as customs fees and restrictions that keep changing and increasing in some cases.

Additional factors include Algorand transaction fees, server costs and also the need to strengthen the team. Therefore, we believe price increases are in the best interest of the project.

But we’re playing it fair, since if you already bought a Type 1 or a Type 3 license and you’re in our waiting list, you’ll not be affected by these price changes: holders of 2021 licenses will buy the sensors when their time comes at 2021 prices.

For those who wish to buy licences in 2022, the prices will be set quarter by quarter. 

Sensor prices for holders of licenses bought next quarter – Q1 2022 from the 1st January to the 31st March 2022 – are:

• Type 1: $2399 or 1949€ + VAT
• Type 3: $699 or 549€ + VAT

We’ll set sensor prices for one quarter at a time, because we don’t know what the future holds for 2022. If needed, we reserve the right to change prices again, with a good advance warning of course.

License transfers

We’ve been saying for a long time that license transfers will be allowed because there’re several situations where it makes sense to let people transfer licenses from one person to another (e.g: when a sensor fails and must be replaced).

However, not everyone acts in good faith. Since licenses for Type 1 and Type 3 sensors are placeholders in our waiting list, there might be people willing to play games that aren’t aligned with PlanetWatch’s spirit. So, we’ll set up an official license transfer policy early next year, making life easier for legitimate PlanetWatchers, as well as preventing potential abuses.

At the moment, license transfers are a manual process requiring intervention from PlanetWatch’s team. Because people’s time is costly, and we’re taking away resources from other important activities, we might charge a fee for license transfers. 

Outdoor sensor deployment guideline

The mission of the project is delivering useful environmental data. Appropriate sensors and appropriate deployment standards are key to that.

For example, it doesn’t make sense to deploy an outdoor air quality sensor close to a car’s exhaust or in locations where specific events are taking place.

We’ll soon publish outdoor sensor deployment guidelines and we’ll ask you to do your best to comply with them.

PlanetWatch’s organizational chart

We’re strengthening and reorganizing the team and there’ll be a new organizational chart coming up soon.

Here you can find PlanetWatchers’ questions to Claudio

When do we get an update on Treedom?
We’ve been talking quite a bit about our “Stake for the Planet” initiative. We really like the idea of letting people stake not for direct financial benefit but to help plant trees in a sustainable forest. 
However, we haven’t started yet because, on a technical level, it’s a complex project to integrate. I’m hopeful that before the end of Q1 2022 we’ll be able to launch this properly.

New Awair Element licences are registering as Atmotube licences. When will this be fixed?
This issue only affected iOS devices and it was fixed on the 1.1.2. App version. Please keep your phone updated with the latest version of the App.

Asia updates for Airqino certification?
Certification is a very complex process. You have to talk to local authorities and make sure you’re compliant with local standards, so it can only be handled by the actual manufacturer of the device. We reached out to Airqino’s manufacturer and they confirmed they’re working on Asia certifications. 

What will be the biggest milestone in 2022 for PlanetWatch?
There’re plenty of goals: more stable software, improving the sensors’ performance, selling data to local authorities and cities to demonstrate its value, achieving relevant coverage in top European cities and worldwide, entering the Asian market, among others. Summing up, we want to become the global reference for air quality monitoring.

What is your wish for PlanetWatch for 2022? 
We want to scale up air quality coverage and become a global reference. We also want to improve user experience and last but not least we want to introduce some technical innovations. It’s not just about getting bigger but also about improving along the way.

Did PlanetWatch have a discussion with the European Commission regarding the “Green Deal”?
Awareness regarding the importance of environmental monitoring is growing fast. We’re scanning opportunities. For instance, we submitted, together with academic partners, an indoor air quality study proposal to the European Commission but we’re still waiting feedback on that.

Why is Awair Element not supported in Georgia? If I manage to get it somehow will it work in Georgia? 
Our licenses have a worldwide scope. There’s no technical restriction on the licenses side. Regarding devices, since they’re a piece of hardware, applicable regulations vary from one country to another. When we list the countries in which a certain device is available, we’re following the manufacturer’s guidelines. We approve the devices for the countries where it’s possible to ship devices. In most cases, restrictions are related to manufacturer’s policies so you need to ask the manufacturer.

Keep watching our Planet and get ready to help us make it greener by staking your PLANETS!

The post December 29 AMA session with PlanetWatch’s CEO appeared first on Planet Watch.

In this article you will find the answers that our CEO, Claudio Parrinello, gave in the AMA session on December 22.

Before answering your questions, let me first start with some announcements.

As you know, we are a very young company, which means all systems are not yet perfect. For this reason, and after reviewing what happened in the last two months, we have decided to extend a measure that was so far applied only to Kaiterra and Awair sensors:

All sensors currently in the PlanetWatch network will enjoy a free two-month license extension, which will kick in once current licenses expire.

This is a way to say thank you to all the early birds in PlanetWatch.

We’ve been listed on the MEXC exchange. It is a very large and reliable exchange and I believe this will contribute significantly to PlanetWatch adoption worldwide.

Today 400 emails for Type 1 devices have been sent, thus we are moving ahead with sales.  I am truly sorry that some additional delays have been experienced by US-based PlanetWatchers. Hopefully, this is going to be sorted by next week: the problem is related to some delays in clearing customs for plug adapters.

Please let me remind you again not to trust any web rumors about PlanetWatch. I have heard many bizarre stories in the last few days e.g. somebody saying that we are going to ban all the sensors in a specific country. I strongly recommend that you do not make any financial decisions based on strange rumors. Only trust official information channels.

People are voting on a Governance decision. I am quite happy to see that lots of votes have been cast. Unfortunately, some iOS users experienced challenges. The technical issue is not a PlanetWatch internal problem, but nonetheless we managed to sort it out.

2021 milestone review

I would like to have a very quick review of what happened in 2021.

• 1.5 billion data streams processed by PlanetWatch;
• 135 million blockchain transactions on Algorand’s mainet;
• Over 30.000 sensors connected to the network;
• Planet Token listed on three major centralized exchanges.

These figures summarize to a good extent the traction and the fast progress of our project.

I think it is worth reminding the very strong endorsement we got from Miami’s Mayor Francis Suarez, who personally welcomed PlanetWatch to Miami. This is an important milestone in terms of getting institutional endorsement to our project. We plan a large deployment in Miami as disclosed in the Decipher event.

Another important milestone is the deal closed with Borderless Capital, a very forward-thinking VC that set up a 10-million dollar fund dedicated to speeding up the development of PlanetWatch.

Our indoor air quality monitoring activities, in particular in some Hotels, have led to a scientific paper jointly authored by PlanetWatch staff and academic researchers. The indoor data that we took in that Hotel were deemed relevant enough to justify a scientific analysis. To me, scientific validation is a prerequisite for market validation.

What about 2022?

We believe we can become a global reference for decentralized high-resolution air quality monitoring. Now we need to scale up, deploy in several relevant cities, show that the data we deliver are relevant and lead to actionable recommendations. In the process, we will release new devices and do our best in catering for the level of hardware demand that we are seeing from the Community. We will also look into opening up new use cases and working on projects such as water monitoring, yet we will not rush into it.

We are working on potential synergies with the Helium Network too, but I should not say more than this for the time being.

Some sensor prices are going to increase in the near future, however we always play it fair, so here is the announcement:

Prices of sensors sold by PlanetWatch will increase as of Jan 1, 2022. But if you buy your license before the end of 2021, you’ll pay the 2021 price for your Type 1 or Type 3 sensor when available.

Here is a preview of a new Type 2 outdoor air quality monitor device, which features Wi-Fi connectivity and a solar panel and is able to measure PM 2.5.

This is one of several devices that we might release and onboard next year and I believe they will all be satisfactory both in terms of availability and performance.

Here you can find PlanetWatchers’ questions to Claudio

Will there be more growth and sustainability in the project? If so, how long do you think it would last? 

I have just spelled out a few key elements in terms of the traction that we are getting. We have a lot of people knocking on our door, including institutional investors, so I believe we are on a good track.

Is PlanetWatch a “for profit” company?

Yes, we are aiming to strike a balance between being profitable and being fair and open to everybody. 

Hello, I just wanted to confirm with Claudio on the Type 3 Sensor GPS issue and whether we can change the address from the PW Headquarters to our own addresses in the PW app? 

Yes you can do it. Please put the correct address as soon as possible via the Explorer.

The order tracking is not working.

Please, refer to the tweet we sent, in order to have an exact explanation of what kind of info you can get from that page.

First of all, congrats for the 1.000 Airqinos and 25.000 Type 4 sensors! What a milestone! In regards to the sensors, can you give an update on which cities are already covered well with sensors? Is there a global top city list?

If you open the PlanetWatch Map you can get a good idea of where we are already and also where we are going. We are already present in a significant way in a number of cities including Riga, Budapest, Munich, London and many more.

In 2022 we are likely to go big in Miami, Berlin, Zurich, Copenhagen, London Madrid, Porto, Lisbon, Rome, Dubai, Barcelona, Valencia, …

Any chance you will collaborate with Yieldly and start a $Planets staking pool?!

As you have seen, we are doing many things in our own way. We are not very keen on standard staking schemes. We are about to launch early next year what we call the “Stake for the Planet” initiative, where you will be offered the possibility to stake PLANETS and in return help us plant trees in sustainable forests. 

Hi Claudio. Could you please talk about the return process of Kaitera cartridges. Who’s going to fund it, how long will it take and what about rewards whilst cartridges are serviced.

We will discuss this in more detail later on. I think you can see by now that we are fair and you will not have any nasty surprises related to servicing of sensors.

Dear Claudio, I am going to buy a few Arqinos for a few different countries. Will I have the option to choose different network providers depending on the destination country and the area coverage or will it be taken care of by PW? 

We provide the device with a SIM card which ensures worldwide connectivity. 

What wishes do you have for Planetwatch for the year 2022?

I believe we have a huge opportunity to create a framework which leverages the citizen science angle, engaging ordinary people in projects with a real scientific impact on the world, and creates at the same time a profitable business which delivers value, health protection for everybody and education. There are a number of innovative features in our pipeline. My wish really is to manage the growth of PlanetWatch, which is very very fast, in the best possible way.

Will you update the Map?

We will look into updating the Tier structure next year.

Keep watching our Planet and get ready to help us make it greener by staking your Planets!

The post December 22 AMA session with PlanetWatch CEO appeared first on Planet Watch.

In this article you will find the answers that our CEO, Claudio Parrinello, gave in the AMA session on December 16.

Before answering your questions, let me first start with some announcements.

Bitmart, one of the platforms where our Token is listed, has been hacked a week ago. They are performing some security checks, funds are safe, withdrawals have been resumed for USDT, but not yet for Planets. We are pushing them to do it as soon as possible. 

Talking about exchanges, Planets will be listed on MEXC on December 23. It is a very good platform and we believe that it will increase token liquidity and adoption worldwide.

We are working on several additional options to make Planets easily available for as many people as possible. Some of the options involve exchanges, others involve seamless ways to purchase tokens by credit card.

Sensor sales: remaining emails should be out next week. The goal is to finish sending emails for Type 1 and Type 3 Q42021 batches by January 10, 2022.

Let me give you a warning: please, do not trust rumors on unofficial social channels about new sensors to be onboarded by PlanetWatch. You are likely to waste your money.

Here you can find PlanetWatchers’ questions to Claudio

Normally I answer your questions one by one, but this time I was able to group all questions into a few topics.

Batch information

This is something that you have been asking for a long time, and I’m glad to say that we have delivered it; you are now able to check batch info by inserting your license order number and getting a confirmation of the batch you are in.

New Type 2 sensors

I have been hesitating to give you previews because we are still discussing some details of the configuration and even of the looks with manufacturers. I think I will be able to give you at least a sneak peek of one of the new Type 2 sensors next week.

Stake for the Planet initiative

We will go live with the “Stake for the Planet” initiative in Q1 2022.

With this initiative, you will be able to stake your Planets and in return help us build plant trees in sustainable forests.

Keep watching the Planet and get ready to help us make it greener by staking your Planets!

The post December 16 AMA session with PlanetWatch CEO appeared first on Planet Watch.

Last week, the first PlanetWatch Governance vote took place. We proposed to implement a permanent 50% increase for the max rewards per stream for Type 3 sensors, funded out of the standard Type 3 rewards budget. 

The proposal was accepted by the Community with an overwhelming majority (92.4% of cast votes). Following this, we are releasing later today an updated version of our White Paper. Tables on pages 54 and 55 have been amended to reflect the new Type 3 rates. 

Please note:

1. Owners of Type 3 sensors are already receiving rewards at the new rate, because PlanetWatch was funding a 50% bonus on top of the old rates. In other words, total reward figures for Type 3 sensor owners do not change – simply, what was previously funded by PlanetWatch as a bonus now becomes part of the standard reward. 
2. Rewards for Type 1, 2, 4 sensors are not affected in any way.

These changes will be effective as of December 28, 2021.

Keep watching the Planet! 2022 will be great!

Click here to read the full article on our website

Stay tuned and subscribe to our newsletter here!

The post White Paper 1.1 Released Soon appeared first on Planet Watch.