DRONE ON How Does a Drone App Use Blockchain Tech?
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Nov 3, 2025 Rowan Weismiller, an engineer at Spexi, dives into the intersection of drones and blockchain technology. He highlights how Spexi uses NFTs as flight receipts for immutable pilot records and discusses the transition to a decentralized system with smart contracts. Rowan also explores the ambitious goal of creating a world-standard for aerial imagery and the challenges that come with it. Plus, he shares insights on how dormant drone supplies can be a goldmine for network growth, emphasizing the importance of transparent and deterministic blockchain use.
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From Cloud Engineer To Drone-Blockchain Builder
- Rowan joined Spexi with a cloud software background and no prior drone or crypto experience.
- He learned decentralization and blockchain while building the LayerDrone Protocol and found it one of the densest parts of his career.
Hybrid On-Chain/Off-Chain Tradeoff
- Spexi initially used smart contracts but shifted much of the product off-chain to allow rapid iteration.
- They kept on-chain flight receipt NFTs as an immutable symbolic record while centralizing other systems for flexibility.
Flight NFTs As Verifiable Receipts
- Spexi mints an NFT for each reviewed flight marking it approved or rejected as a paper trail.
- LayerDrone's planned protocol will escrow mission funds and let approved flight NFTs claim rewards on-chain.