Ndani

Trustless Privacy Infrastructure

Ndani (Swahili: "inside" — inside-out trustlessness)


Ndani is the hardware architecture that eliminates the final privacy vulnerability: the trusted gateway.

Core Thesis

Anonymity requires device-held keys. Trustless privacy requires farmer-owned proof infrastructure.

The Gateway Problem

Traditional Approach:
Sensor → Gateway (Trusted) → Proof → Chain

PRIVACY FAILURE POINT
(sees identity, raw data)

Ndani:
Sensor → Local Pi 5 (Farmer-Owned) → Proof → Chain

OWNER ALREADY HAS ACCESS
No new trust required

By moving proof generation to farmer-owned infrastructure, privacy holds against all external observers, government, corporate, network.

Hardware Stack (~$163)

LayerComponentCost
SensorESP32-S3 + ATECC608A + LoRa + sensors$38.50
ProofRaspberry Pi 5 + infrastructure$115.00

Beyond Privacy: Economic Autonomy

Ndani enables devices as autonomous economic agents with ZK-enforced spending policies, mathematically bounded autonomy.

Even a compromised device cannot exceed its spending policy.

Status

Research phase. Targeting USENIX Security venue.