Chirp’s revolutionary decentralized telecommunications network could not function without its all-important Blackbird miners, which use blockchain technology to provide a wide and growing network coverage for thousands of smart devices. These miners are owned by the network’s participants, referred to as Keepers, who earn rewards for keeping their Blackbirds “online”.
This article aims to detail the mechanisms that determine the calculation of rewards payable to Keepers based on the availability of their miners. We will also provide an overview of future development plans to offer additional clarity and transparency to everyone interested in becoming a part of the Chirp ecosystem.
Current Model of Miner Performance Evaluation
At the heart of Chirp’s operational model is the concept of miner availability, a key factor in the distribution of rewards. The Chirp Network meticulously calculates this availability through a method focused on ping requests and responses.
Every three minutes, Blackbird gateways (i.e. the miners) receive a ping request from Chirp’s backend, to which they respond with a radio ping. The effectiveness of a Blackbird miner is assessed based on the successful transmission of these responses back to Chirp’s backend.
The miner’s availability metric is then derived from the ratio of successfully sent radio ping responses to the total number of ping requests issued. This efficient system ensures rewards are distributed fairly, prioritizing active and responsive miners.
Maximizing Blackbird Availability
To summarize, the availability parameter signifies not only the connection of the miner to the Chirp backend but also its capacity to receive and send back radio pings.
To ensure a miner’s availability remains high, participants are encouraged to:
- Ensure the miner is correctly connected to the Chirp Network
- Check that the antenna is properly connected
- Configure the firmware according to the correct regional settings
- Opt for a WiFi connection over a SIM card for stability, or ensure the SIM provider offers a reliable internet connection
Rewards Calculation and Distribution
The allocation of rewards to Keepers, or network participants, is intricately linked to the availability of their miners but also considers the overall performance of all of the network’s miners. The rewards for each individual miner are calculated based on its contribution to network coverage relative to the collective performance of all miners during the same epoch.
The total Keepers’ pool is based on Chirp’s tokenomics, which allocates a specific amount of $CHIRP tokens for distribution to network participants based on their contribution to maintaining network coverage and efficiency during each epoch.
To clarify the process of token distribution among miners during a Chirp Epoch, let’s break it down with an example:
Imagine a scenario where only 10 miners are active during a specific Chirp Epoch. For this epoch, let’s say we have a total of 10,000 tokens are designated for distribution. Here’s how we determine the number of tokens each miner receives:
- Calculate Total Miner Availability: First, the system assesses each miner’s availability during this epoch. It then aggregates the availability of all participating miners to establish a cumulative figure. This sum represents the total availability across all miners engaged in each Chirp Epoch.
- Determine Gateway Job Coefficient: After determining the total miner availability, we then evaluate the efficiency of each miner. This is achieved by dividing an individual miner’s availability by the total availability (calculated in Step 1). The result is what we refer to as the “Gateway Job Coefficient” for each miner, indicating their relative contribution and efficiency during each epoch.
- Allocate Tokens Based on Efficiency: In the final step, we allocate the tokens. Using the Gateway Job Coefficient (determined in Step 2), we calculate the share of the 10,000 tokens that each miner is entitled to. We work this out by multiplying the total tokens allocated for the epoch (10,000) by each miner’s Gateway Job Coefficient.
Future Plans
At a later stage, Chirp will introduce an additional criterion to the evaluation of miner availability. Beyond the mere detection of a radio ping by the Chirp backend, the miner’s ability to provide coverage will also be verified by neighboring miners. This collective verification process aims to more robustly authenticate the coverage and service provision to end-user IoT devices.
However, to ensure a level playing field for all miners, including those who are currently isolated, we’ve chosen not to implement this criterion for the time being. We are aware that introducing this now would unfairly impact the reward-earning potential of miners without nearby peers.
In the future, as the Chirp Network evolves, its miner availability and rewards distribution system will undergo further enhancements to ensure a more dynamic and efficient network. While the fundamental framework of measuring miner availability through ping requests and responses will remain unchanged, future calculations for rewards will incorporate additional variables.
These will include the total number of miners within a specific location, the quality of communication between them and other factors related to the development of Chirp’s web3 features. Such updates will promote a more balanced and fair distribution of rewards, incentivizing optimal performance and strategic placement of miners to enhance overall network health and capability.
Chirp’s innovative strategy not only incentivizes the expansion of network coverage but also ensures a fair and transparent distribution of rewards to its contributors. As the network continues to evolve, we remain committed to enhancing connectivity solutions across the globe, offering a decentralized alternative to traditional telecommunications infrastructures. Through this evolution, Chirp aims to empower individuals and businesses alike, empowering them to be integral components of a global connectivity revolution.
