September 16 AMA session with PlanetWatch CEO

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

Sorry for postponing this AMA, but there are very good reasons. I cannot disclose details, but we are working hard to execute the road map that I announced, including the confidential items.

Before answering your questions let’s first go with some interesting weekly news.

The first big news is that Coinmarketcap is now listing PLANETS! I won’t comment about token price, but token trading volumes are growing fast and this is great as it means more and more people know about PlanetWatch. 

The new version of Planetwatch Explorer is live. You’ll be able to login and get an individual sensor dashboard with all the info you need including air quality data from your sensors, with the possibility to download them (you can learn more about it in this blog post). 

This is like a preview of functionalities brought in by the new App which should be released hopefully next week.

We are preparing the launch of the Stake for the Planet initiative. To begin with, we will seed fund a PlanetWatch forest by planting 1000 trees to mitigate climate change.

By staking Planets, you will be able to help us grow our forest.

Another coming soon item that I mentioned last time is the purchase of air purifiers for your home with payments in PLANETS. We will soon tell you which devices we have selected and set up a reservation scheme, since we anticipate a lot of interest. The details will be announced via our Twitter account.

Also, we promised to deliver a list of countries where each sensor is approved for use. It’s taking a bit of time because we have several sensors now and each sensor has its own certification portfolio that needs to be double-checked with the manufacturer. We are working on it.

Unfortunately we had again some problems with the ticketing system. That’s why we changed supplier: here you can find the new platform.

Last Monday some users did not receive rewards, but they were all corrected and paid on Tuesday.

I announced that we will also have technical and scientific AMAs: technical regarding the technologies that we leverage in PlanetWatch and scientific means about the value and the impact of the data we collect.

Hopefully, before the end of this week, we will pull out the first forms, where you can submit your questions.

Here you can find PlanetWatchers’ questions to Claudio 

Any news about Type 2 sensor?

The news is that I should see a prototype of the new Type 2 sensor tomorrow. I will keep you posted about it, when the time is right.

I want to be able to monitor all of the data that Airqino says it can monitor (the add ONS from their website). And I want it solar and I want the bracket.  Will this be possible aftermarket?

For data, you check out the new Explorer. For solar Airqino, we will discuss with the manufacturer tomorrow.

Will the increase of 50% in rewards for Type 3 sensors also mean the saturation point to be reached faster?

In principle, yes. But saturation will be a positive milestone, not a hurdle. Wider adoption is a goal, not a threat. Without wider adoption we are irrelevant in the long term.

Could you please let us know when we would know what the Type 3 sensor reward would be in 2022? How is that going to be decided? Would there be a vote, and if yes, then when it is going to happen and have results announced? 

We will do our best to issue a draft White Paper 2.0 proposal in October, including the permanent increase of Type 3 rewards. We’ll organize a community vote, via the new App. I believe the proposal that we will make to the community is what is needed to fully develop our Road Map which, as you know, includes monitoring other environmentally relevant quantities.

Can a Type 3 sensor like the Sensedge Mini be placed in a residential home? Or is that frowned upon?

Yes, although that Type of sensor has been conceived for corporate/business use, we believe it makes sense to get premium air quality data also from households.  

Hey, will AWAIR Elements be sold again soon?

You purchase this sensor directly from the manufacturer, so the stock depends on the manufacturers. 

We will inquire about their plans, but we can’t make forecasts on somebody else’s stock.

Do you still have plans to unofficially make AWAIR Omni a Type 3 sensor?

We don’t disclose details on onboarding plans, for a number of reasons. 

The USA is still waiting for the Atmotubes on Amazon. What’s the update?

As you know, there is also a PlanetWatch stock of 100 pieces that should be coming soon on Amazon US. The Atmotubes were actually received at the warehouse. We are trying to unlock the stock but we are facing some Amazon bureaucracy.

Why do you think the price is going up so much, besides that you’re the sexiest project out there?

I will not comment on the price, but I can perhaps answer by saying: our project is sound, we don’t manipulate prices, volumes, or anything else. Nothing is fake. So, perhaps, hard work pays!

Very excited about the project and have already ordered a few sensors. Unfortunately, I live in New York State which has very strict trading regulations. 

I answered in the last AMA: there will be more exchanges onboarded or onboarding us and there will be De-Fi coming up in the Algorand ecosystem. 

Can a host enjoy all of the functionality of an AWAIR Element whilst I receive the Planets token?

Yes, there is nothing wrong with turning it on and checking air quality.

Can you tell us about your background and what you researched for your PhD, or anything else?

Feel free to check my LinkedIn profile.

There are additional information in the Multimedia section of our website, where you can find an interview by Keli Callaghan from Algorand.

I’ve been doing research in theoretical particle physics in the first part of my life. I was researching on quantum chromodynamics and stochastic quantization. A fil rouge across my professional life is a passion for innovation. 

I’m interested to know who are the organisations that PlanetWatch are selling data to at the moment? Has enough data been collected or is it too early for that stage?

For outdoor, it’s a bit too early, because outdoor needs both density in a city and widespread diffusion to make data relevant. For indoor, we are selling data to corporates where we installed turnkey solutions, e.g. hotels.

What exactly will be the exact relationship between CERN and PW? What could CERN need from us?

As you know, we have CERN spin-off status: a start-up based in one of CERN’s member states can achieve the spin-off status if a certain CERN technology is instrumental for its development.

The spin-off status foresees tech support, plus communications synergies. For example, they recently featured us in an article for the Earth Day.

Another synergy which I’m looking forward to is that we might install sensors on CERN’s site, near Geneva.

Is there a clear plan for the token expansion in other markets? And is there a plan to release a weekly/monthly report with the number of sensors available for all types?

In the White Paper 2.0 we will make a plan for expansion in that sense. The Explorer will provide more information and we will try to improve reporting all the time if needed.

Where can we buy PlanetWatch gear (like hats, hoodies, shoes, skirts, sweats, sun glasses, car decals, phone cases, etc). I want to advertise PlanetWatch everywhere!

Yes, that would be good and fun. We are working on this too, you might see something soon.

I have tried signing up to test out new sensors, such as radon and water quality. How can I sign up to be a beta tester? I would be willing to spend my own money at no cost to you, and I live in the USA?

Thank you for your interest! We will organize this when it becomes relevant.

Keep watching our Planet and stay tuned for more announcements coming soon!