Sarcophagus V2 Live Demo and more
The team at Sarcophagus have been working on their protocol for some time now. We brought you news back in June that the team was working hard on the second iteration of it, Sarcophagus V2. Now the team is in the final stretch of development for V2 and has presented a live DEMO which we checked out.
Let’s dive in!
Sarcophagus V2
When we covered pre-development back in June, we emphasised how Sarcophagus is staying within its testing phase until it gets everything right, as the team was trying to implement the best security methods known to the entire Web3 world, while at the same time, keeping the project development open source and public, encouraging people to jump in and help, or point out any bugs they notice.
During the Demo on November 10th 2022, the Sarcophagus builders went over the current progress in building out the V2 Dapp with a live demonstration of the user process. The presentation focused on the Embalming process and the Archaeologist service.
For the purpose of the article it may help to understand some Sarcophagus native terms first:
- Embalmer – User who creates a sarcophagus (dead man’s switch).
- Recipient – The ETH address that will have access to the file once resurrected.
- Archaeologist – Third party incentivized node operators.
- Curse – The agreement between the Embalmer and Archaeologist.
- Resurrection – The time the outer layer of the sarcophagus will be decrypted if not attested to.
If you want to learn more before continuing, check out this article of ours, or visit the “how it works” section on Sarcophagus.io here.
V2 Demo
The team demonstrated how the Archaeologist service works using the command line interface (CLI) – this was demonstrated on the Goerli test net.
Setting up an Archaeologist is easier and faster than in V1, currently taking between 5 – 10 minutes. The team, however, is are looking to push that to as low as 1 – 2 minutes. Using the CLI is straightforward and includes a list of prompts you can call up (help) if you ever get stuck. After setting up an Archaeologist, the service is meant to run in the background with no maintenance.
The team then went on to demonstrate the web app and the Embalming process for a file/data. The UI seen in the video is going to be updated with some more features soon, but it is already very intuitive.
After naming your Sarcophagus, you set the Resurrection date by using one of the presets or setting your own custom date. You can then select the file to upload which is limited to 200 MB right now due to the underlying L2 that Sarcophagus uses. That L2 is the Bundlr network. However, on the upside, you can access your data instantly via the Bundlr gateway, and not need to wait for it to be transferred to the Arweave L1, which can sometimes take up to an hour.
So, naturally, the next step is connecting to the Bundlr network and funding your account with the appropriate amount for the upload. The web app tells you how much this is so you can add as little as the minimum.
Next, you select a Recipient using a wallet address. The app generates the private keys needed to send to the Recipient in the form of a PDF, and requires you to download the PDF before moving on, so as to avoid user error and the loss of your data due to the loss of private keys.
After that, you select how many Archaeologists need to be present for the Resurrection process, before seeing a snapshot of all the details you have entered, for you to review. If there are any errors, you can simply go back and edit them before creating your Sarcophagus. After clicking create the web app starts the creation process by following this order of events:
- Connect to Archaeologists.
- Upload Archaeologist Data to Arweave.
- Retrieve Archaeologist Signatures.
- Upload File Data to Arweave.
- Create Sarcophagus.
Once the process is complete, you will receive a message saying so in the web app.
See the full video presentation and AMA here.
The Sarcophagus V2 dApp full main net release is planned for the end of December 2022.
Full mainnet release of the V2 Dapp is planned for the end of December! Check out the roadmap to see the full details on developing the Decentralized Dead Man's Switch!https://t.co/Prwqcz9RBc
— Sarcophagus 𓂀 (@sarcophagusio) October 23, 2022
More on Sarcophagus
A very common use for a dead man’s switch is on trains where the conductor, aka driver, holds on to a lever for the train to move. If anything were to happen to the conductor, they would consequently let go and the lever would be released, which would in turn bring the train down to a halt for the passengers to remain safe. It is this very concept that Sarcophagus has taken to create its own digital dead man’s switch, which has many ways to be applied to the decentralised Web3 world.
Even though it is up to the creative imagination of each user when thinking of how to use it, some notable use cases for the Sarcophagus dApp, as mentioned by the team themselves, include:
- Digital Living Will
- Emergency Communications
- Journalism & Political Activism
- Password Recovery & Key Material Backup
- Time Capsule (mentioned in a past tweet)
Digital Living Will
Immutably pass down private keys, social media profiles, emails, and any other credentials or documents to an heir with instructions on how to use them.
Emergency Communications
Deliver an important message with details and instructions in an emergency where you may be lost or incapacitated. Ex. Hiking, Skydiving, Off-Roading.
Journalism & Political Activism
Recording or speaking out about important information and events can have risks. In these cases, you can ensure your data can be recovered or securely passed on to those who need to see it if you are apprehended or data is confiscated/destroyed.
Password Recovery & Key Material Backup
Passwords, credentials, and even password manager backup files can be securely stored in the tomb for later recovery if you lose access to important accounts and documents. Dual encryption ensures the privacy of the data stored.
Time Capsule
Interestingly enough, the idea of using Sarcophagus as a Time Capsule was brought forth by a community member. With a physical time capsule, you would bury stuff in some sort of container in the ground, only to dig it up again in the future (or just hide a box in a cupboard somewhere – again, subject to the creativity of the user). This gives the future person opening it a glimpse into the past, and what things were like. Doing this digitally could mean writing a letter to your future self, or family and friends, or sending a photograph to someone in the future. Again, the possibilities are endless.
Learn more about Sarcophagus at https://Sarcophagus.io/
Your knowledge and life accomplishments are your Legacy.
Protect your #Legacy for the next generation that will grow and build upon it. pic.twitter.com/2NK5o5CmeK
— Sarcophagus 𓂀 (@sarcophagusio) October 13, 2022
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