Kick-start Campaign for RISC-V Smart Home Devices, Secured by Polkadot

Chapter 1 — Why This Matters

RISC-V is becoming the architecture of the year. From hardware engineers to leading blockchain networks, more and more participants in the decentralized internet are turning to open standards. While Ethereum is only beginning to discuss transitioning to RISC-V for its virtual machines, in Polkadot this future is already taking shape.

We invite the community to support the launch of the first line of smart home devices built on RISC-V and integrated with Polkadot.

These are not concepts or mockups — they are real hardware products with open-source firmware, published on GitHub. These devices are already functional and ready to become part of an ecosystem where users own their data, and decentralization is a tangible principle.

To bring this line to market, we’re preparing a public kick-start campaign on IndieGoGo. This is not just about promotion — it’s a way to test market interest in web3-native, open-source, user-first solutions. We’re asking for support in making a strategic leap: to give the world a real alternative in the smart home space, built on open technologies and secured by the Polkadot network.

Our team has been active in the Polkadot ecosystem since 2019 and has invested years of engineering work into creating these devices. We’re not proposing an idea — we’re delivering results.

The decision rests with you, the members of Polkadot OpenGov. If you believe decentralized technologies deserve a real, consumer-facing future, this is your chance to vote for that path. We are ready to take this step — together with you.

Chapter 2 — The Campaign Design

We are structuring this summer’s kick-start campaign as a progressive launch of three interconnected devices. Each one plays a distinct role in building the foundation of a real, open, user-owned smart home.

Phase 1 — Altruist: just an air quality sensor.** Our opening product is Altruist — a clean, reliable sensor that monitors air quality and publishes data to a decentralized map. It’s tested, ready, and understandable to a wide audience. With ALTRUIST, we begin by showing what open hardware and transparent data can look like in practice.

Phase 2 — DevBoard Hikikomori: an educational bridge. The second step in our campaign is a developer-focused micro-controller dev board built on RISC-V. It includes a screen, a sensor, and firmware preloaded to interact with Polkadot. It’s designed for engineers from both the embedded and Web3 worlds, helping them meet in the middle. Hikikomori DevBoard enables developers to explore secure telemetry, decentralized logic, and the principles of trustworthy IoT design.

Phase 3 — RISC-V Smart Home Server: the core of an Open Source home. Our RISC-V–based server is the first device to unite all three essential layers of modern smart home infrastructure: open hardware, open connectivity, and open cloud. It’s a fully functional, physical product installed at home, enabling control over a wide range of smart devices — including popular brands like IKEA — without relying on centralized cloud platforms. It supports secure remote access, user management, and decentralized backup through Polkadot Cloud using Robonomics Rollup and Crust Network, and Robonomics.app.

We believe this is the right moment — for both Polkadot and for us — to launch such a product. It’s not just the centerpiece of our summer kick-starter campaign. It’s the first step toward a future where smart homes can be built entirely on open foundations, giving control back to the user and creating room for a truly decentralized hardware ecosystem.

Following the successful launch and adoption of the RISC-V smart home server connected to Polkadot, we envision opening an entirely new direction for the community: building devices and services tailored for owners of these servers. This will empower Polkadot developers in particular to pioneer an expanding ecosystem of open, secure, and interoperable tools and services tailored for RISC-V–based smart home infrastructure.

Chapter 3 — Budget Overview

Our proposed budget is structured around four key components, each critical to ensuring the campaign's success and long-term impact:

Robonomics Creative Team. This team has been responsible for all identity about the project through websites like robonomics.network, wiki.robonomics.network, and robonomics.academy, as well as creating high-quality educational videos, infographics, and maintaining open-source repositories for robonomics dapp. We propose allocating $45,000 to bring this team of five professionals on full-time over the summer to produce promotional videos, product visuals, 3D casing designs, UI/UX, and content for the devices.
Advertising and Outreach. To bring attention to our IndieGoGo campaign, we plan to reach 100,000 people who are familiar with crowdfunding and interested in smart home innovation. At an average cost of $0.50 per click, we estimate a $50,000 advertising budget. Additionally, we expect a 10–20% fee ($5,000–$10,000) for professional ad campaign management, bringing the total for this category to $55,000–$60,000.
Influencer Engagement. We plan to collaborate with trusted voices in the tech and smart home space. Influencers with 100,000–500,000 followers typically charge $5,000–$20,000 per review. We propose a dedicated $20,000 budget for reviews and features that can amplify our reach and credibility among target audiences.
Independent Code Audit. In a rare move for consumer IoT, we will commission an external security audit of our devices firmware and codebase. Estimated at $25,000, this audit will validate the quality and safety of our 3 open-source devices and set a new benchmark for transparency in smart home technology.

Chapter 4 — The Path Forward

This campaign is not only about funding — it is about demonstrating what a future rooted in transparency, decentralization, and open technology can look like. By supporting this project, the Polkadot community takes an active step toward bringing these ideals into the daily lives of thousands of people.

We are not building gadgets — we are laying the foundation for a long-term open ecosystem of devices, tools, and services. This is a starting point for broader collaboration among developers, hardware designers, and digital citizens who believe that the future of smart homes should be open, sovereign, and secure by design.

With your support, we can begin this journey — and show the world that it is not only possible, but already underway.

Architect of Robonomics
EnsRationis