humanity.llc

Not shipping yet

Research directions / infrastructure layers

The live product today is QR → resolver. This page holds carrier experiments and hardware we want to build - not promises on the current roadmap.

One primitive everywhere: a physical thing points at current signed status. Different layers are just different ways to reach the same honest answer.

Live today

  • QR on any camera Create, scan, revoke - no app required

What can a QR do?

Design space once a QR is live state, not a frozen link. Street games, civic nodes, wearables, memory objects, and the expanded catalog.

Carrier layers (research)

Same card URL and resolver semantics. NFC removes camera framing; mesh spreads signed state locally before sync.

Beyond the camera

NFC

Event wristband: tap the tag, same resolver answer. No camera framing.

Object

Wristband, badge

Tap

NFC

Live state

Or revoked

NFC + Bluetooth mesh

One tap can wake a tag, then phones and wearables relay the same signed status across a room without every person hitting the resolver alone.

QR is live on any phone today. NFC opens the same card URL. Mesh spreads that truth locally; the resolver stays the source when the network syncs.

The Humanity node

The ultimate object: a small computer in weatherproof metal, engraved with the same link and QR as a sticker - but also able to tap, relay, and uplink when the grid is thin.

Public Node concept spec sheet: 150mm solar-powered enclosure, QR and NFC tap or scan, Pi 5 internals, LTE and mesh, IP66 weatherproof, live signed state UI mockup
Concept spec · public node - solar, NFC + QR, encrypted verifiable state, open infrastructure. Not a shipping unit yet.
  • Raspberry Pi 5 (edge compute) Runs resolver client, mesh bridge, and local cache of signed status - not a second trust root
  • NFC front-end NTAG or equivalent - tap opens the same /c/… URL
  • QR + engraved URL Laser-etched link on metal housing; camera path unchanged for strangers
  • Solar + battery Outdoor install without running conduit; sleep/wake duty cycle TBD
  • Metal enclosure Machined or cast shell - the node is meant to be kept, mounted, or bolted in place

Connectivity stack (later)

  • Cellular modem LTE for resolver sync where Wi‑Fi never reaches
  • Satellite backhaul (research) Starlink or similar when the node must stay honest off-grid - we have not picked hardware or cost model
  • Bluetooth mesh Node as relay between tap and phones in a crowd

Open questions: firmware update path, who operates the node, key custody on device, and whether the node ever signs on behalf of the owner or only caches public resolver state.

Technology combinations

Same resolver semantics across carriers — not different trust models. Full catalog: Expanded design space.

  • Solar + e-inkDisplay last resolver state without a phone
  • SMS / voiceShort code → status for dumb phones (crisis cards)
  • Web Push (opt-in)Subscribe to object state — not scan analytics
  • FederationCross-operator object graphs on one scan view

Avoid by default: blockchain provenance, permanent IPFS “can’t revoke,” opaque ML trust scores.

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