A phone passes nearby
A participating phone detects a registered device's Bluetooth service when it comes within radio range.
Independent signals for physical networks
Trust what is
on the ground.
GPS can be spoofed. Self-reported uptime can be wrong. Pathnod is building independent, privacy-conscious observations for physical networks.
Early research and prototyping · No public network yet
Building on Solana · Colosseum hackathon project ↗
CONCEPT / 001LOCAL SIGNAL
PHYSICAL
DEVICE
01 / witness 02 / witness 03 / witnessDEVICE
PATHNOD / EARLY CONCEPT↗ 2026
01 / The blind spot02 / The approach03 / Work with us
01 — The blind spot
Networks know what a device reports.
Not always what is there.
Imagine a network paying thousands of chargers, hotspots or sensors for being deployed where they claim. A device-reported GPS coordinate alone is not independent evidence.
Physical inspections do not scale. Pathnod explores a new layer of observation: nearby smartphones interacting directly with devices over Bluetooth.
THE QUESTION
How can an operator gain confidence that infrastructure is actually present, without sending an inspector to every site?
02 — The approach
A different kind of
field evidence.
Built around local interaction, independent witnesses and measured confidence—not a single “verified location” claim.
The device responds
The phone sends a fresh question. The device signs its answer with its own key so the phone can check which device responded.
Signals add up
Multiple observations can give operators a stronger, auditable signal than self-reporting alone.
WHAT THIS DOES NOT CLAIM
A nearby observation is not proof of exact GPS location, a unique human, or the absence of collusion. Those limits shape the product.
The concept
See the idea
in action.
Where we are
From concept to
real hardware.
Our first device–phone prototype runs on an ESP32 and an iPhone: the phone discovers the device over Bluetooth and verifies signed challenge responses. We are expanding hardware testing. The broader privacy and on-chain architecture remains under development, not a deployed production guarantee.
Follow the work on GitHubField note / 001
An iPhone meets
an ESP32.
Hardware test · 5 October 2026. The app reports three signatures verified on this iPhone. This is a local challenge–response test, not an end-to-end Solana demonstration or a GPS-location proof.
REAL HARDWARE / 001A nearby device.
A signed answer.
A signed answer.
iPhone × ESP32
Local Bluetooth exchange
- 01 / FINDBluetooth discovery
The phone finds the nearby device.
- 02 / ASKSigned challenge
The device signs its response to a fresh challenge.
- 03 / CHECKSignature verified
The iPhone checks the device’s signed answer.
The people
Who’s building Pathnod.
Three builders working on an early-stage, open-source project for the Colosseum hackathon.
Théo Dubois
Thox · Full-stack software engineerSoftware engineer with nearly two years of experience building SaaS products, developer tools and open-source projects. Works with TypeScript, React, Go, Rust, APIs and PostgreSQL. Blockchain builder and hackathon finalist.
LinkedIn
Zakaria Chaikhi
Kazai · Blockchain engineerBlockchain engineer who loves creating new things, building useful products and contributing to open source.
LinkedIn
Antonin Chaikhi
Lornmalvo777 · Product managerBanking IT professional with eight years of experience as a Product Owner and Product Manager. Shapes digital products and aligns business, technology, risk and compliance teams in Agile environments.
LinkedInQuestions
Before you join.
What does Pathnod actually check?
A nearby phone sends a fresh Bluetooth challenge and verifies the device’s signed response. It provides a signal that the device answered, not proof of an exact GPS position, a unique person or the absence of collusion.
Why Bluetooth?
Bluetooth lets a participating phone interact directly with nearby equipment, rather than relying only on what the equipment reports remotely. Radio range varies with the environment; it is not a precise distance measurement.
Why start with iPhone? What about Android?
Our first working phone prototype is on iOS, so initial tests focus on iPhone. You can join the waitlist without one. Android support has no announced release date; an invitation depends on your device and the available test.
What about privacy?
The waitlist collects only the details described in our privacy notice. The prototype and its broader privacy architecture are still being developed: we do not claim that every observation is already anonymous or that a production privacy guarantee is deployed.
Read the privacy noticeWill this drain my battery?
We are still measuring battery use on real devices. We do not yet have a reliable battery-impact figure or promise always-on background operation. Test instructions will explain what a session involves.
Do I need a wallet? Will I earn rewards?
No wallet is needed to join the waitlist. No rewards, token allocation or payments are promised during the beta. Signing up does not install an app or commit you to testing.
03 — Work with us
Two ways to help shape
what comes next.
FOR NETWORK OPERATORS
Talk to the team Tell us where verification breaks down.
Run a DePIN or other physical network? Share how you verify deployment today and explore a potential pilot with us.
FOR FUTURE TESTERS
Join the waitlist Be first to try Pathnod.
Join the beta waitlist. We will reach out when there is a suitable test for your device and location.