LYNX | LYNX - blockchain-based data infrastructure for biometric wearable data. | Round 16

OceanDAO Round 16
#1

Project Name

LYNX

Project Description

Biometric health data currently is collected from users of hardware sensors integrated into everyday devices, like watches, rings and headphones. The wearable market is growing rapidly and the revenue forecast for 2028 is USD 120 billion (up from USD 40.65 billion in 2020). Growth is being driven by gaming, fitness enthusiasm, and the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases.

Highly personal biometric wearable data is currently stored and owned by the centralised companies that provide this hardware (e.g. Apple, Garmin, Oura). This personal health data is sometimes sold to third parties and affiliates, with no way for users to provide detailed permissions on commercialisation or participation in scientific research. Furthermore, data is only analysed with proprietary algorithms, and it is difficult to collate data from different devices for holistic analysis (e.g. signals from a brain-computer interface (BCI) and a watch). In return for data, users receive proprietary insights on health, wellbeing and performance. This current state raises ethical concerns for users and also stifles both software innovation and scientific research.

Furthermore, brain-monitoring EEG sensors are increasingly integrated with headphones to provide brain activity measures such as “attention” and “stress”, and for training “mental commands”. An ethical, user-centric solution (where users own and control their own data) needs to be established before this most intimate and personal type of data (our thoughts) are owned, siloed and commercialised by Big Tech.

LYNX aims to amalgamate data from multiple wearables to create a biometric “digital twin”. Users will retain ownership over their raw data, while Compute-to-Data technology ensures safe interactions with third parties. These will include scientific studies and independent algorithm providers (e.g. specialist AI startups, freelance developers, scientists) to revolutionise wearable UX (user experience). Users all over the world will be able to browse a personalised marketplace of studies and experiences, tailored to their particular health needs and goals. This will reduce bias in medical research by increasing participation globally, and forms a key component of the decentralised science (DeSci) movement.

Final Product

A privacy-preserving backend data management system for biometric user data collected through interfaces and wearables, with access to a marketplace of algorithms for analysing this data, combined with safe two-way interactions with third parties and the potential for tokenised rewards.

Core Team

Sarah Hamburg

Alexandra McCarroll

Proposal One Liner

Enable the preservation of user privacy whilst simultaneously unleashing data from silos for amplified insights, participation in scientific research, and opportunities for reward.

Proposal Description

LYNX aims to amalgamate data from multiple wearables to create a biometric “digital twin”. Users will retain ownership over their raw data, while Compute-to-Data technology ensures safe interactions with third parties. These will include scientific studies and independent algorithm providers (e.g. specialist AI startups, freelance developers, scientists) to revolutionise wearable UX (user experience). Users all over the world will be able to browse a personalised marketplace of studies and experiences, tailored to their particular health needs and goals. This will reduce bias in medical research by increasing participation globally, and forms a key component of the decentralised science (DeSci) movement.

Grant Deliverables

  1. Launch working groups for LYNX - this will consist of bi-weekly meetings & asynchronous communication via Discord and a MURAL board. (Engineering; Ethics; Tokenomics; Value Proposition)
  2. Commence the build of the front-end user interface (to be built as a complement of DataUnion & Ocean) for LYNX starting at the Eth Amsterdam Hackathon. This grant will help fund: ETH Amsterdam Hackathon (the core team already accepted - currently recruiting 3 other team members); Continuing the build after the hack; Run user research of the app with our network of B2B clients
  3. Hire a community manager & copywriter for LYNX to help manage our budding community and run the working groups - reach out if interested
  4. Continue relationship building with hardware companies
  5. Purchase a consumer BCI for market research to test multiple data types and data streaming

What we have done:

1. First compute-to-data Hackathon on OCEAN was completed in March with Algovera. Please read about it here: AlgoLYNX Hackathon Summary — phas3 This included:

  1. 27 sign-ups with 8 teams
  2. Published sample EEG data sets on Ocean (Rinkeby)
  3. Stored EEG data on decentralised file storage (IPFS with estuary.tech & web3.storage)
  4. Hosted 2 talk sessions with 4 industry-leading experts in data ethics and neurotech: Talk 1 - https://youtu.be/-lDGuGg95Gs; Talk 2 - https://youtu.be/_Vf--wyCD-o
  5. The winning team were able to achieve between 80% and 89% accuracy on eyes open / eyes closed
  6. You can watch the video here: AlgoLYNX Hackathon Winning Team - YouTube

2. Launched LYNX working groups and established a Discord dedicated to this and development work (35 signups and 25 Discord members in less than a week)

3. Launched LYNX landing page at phas3.io/lynx

4. Publicising LYNX and Ocean via various talks:

  1. Rabbithole podcast
  2. RealVision DeSci talk

5. Started at UCL’s Startup Incubator program, the Hatchery

6. Established a formal partnership with DataUnion

7. Published our manifesto at docs.lynx.phas3.io

8. ‘Viral’ DeSci article in a16z by Sarah Hamburg - this has driven community growth for LYNX, but also the article included links to Trent’s blogs about IP NFT’s

Value Add Criteria

According to the "value add criteria", the project will drive ocean usage (1), add to community activeness (3), and add value to the community/ecosystem (4). In summary:

  • The project will drive new users to Ocean protocol for the purpose of analysis of their raw wearable data (via compute-to-data AI algorithms).
  • These same users can then share this analysed data (e.g. labels or tags) with third parties through Ocean in return for rewards and/or experiences.
  • Third parties that will be driven to Ocean protocol to consume wearable data may include gaming companies (e.g. for enhanced UX), health tracker and "digital medicine" companies, and any company looking to investigate user experience (e.g. from hotels to film producers).
  • Independent AI algorithm developers and small AI companies will be driven to Ocean protocol as they will be able to offer their algorithms directly to wearable users through our product.


Funding Requested

20000

Wallet Address

0xada02482517b71210ff58dd9dc20e938c87c1524