The idea of linking physical furniture with NFTs was presented by Carbon Banks, a research and design lab created by Space10. The goal is to merge NFTs and furniture by providing all products with a non-fungible code on the blockchain.
Carbon Banksis a design project that also functions as a laboratory created by the company Space10, which aims to transform the way in which the physical objects we see every day are treated.
It is working with next-generation NFT technology looking to help build more sustainable relationships with people’s physical belongings. The idea is to encourage a more circular approach to furniture, something that so far is something we have not seen in the non-fungible token industry.
With innovative fusion aimed at blending NFT technology with physical furniture, Carbon Banks or in English Carbon Banking, is developing a technique that lies in using NFTs as “amplifiers” of IRL furniture, providing a non-fungible code that can be minted on the blockchain.
Among the objectives we reviewed, Space10 and its laboratory also want to eliminate the “buy to waste” cycle that consumes money from most furniture and thus prevent carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
NFT Carbon Banks
Currently, NFTs have been seen as vehicles for investment and price speculation. However, with Carbon Banks you can create the scarcity that blockchain technology enables in digital objects and link them directly to physical furniture that is verified by NFTs technology.
Until recently, NFTs were built on the famous Proof Of Work (PoW) consensus protocol, which requires high computational power and consequently extreme energy consumption. After one of the most widely used blockchains like Ethereum moved to the Proof Of Stake (PoS) consensus protocol, which needs much less computational power and reduces energy consumption by up to 99.95% on a blockchain.
As more blockchains move to PoS, the environmental impact will be reduced and the potential of the various NFTs as a technology can be experienced much more.
After explaining the problems of energy consumption and what it causes on an environmental level, he proposes a future generation of non-fungible tokens called “digital amplifiers”, Carbon Banks he proposes a future generation of non-fungible tokens called “digital amplifiers”. These digital assets will act as a virtual layer attached to a physical object, highlighting and augmenting some of the object’s characteristics. Also, the way people relate to these items will be changed.
How it works
Carbon Bankslinks its furniture with a uniquely evolving NFT. Through the digital amplifier inspired by how we care for plants and watch them grow, it creates an ongoing emotional connection. It also seeks to foster a sense of ownership over the physical target and the material it is made of. In this case Carbon Banks works with wood.
Each Carbon Bank cabinet contains a unique pattern, like a key, that links the NFT to the physical target. By scanning the identification pattern for the first time, an NFT is directly minted on the blockchain and added to a cryptographic wallet. This will allow it to be accessed at any time as an individual private key.
For example, the chairs at Carbon Banks are constructed of wood, as this material acts as a carbon sink, storing carbon as long as the furniture is in use. The NFT will take the form of a sprouting tree and at the same time will be linked to the physical furniture, allowing it to grow and develop over time and encouraging it to extend the life of the object IRL.
The longer you keep your chair, the larger and more unique your tree will grow. The growth is algorithmically defined by the different types of data inputs developed in the smart contract. For example, environmental, ownership and care data will contribute to the evolution of the tree, driving aesthetic growth through changes in growth speed, color, leaf shape, among others.
The result is a constantly evolving digital NFT that materializes key milestones, rewards acts of care and repair of the physical object, and tells the story of the IRL chair’s life cycle.
In addition, the NFT will become a digital expression of its management that can be viewed in augmented reality or compatible virtual spaces. Carbon Banks encourages and rewards the most sustainable approach to furniture and redraws the new boundaries being created for physical possessions. It also opens up new possibilities around the use and application of NFTs as an innovative and revolutionary technology.
Space10 and its alliances to create this innovative product
As an environmentally conscious company, Space10 is striving to reduce its environmental impact by repairing and marketing its furniture made from 100% wood. Like the eco-friendly materials used in the production of furniture, Carbon Banks’ NFTs, they use the participation test protocol, which causes no harm to the environment.
Moreover, to develop and bring this innovative idea to life, Space10 and Carbon Banks teamed up with the design and research lab called WINT. Also, they have created an alliance with interaction design and robotics researcher , Anna Shaeffner.
Final conclusions
The Space10 concept Carbon Banks concept is a clear example of how companies producing physical goods are seeking to extend the life cycle of their products and at the same time reduce the ecological impact they generate.
It is also an effective way to bring new immersive forms of engagement and interaction to users and customers who are interested in blockchain technology, NFTs, and why not, in the environmental issues happening on our planet.
Finally, the idea of Carbon Banks and Space10 seems promising and beneficial from any point of view, but we will have to wait how it impacts society and companies to take the example, adopt and make these new ideas popular in the shortest possible time.
Written by Rodrigo Catalan (TW: @RodrigoCatalanB) for NFT Express.