Published by Wanda Rich
Posted on April 24, 2024
3 min readLast updated: January 30, 2026
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Zug, Switzerland, April 24th, 2024, Chainwire
Researchers from the University of Zürich’s Communication Systems Group, in collaboration with the Acurast Association building on Polkadot and other ecosystems, have unveiled groundbreaking results in their latest study, “Performance Analysis of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks and Centralized Clouds.” This work demonstrates the viability of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) as a robust alternative to traditional centralized cloud computing platforms.
DePINs, leveraging blockchain technology and the Internet of Things (IoT), aim to enhance data sovereignty, reduce dependency on centralized models, and improve system resilience against potential failures. The research specifically highlights and evaluates Acurast, a new decentralized serverless cloud network that capitalizes on underutilized resources of smartphones to perform complex computing tasks with enhanced security and efficiency.
Key Findings:
“The advent of decentralized technologies presents a unique opportunity to rethink how we manage and operate digital infrastructures,” said Jan von der Assen, PhD student and Junior Researcher of the Communication Systems Group (CSG) at the University of Zurich (UZH) on the project. “Acurast not only challenges the status quo but may also present a scalable, secure, and sustainable model for future computing needs.”
This research marks a significant step toward understanding and harnessing the power of DePINs for computing. It opens up a real alternative to existing cloud providers for applications in all industries, especially where confidentiality is paramount.
The full research paper is publicly available and has been accepted at the upcoming DePIN Workshop of the International Conference on Blockchain Technology (ICBC) 2024.
About University of Zürich’s Communication Systems Group
The Communication Systems Group (CSG) at the University of Zurich focuses on research and development in networked systems and communication mechanisms. The group is dedicated to advancing the state of the art in communication systems, network security, and infrastructure development.
About Acurast Association
The Acurast Association is dedicated to breaking up the cloud monopoly with Acurast using mobile hardware, thereby democratizing and decentralizing the cloud. Allowing everyone to become a part of the cloud through their mobile devices. Providing developers with unrestricted, permissionless access to computing resources that are secure, cost-effective, and confidential.
Co-Founder
Pascal Brun
Acurast
hi@acurast.com
Decentralized infrastructure refers to a system that distributes data and processing across multiple nodes rather than relying on a central server, enhancing security and resilience.
Data sovereignty is the concept that data is subject to the laws and governance structures within the nation it is collected, ensuring privacy and compliance with local regulations.
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the network of physical devices connected to the internet, enabling them to collect and exchange data, enhancing automation and efficiency.
Empirical evidence is information acquired by observation or experimentation, used to validate theories or claims through measurable and observable data.
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