The team at Elk has had experience building open-source hardware for IoT. Now itâs trying its hand at blockchain.
The firm will soon launch a tiny board that can connect to a blockchain and control electronic components like motors, sensors and switches. That means you can build an embedded blockchain system in a few minutes.
Elk makes it easier to connect and program blockchain-connected devices. For example, you can use the board to accept payments and then turn on power to a device or even create a primitive ATM.
The board has two processors, as well as storage and a WiFi module. The board will support ethereum and bitcoin and uses Whisper and Swarm for decentralized messaging and storage. The team plans to add support for other blockchains going forward.
Elk founders Amr Saleh, Islam El-Ashi, and Islam Mustafa also created the 1Sheeld, a board that lets you control IoT devices using your phone. That product led to the development of Elk.
Saleh said:
âWe believe current blockchain development is sub par, let alone blockchain development for embedded devices. Thereâs room to make a 10x improvement to the UX and thatâs what weâre setting out to do. We are delivering the Arduino-like experience to blockchain development, with all the libraries that Arduino already supports.â
The pair built the board at a hackathon and found the concept so compelling they wanted to turn it into an actual product.
âAt the ETHDenver 2018 Hackathon, we built a prototype of a development board that offers the simplicity of Arduino for building blockchain-connected devices. We ended up winning first place, and the Elk project was born,â said Saleh.
The team is crowdfunding in June 2019 and has a placeholder website up to collect email addresses from interested parties. Pricing hasnât been announced, but the Kickstarter campaign will offer early-bird discounts.
Elk board image courtesy of the startup
