Open Grant Proposal: KAIL Maritime - Decentralized Cold-Chain Verification Layer Project Name: KAIL Maritime - Decentralized Supply Chain Verification with IPFS/Filecoin #2019
Description
Proposal Category: Storage
Individual or Entity Name: KAILEdge
Proposer: zentoshi
Project Repo(s):https://github.com/Zenoffi/KineticAILabs
(Optional) Filecoin ecosystem affiliations: None
(Optional) Technical Sponsor: N/A
Do you agree to open source all work you do on behalf of this RFP under the MIT/Apache-2 dual-license?: Yes
Project Summary
The global cold-chain logistics industry loses $35 billion annually due to spoilage, with maritime shipping accounting for 90% of international trade volume. Current supply chain verification systems rely on centralized databases that are vulnerable to tampering, single points of failure, and lack cryptographic guarantees. When a container of pharmaceuticals or perishable food arrives at port, there is no immutable, verifiable record of the temperature, humidity, and handling conditions throughout its journey.
KAIL Maritime solves this by implementing a physics-grounded verification layer that generates cryptographic proofs (ZK-SNARKs) for every state transition of refrigerated containers. Our system models container states using a 21-state cellular automaton grounded in thermodynamic principles, ensuring that recorded data reflects physical reality rather than fabricated sensor readings. Currently, our DGX Spark "Fleet Brain" aggregates 10,000+ container streams per vessel, generating Merkle-root attestations every batch cycle.
The missing piece is decentralized, immutable storage. We propose integrating IPFS and Filecoin to store cryptographic attestations, ZK-proofs, and Merkle roots. This creates an auditable, tamper-proof record that insurance companies, customs authorities, and supply chain partners can independently verify without trusting any central party.
Impact
Pain Points Addressed
Centralized Trust Problem: Current maritime IoT platforms store data on company servers. Shippers, insurers, and customs must trust the data custodian. A single database breach or malicious insider can compromise the entire audit trail.
Proof of Compliance: IMO regulations (MSC.1/Circ.1670) require temperature monitoring records to be retained for 7 years. Current systems cannot provide cryptographic guarantees that historical data hasn't been altered.
Insurance Disputes: Cold-chain insurance claims often become "he said, she said" disputes. Without immutable proofs, determining liability is costly and litigious.
Benefits of Getting This Right
Insurance Premium Reduction: Verifiable cold-chain records can reduce cargo insurance premiums by 15-25% by eliminating uncertainty.
Regulatory Compliance: Automated, immutable compliance records for FDA, EU, and IMO regulations.
Dispute Resolution: Cryptographic proofs enable instant, trustless dispute resolution.
Data Sovereignty: Shippers own their data on decentralized storage, not platform vendors.
Risks of Not Getting This Right
Continued reliance on centralized, tamperable databases
Billions in annual spoilage losses with no accountability layer
Slow adoption of IoT in maritime due to trust concerns
Success Metrics
Storage: 10+ TB of cryptographic attestations stored on Filecoin within 12 months
Adoption: 3 maritime shipping partners piloting the system
Verification: <500ms retrieval time for any historical proof from IPFS
Outcomes
Final Deliverables
kail_shipping/ipfs_anchor.py - Python module for IPFS/Filecoin integration
Pin attestations, Merkle roots, and ZK-proofs to IPFS
Batch archival to Filecoin for long-term storage (7-year regulatory compliance)
CID-based retrieval with cryptographic verification
kail_shipping/filecoin_deals.py - Filecoin storage deal management
Automated deal creation for batch attestations
Deal renewal and monitoring
Multi-miner redundancy for critical proofs
Enhanced Dashboard UI - Public verification portal
CID lookup for any container's historical proofs
IPFS gateway links for third-party verification
Real-time pinning status visualization
API Endpoints
POST /api/v1/maritime/ipfs/pin - Pin attestation to IPFS
POST /api/v1/maritime/filecoin/archive - Archive batch to Filecoin
GET /api/v1/maritime/proof/{cid} - Retrieve and verify proof
GET /api/v1/maritime/deals - List active Filecoin deals
Documentation & SDK
Integration guide for third-party supply chain platforms
Python SDK for proof verification
Smart contract templates for on-chain anchoring (FVM-ready)
Success Metrics
Metric Target
Attestations pinned to IPFS 1M+ CIDs
Data archived to Filecoin 10+ TB
Retrieval latency (P95) <500ms
Verification accuracy 100% (cryptographic)
Partner integrations 3+ shipping companies
Data Onboarding
Our maritime system generates significant data volume:
Per Container: ~2.4 KB/day (sensor readings + proofs)
Per Vessel: ~24 MB/day (10,000 containers)
Fleet Scale: 100 vessels = 2.4 GB/day = 72 GB/month
Projected Filecoin Data Onboarding:
Timeline Data Volume Description
Month #1 100 GB Pilot with 5 vessels, historical backfill
Month #3 500 GB Expanded pilot, 20 vessels
Month #6 2 TB Production rollout, 50 vessels
Month #12 10 TB Full fleet deployment, multi-carrier
Adoption, Reach, and Growth Strategies
Target Audience
Primary: Maritime shipping companies operating refrigerated (reefer) container fleets
Market size: 3M+ reefer containers globally
Top operators: Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd
Secondary: Cold-chain logistics providers, pharmaceutical distributors, food exporters
Tertiary: Insurance underwriters, customs authorities, regulatory bodies
Current Engagement
Working prototype deployed on DGX Spark hardware
Real-time dashboard operational with 20-container simulation
Cloudflare-tunneled demo accessible for partner demonstrations
Onboarding Strategy
First 10 Users (Months 1-3):
Direct outreach to innovation teams at major shipping lines
Partnership with port authorities for pilot deployments
Conference demos at TOC Connect, Intermodal Asia
First 100 Users (Months 4-6):
Self-service API documentation
Docker containers for easy deployment
Integration partnerships with existing maritime IoT platforms
Scale (Months 7-12):
White-label SDK for TMS/WMS integration
Filecoin storage subsidies for early adopters
Case studies from pilot partners
Development Roadmap
Milestone 1: IPFS Integration Core (Weeks 1-4)
Functionality:
ipfs_anchor.py module with Pinata/Web3.Storage integration
Automatic pinning of Merkle roots on attestation generation
CID-based retrieval with hash verification
Dashboard UI showing IPFS CIDs and gateway links
Team: 1 Backend Developer, 1 Frontend Developer
Deliverables:
IPFS pinning module
API endpoints for pin/retrieve
Dashboard CID display
Unit tests and documentation
Funding: $8,000
Completion Date: February 1, 2026
Milestone 2: Filecoin Archival Layer (Weeks 5-8)
Functionality:
Batch aggregation of daily attestations into CAR files
Automated Filecoin deal creation via Lighthouse/Web3.Storage
Deal monitoring and renewal automation
Multi-miner redundancy configuration
Team: 1 Backend Developer, 1 DevOps Engineer
Deliverables:
CAR file generation for batch attestations
Filecoin deal creation module
Deal monitoring dashboard
7-year retention policy implementation
Funding: $12,000
Completion Date: March 1, 2026
Milestone 3: Verification Portal & SDK (Weeks 9-12)
Functionality:
Public verification portal for third-party auditors
Python SDK for programmatic proof verification
Smart contract templates for FVM anchoring
API rate limiting and access control
Team: 1 Full-stack Developer, 1 Documentation Writer
Deliverables:
Public verification web portal
Python SDK (pip install kail-verify)
FVM-ready smart contract templates
Comprehensive API documentation
Funding: $10,000
Completion Date: April 1, 2026
Milestone 4: Pilot Deployment & Optimization (Weeks 13-16)
Functionality:
Production deployment on 3 partner vessels
Performance optimization for high-throughput pinning
Retrieval latency optimization (<500ms P95)
Partner onboarding and training
Team: 1 DevOps Engineer, 1 Developer (part-time)
Deliverables:
3 vessel pilot deployment
Performance benchmarks report
Partner training materials
Case study documentation
Funding: $5,000
Completion Date: May 1, 2026
Total Budget Requested
Milestone # Description Deliverables Completion Date Funding
1 IPFS Integration Core Pinning module, API, Dashboard Feb 1, 2026 $8,000
2 Filecoin Archival Layer CAR files, Deal automation Mar 1, 2026 $12,000
3 Verification Portal & SDK Public portal, Python SDK, FVM templates Apr 1, 2026 $10,000
4 Pilot Deployment 3-vessel production pilot May 1, 2026 $5,000
Total $35,000
Maintenance and Upgrade Plans
Short-term (Year 1)
Monthly security audits and dependency updates
Community support via GitHub Issues and Discord
Performance monitoring and optimization
Medium-term (Years 2-3)
FVM smart contract deployment for on-chain anchoring
Integration with Filecoin retrieval markets
Multi-chain anchoring (Ethereum L2, Solana)
Long-term (Years 3+)
Decentralized governance for protocol upgrades
Token incentives for storage providers
Industry consortium for maritime data standards
Team
Team Members
Prasad Gopal- Project Lead & Backend Developer
Team Member LinkedIn Profiles
https://www.linkedin.com/in/prasadgopal1/
Team Website
greslabs.com
Relevant Experience
Our team brings deep expertise in:
Distributed Systems: Built high-throughput data pipelines processing 10,000+ real-time streams
Cryptography: Implemented ZK-proof generation for privacy-preserving verification
Supply Chain: Domain expertise in cold-chain logistics and maritime regulations
Edge Computing: Deployed physics engines on resource-constrained edge devices (LattePanda, Jetson)
Prior Work:
KAIL Edge Engine: C++/CUDA physics simulation achieving 1.2M cells/second
DGX Spark Fleet Aggregator: Batch ZK-proof verification for container fleets
Maritime Dashboard: Real-time visualization with Cloudflare-tunneled external access
Team Code Repositories
https://github.com/Zenoffi/KineticAILabs - Main project repository
[Add any other relevant repositories]
Additional Information
How did you learn about the Open Grants Program? Through the Filecoin documentation and developer community.
Best email for grant agreement: [email protected]
Additional Context:
We've already built the cryptographic verification layer - the missing piece is decentralized storage. Our DGX Spark Fleet Brain generates Merkle-root attestations every batch cycle, and our dashboard visualizes these in real-time. Integrating IPFS/Filecoin will:
Make proofs independently verifiable without trusting our infrastructure
Provide regulatory-compliant 7-year retention
Enable insurance underwriters to access proofs directly
Position KAIL as the first physics-grounded, decentralized cold-chain verification platform
We believe this project demonstrates a compelling use case for Filecoin in enterprise supply chain applications, with a clear path to 10+ TB of high-value data onboarding.
Thank you for considering our proposal. We're excited to bring decentralized verification to maritime cold-chain logistics.