πAbout DecentraLabs
Decentralizing access to science, one lab at a time.
Welcome to DecentraLabs: an open-source, community-driven initiative working to reshape how online laboratories are accessed, shared, and sustained across the globe. We leverage blockchain, smart contracts, and open protocols to build the future of remote experimentation for education, research, and innovation.
π§ͺ "Imagine a world where anyone, anywhere, can access a real lab in seconds. We're building that world."
π What Weβre Building
DecentraLabs is more than just code; it's an ecosystem.
βοΈ Smart Contracts β For decentralized lab registration, reservation, and payment.
π§ $LAB Token β A fungible token that fuels incentives and sustainability.
π₯οΈ Marketplace dApp β A decentralized web application to discover and book online labs.
π Federated Authentication β Support for both crypto wallets and institutional SSO (e.g., eduGAIN).
π Access Control Integration Service β Seamlessly connect smart lab platforms to the decentralized protocol.
π Specifications, Docs & Guides β So anyone can contribute, replicate, or extend.
All under a fully open-source license, free to use, build upon, and remix.
π± Why It Matters
For 20+ years, online laboratories (OLs) have existed but few have survived. Why?
β Lack of incentives β Reduced visibility β Lack of interoperability β Limited discoverability β Centralized gatekeepers β Sustainability problems
We're solving this by building a trustless, transparent, and tokenized ecosystem where:
βοΈ Institutions get rewarded for sharing their labs π βοΈ Students and researchers get global, verifiable access π βοΈ Everyone benefits from a fair, open, and decentralized model π
Not convinced yet? See what students, researchers, teachers, lab technicians and lab equipment manufacturers and sellers all over the world have to say about the topic:
Would you like your voice to be heard too? You are welcome to fill the surveys yourself:
π Key Repositories
π Explore our work:
Smart Contractsβ Solidity contracts (ERC-2535 proxy, ERC-721 NFTs, EIP-809 Reservations, ERC-20 $LAB).Smart Contract Specificationsβ Formal definitions and workflows.Lab Metadataβ Specification for the tokenized labs metadata.Tokenomicsβ $LAB tokenomics to fuel our ecosystem.Marketplace dAppβ The front-end to access, book and manage labs.Auth Serviceβ Java Spring authentication/authorization service to communicate with access control systems.Lab Gatewayβ Docker container that lab providers can deploy in seconds on any computer to function as a gateway / access system to their lab resources. Comes in two versions: lite and full (which includes the auth service).Lab App Controlβ A Windows-based daemon service for managing the open/close state of the desktop applications that provide the interface for controlling a lab setup.
Want to contribute? Check our issues or open a discussion!
π€ Join the Movement
π Official Website
π£οΈ Follow us on Twitter/X
π¨ Contact Us
π‘ License
All our work is released under the GPL 3.0 License because we believe in freedom, transparency, and collaboration.
DecentraLabs is proudly led by Nebulous Systems, UNED and Blockchain@UBC with support from the NGI Sargasso Programme and an international network of educators, researchers, and technologists.
π Letβs decentralize the world of science experimentation. Together. π«
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