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New technologies should reduce the costs of administration. There are still many open questions.
Anyone who lives in an apartment also lives with a management company. She checks the receipt of the rents, buys heating oil and makes sure that the stairwell is cleaned regularly.
That could change in the future. Scientists and experts from ETH Zurich, ZHAW and the Blockchain Center at the University of Zurich are researching the potential of the latest technologies such as blockchain, sensors and Web3 applications for real estate management.
They are supported by the international consulting firm EY, whose real estate experts are convinced of the potential of the blockchain.
The prototype No1s1
To explore the new technologies, a team of researchers constructed the first prototype of a self-managing space. No1s1 is the name of the little house, which with its triangular shape is more reminiscent of a tent with solar panels attached to the outer walls.
The room offers space for one person to meditate. In order to be able to use the house, you have to register and transfer a certain amount as a deposit to your account via the Ethereum blockchain. You will receive a QR code as a receipt, which serves as a key.
Sensors inside the house register when someone enters the room. The color of the lighting changes and a stopwatch begins to measure the length of stay. If you leave the room, you will be billed – the shorter the stay, the more money you get back.
open questions
“We learned a lot,” says project manager and ETH doctoral student Una Wang. The prototype shows that the interaction of the various technologies works and that No1s1 can take care of and manage itself. But there are still many unanswered questions, such as safety and legal aspects.
Another problem is the cost. No1s1 uses a trial version of the Ethereum blockchain, where you work with play money. This ensures that the fees for transactions do not get out of hand, as they fluctuate greatly: It is quite possible that you suddenly have to pay 80 francs for a transfer on the right Ethereum blockchain. That makes projects like No1s1 impossible, says Florian Spychiger from the ZHAW, who supports the project.
exposed to the audience
In a next step, those responsible want to leave the house to itself and a wider audience – an interesting step, says Florian Spychiger: “We are curious to see how No1s1 asserts itself, because people are more intelligent than you think, always find and use them again gaps that nobody thought of.”
If many people use the room, then it must also be cleaned regularly. Compensation in the form of cryptocurrency could motivate people to clean, suggests Una Wang. Similar to social media, users of the room can rate the performance of the cleaning team, says Florian Spychiger.
The house thus becomes a DAO, a decentralized, autonomous organization, a community that decides and coordinates via the blockchain. Una Wang sees it as an interesting alternative to artificial intelligence, which is often associated with dark scenarios.
Much is still open, but Una Wang is not discouraged by problems. For them, these are interesting challenges on the way to a future that, thanks to new technologies such as blockchain, should be fairer and make living space more affordable.