专访 Helium 孟繁荣：去中心化物联网难点与商业探索之路

7 月 1 日下午 2:00，比特派钱包邀请到物联网区块链明星项目 Helium 的 COO Frank （孟繁荣）进行社区分享。以下为本次分享的文字稿内容：

比特派 CMO 孔维国
请 Frank 先介绍下自己吧
Please give us a brief introduction about yourself

Helium COO Frank （孟繁荣）
It’s great to meet everyone! My name is Frank Mong (孟繁榮). I was born in Taiwan and grew up in San Francisco.
大家好，我是 Frank 孟繁荣，我出生于台湾，后在旧金山长大。

I spent 20 years of my career in cybersecurity in different business development and marketing roles for SonicWALL, Symantec, and Trend Micro, before joining Helium, I was Senior Vice President of Product Marketing for Palo Alto Networks.
我职业生涯中有 20 年从事与网络安全相关的工作，曾在 SonicWALL, Symantec, 及 Trend Micro 负责商务及市场工作。在加入 Helium 之前，我是 Palo Alto 产品营销的高级副总裁

For the past 2.5 years, I’ve been Chief Operating Officer at Helium learning about IoT and Blockchain technology and exploring how both consumers and businesses can work together to advance a new way to build wireless infrastructure.
过去两年半，我出任了 Helium 的 COO。我一直在学习物联网和区块链技术，并探索如何让用户群体及商业模式一起，来为无线通讯基础设施构建一种新的方式。

比特派 CMO 孔维国
给我们讲讲 Helium 这个项目诞生的故事吧
What is the story and idea behind Helium?

Helium COO Frank （孟繁荣）
Helium was started by Shawn Fanning, founder of Napster and Amir Haleem, an esports world champion in Quake 3 and a video game developer. They came together to build a way to easily connect IoT to the Internet. The company was founded in 2013 and backed by Silicon Valley VCs like Marc Benioff, SV Angels, DG, Khosla Ventures, Google Ventures, USV, and Multicoin Capital.
Helium 由 Napster 的创始人肖恩·范宁和雷神之锤 3 的世界冠军、电子游戏开发者埃米尔·哈利姆，共同创建。他们为了共同创建一种让物联网与网络更容易连接的方式走到一起。Helium 公司成立于 2013 年，由硅谷的众多资本参投，比如 Marc Benioff, SV Angels, DG, Khosla Ventures, Google Ventures, USV, and Multicoin Capital.

比特派 CMO 孔维国
这里补充一点：Helium 的创始人肖恩·范宁也是一位传奇人物，他的形象也曾出现在电影《社交网络》里。肖恩·范宁创建的 Napster 是最早使用 P2P 网络进行 MP3 格式音乐分享的软件，在当时引起了不小的轰动。虽然最终因版权问题终止服务，但 Napster 算是互联网发展里程碑式的应用了。

关于肖恩·范宁跟 Napster，有兴趣的可以看下：https://baike.baidu.com/item/Napster/731754?fr=aladdin

比特派 CMO 孔维国
要实现一个可用的去中心化物联网网络，难点在哪？Helium 是怎样去解决的？技术优势体现在哪些地方
What is the biggest challenge of making an usable decentralized IoT network? How do Helium solve it and what is your technical advantage?

Helium COO Frank （孟繁荣）
There are several big challenges. 1. Picking a common wireless protocol. IoT needs to be able to connect from anywhere, not just your home, office, or coffee shop. We didn’t use LoRaWAN at first. We tried to use Texas Instruments radio chips and other technologies. It is very difficult to build your own wireless protocol and it’s even harder to convince other people to use your creation.
有几个大的挑战：第一、 选择通用无线电协议。物联网需要能够从任何地方相连接，并非只是你的家里、办公室或者咖啡厅。我们一开始并没有使用 LoRaWAN，而是尝试使用德州仪器的无线电芯片跟其它技术。但是构建你自己的无线电协议特别困难，更困难的是说服人们使用你的产品。

We ultimately came to the conclusion that it was just easier to gain adoption if we chose an existing wireless protocol that had lots of devices using it, long-range, low power, and relatively open. That is what LoRaWAN provides. They have thousands of manufacturers and hundreds of thousands of developers supporting this protocol. This should have been an easy decision, but we put pride in craftsmanship above common sense and made a big mistake that cost us 9 months of time.
于是，我们最终得到的结论是：如果我们选择一个已有的，有很多设备在使用的，长频、低功耗、相对开放的无线电协议，那将会使我们的方案更容易被采用。而那就是 LoRaWAN 所提供的。他们有数以千计的制造者以及成千上万的协议开发人员。这本应该是一个简单的决定，但是我们过多的考虑了技巧性而非实用性，这让我们浪费了 9 个月的时间。

Building a novel protocol blockchain is very hard. We are a team made up of distributed systems engineers, wireless radio engineers, application developers, and curious people, not afraid to try something that has never been done before. With a great combination of talented people, building the Helium blockchain is incredibly difficult.
第二、构建基于新共识机制的区块链网络是一件很困难的事情。我们是一个由分布式系统工程师、无线电工程师、App 开发者、以及一群有强烈好奇心的人所组成的团队。我们是一群敢于尝试从未有过的新事物的人。即便将如此之多的才华横溢的人集合到一起，搭建 Helium 区块链网络依然是一件困难重重的事情。

It’s been 2 years in the making and we are in a good place, but there is still a lot of room to improve. There isn’t a good way to overcome the blockchain challenge. If this is the first time the Helium blockchain exists, there is no testing that is enough to say, it’s ready. We had to launch it, fix it, improve it in the air, while it’s flying. So that is what our developers are doing constantly now.
我们已经做了两年的开发了，当前的进展还可以，但依然有很多改进空间。没有什么好的方式可以轻松克服区块链技术上的挑战。如果这是 Helium 区块链网络的首次问世，那么很难说有足够的测试证明它（Helium）是成熟的。我们要上线产品，且在它运行的同时进行迭代和升级服务。这就是我们的开发者们一直做的事情。

I think the biggest technical advantage for Helium is the engineers who built the entire system. Open-sourcing our work and providing great documentation. These things make it easy for others to try our technology and improve upon it. Over time, we hope this results in more and more applications that use the network.
我认为 Helium 的最大技术优势来自于搭建了整个系统的工程师们。将我们的成果开源，并提供良好的支持文档。这些工作使得其他人使用、升级我们的技术变得容易。久而久之，我们希望有越来越多的人使用我们的网络。

比特派 CMO 孔维国
使用 hotspot 挖矿每天平均能产生多少 hnt, 这一数字会随着 hotspot 数量上升而下降吗
How many HNT we can expect from a single hotspot per day. Will it able to keep the curve flat while new hotspots are being deployed continuously?

Helium COO Frank （孟繁荣）
Today, with over 4,300 Hotspots on the blockchain, on average, Hotspot mines ~30-50 HNT per day. There are a lot of factors that play into how well Hotspots mine like how many other Hotspots are nearby to help your Hotspot fulfill POC challenges. Anyone can improve their mining by placing the Hotspot antenna as high up as possible and upgrading to an outdoor antenna. The more Hotspots there are on the network, the less each Hotspot will mine over time. The balance is that there should be more usage of the network by IoT devices. That should add more txns to the network increasing the value of the HNT overall.
目前为止，有超过 4,300 个 Hotspots 在 Helium 区块链网络上运行，一台 Hotspot 每天大约挖 30-50 HNT （Helium 代币）。有很多影响 Hotspot 挖矿效率的因素，比如你周边有多少其他 Hotspot 设备来帮助你完成 PoC （覆盖率证明）。任何人都可以通过尽可能升高他们的天线，或者在升级到户外天线来提高挖矿效率。网络中 Hotspot 的数量越多，单个 Hotspot 的挖矿效率就会递减。为了平衡收益，应该让更多的物联网设备来使用 Helium 网络，增加转账数量，从而增加 HNT 的整体价值。

比特派 CMO 孔维国
中国版要明年 1 月才上市，除了使用的频率和美国版不同，还有其他的不同吗。两个版本的 hotspot 是否接入的同一套网络，挖矿效率有区别吗
The Chinese version hotspot will be delivered on Jan, 2021. We know the band will be used in Chinese Version is 470Mhz which is different with US version. Is there any other difference between CN and US Version? Are they work on same network and is there any difference on mining output?

Helium COO Frank （孟繁荣）
The only difference between the China Hotspots and US Hotspots is the frequency of the LoRaWAN radio. The blockchain is the same. We hope to have several other vendors making a Helium compatible Hotspot available for the Chinese market. This will drive down the cost overall.
中国版的 Hotspot 跟美国版本唯一的不同就是 LoRaWAN 的无线电频率不同。区块链网络本身是一样的。我们希望有其他制造商可以为中国市场生产与官方版本兼容的 hotspot，这样就可以降低成本。

比特派 CMO 孔维国
Helium 的共识机制是 PoC （Proof of Coverage：覆盖度证明），这个机制在系统中扮演什么角色，有什么作用？
The consensus of Helium is PoC (Proof of Coverage), how do we understand it? And how it works in the system?

Helium COO Frank （孟繁荣）
Helium POC (Proof of Coverage) is how the Helium Hotspots can be owned by different individuals and yet the network continues to provide coverage. POC is like an automated network health check. Every Hotspot has a full node of the blockchain. The Hotspots continuously ask the blockchain to validate that it is available and providing useful coverage. The Hotspots also continuously ask to challenge a POC group. The actions of challenging and proving the Hotspot is providing useful coverage forms the POC. Helium 的 PoC （覆盖率证明）机制是指：当 Hotspot 被不同的个人所拥有后，它们（Hotspot）之间如何协同，为网络提供无线连接覆盖的。PoC 就像网络健康的自动检测机制，每一个 Hotspot 都有一个完整的区块链节点。Hotspot 会一直向区块链询问以验证网络是否依然有效且提供有效覆盖的。Hotspot 也会一直询问来质询 PoC 小组。质询与证明 Hotspot 的行为用来验证 Hotspot 完成了有效网络覆盖。

比特派 CMO 孔维国
Helium 采用的是双代币模型：一个是 Helium 通证，另一个是数据积分（Data Credits）。这两个代币的区别是什么？
There are two types of tokens in system: Helium and Data Credits. What are the differences between these them and how do they work together to make system works?

Helium COO Frank （孟繁荣）
Helium has a two token model. A burn and mint equilibrium. Multicoin Capital has written a great paper on it. https://multicoin.capital/2018/02/13/new-models-utility-tokens/. Helium 有两种代币。一种是销毁型代币，一种是挖矿型代币。Multicoin Capital 写了一篇详细介绍：https://multicoin.capital/2018/02/13/new-models-utility-tokens/. 大家有兴趣可以看下。

Basically, HNT is only available through mining from a Helium or Helium compatible Hotspot. There was no HNT pre-mined. Data Credits (DC) is the currency used to send data from an IoT device to the internet via a Helium Hotspot. 1 DC is equal to $0.00001 USD. To get a DC, someone must burn HNT. How many DCs do you get for burning 1 HNT depends on the price of the HNT at that time of burning. Burning means taken out of circulation forever. The burn and mint equilibrium system is built to drive a natural demand for HNT in the system to prevent the inflationary effects of HNT mining.
简单来说，HNT 只能通过 Helium 或者 Helium 兼容的 Hotspot 挖矿得到。Data Credits (DC) 是当前 IoT 设备通过 Hotspot 向网络传输数据时所用到的代币。1 个 DC 价值 0.00001 美金。为了得到 DC，用户必须销毁 HNT。你销毁 HNT 可以得到的 DC 数量取决于销毁时 HNT 的价格。销毁意味着永远不再进入流通。销毁跟挖矿平衡模型是为了建立 HNT 在系统里的自然需求，减少 HNT 通胀带来的影响。

比特派 CMO 孔维国
未来这些代币有上交易所计划吗 ?
IS there any plan for exchange listing?

Helium COO Frank （孟繁荣）
The laws in the USA are unclear about how cryptocurrency should be regulated, therefore, Helium is taking a very conservative approach in the area of HNT pricing and exchanges. Helium Inc does not proactively work with Exchanges on the listing of HNT.
美国的法律对于加密货币该如何规范还不是很明确，因此 Helium 在牵扯到 HNT 价格跟交易的方面比较谨慎。Helium 公司并不会主动寻求交易所上币。

比特派 CMO 孔维国
要达到理想的覆盖率，全世界主要国家需要多少 hotspot，未来 1 年和 3 年，全世界大约有多少 hotspot 部署
How many hotspots need to be deployed around the world in order to achieve ideal coverage on major countries and how many hotspots are expected to be deployed in next 1 years and 3 years.

Helium COO Frank （孟繁荣）
It is hard to say how many Hotspots are needed around the world. I would estimate that on average about 150 - 300 Hotspots per city should be sufficient to provide coverage. There are exceptions of course. Shanghai or Beijing are large cities, and perhaps 500 - 3000 Hotspots are needed to provide adequate coverage.
很难说要覆盖全球需要多少 Hotspot。我估计每座城市 150-300 台设备才能有效完成每个城市的网络覆盖。当然也有例外，上海跟北京是超大型城市，大约需要 500-3000 台设备才足以完成网络覆盖。

We think there could be tens of thousands of Hotspots deployed in the coming years. Our tech is open source and we are encouraging other manufacturers to build the Helium Hotspot.
我们认为接下来几年会有数以万计的 Hotspot 需要部署。我们的技术是开源的，我们也鼓励其它制造商来生产 Helium Hotspot。

比特派 CMO 孔维国
Helium 当前有哪些应用场景？有什么确定的机构会使用 Helium 方案。
Tell us about some scenarios which can be benefit from Helium network. And is there any organization who already decide to implement Helium solution to support their business needs.

Helium COO Frank （孟繁荣）
There are so many applications that need the Helium Network. Helium uses sub gigahertz frequencies. This means that the range is extremely far, measured in Kilometers not a few meters like wifi, Bluetooth, or cellular. Using LoRaWAN, we have achieved 17 - 30 kilometers between an IoT sensor to a Helium Hotspot. The battery life is also very good on LoRaWAN devices. Battery using this can last for years, not days or weeks like cellular/LTE/5G devices. Applications like bike tracking, pet tracking, medicine, food tracking are great examples.
有太多应用需要 Helium 网络。Helium 使用亚千兆赫兹频率。这意味着他延伸的距离可以非常长，用千米来度量，而非像 WiFi、蓝牙，或者蜂窝网络那样用米来计量。通过使用 LoRaWAN， 我们实现了 17-30 公里的 IoT 传感器与 Helium Hotspot 之间的通信。LoRaWAN 设备的电池寿命也很长。不同于蜂窝网络 /LTE/5G 设备只有几天或几周的寿命，Hotspot 的电池可以使用数年之久。像自行车追踪、宠物追踪、医学、食品追踪等都是很好的应用案例。

In the USA, we have several customers using Helium for these kinds of applications. Nestle Foods is one of the customers that use this. We have another customer called, Conserv that uses the Helium network to keep art collections in proper order within museums or private collections. Another simple, but not sexy solution is tracking leaky toilets in apartments. We have several customers like NOWI, who use LoRaWAN water leak sensors to connect to the Helium network to alert the maintenance team of leaks so they can repair them before too much water damage occurs.
在美国，我们有几个客户在这种应用中使用 Helium。Nestle Foods(美国的雀巢公司) 就是其中一家。我们还有另外一个用户，叫做 Conserv，它使用 Helium 网络来使博物馆与私人收藏的的艺术品收藏有序。我们有几个客户，像 NOWI，使用 LoRaWAN 滴漏传感器来连接到 Helium 网络，用以向维修人员预警漏水，这样他们可以在因漏水导致更多的损害前及时补救。

比特派 CMO 孔维国
要成为一个被广泛接受的商业基础设施，除了技术本身仍需要投入巨大的资源用于生态建设，Helium 在这点是如何计划的？
To be a widely accepted commercial infrastructure, Technical is not the only fact that matters. Sometime enterprise level ecosystem development is more important, clients won’t just come. Do you have Enterprise level Go-To-Market plan?

Helium COO Frank （孟繁荣）
We do have an enterprise go-to-market plan. We have a dedicated business development team focused on showing enterprises the value of the Helium network. Nestle has been working with us for a few years. Lime Bikes is another customer who has worked with us. We continue to drive awareness and contact potential customers to educate them on how Helium can solve their problem without the Enterprise’s need to build their own network. Helium should replace 5G/LTE for all outdoor sensors.
我们的确有企业市场推广计划。我们有一个充满激情的商业拓展团队，致力于向企业展示 Helium 网络的价值。Nestle(雀巢) 已经跟我们合作了很多年。Lime Bikes 是另一个与我们合作的客户。我们持续培育潜在客户，提高他们对于无需自己搭建网络、使用 Helium 网络就可以解决他们的问题的意识。Helium 应该替代 5G/LTE 用于所有户外感应设备。

来源：

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