Thummer
How it works

The journey of a cargo

A cargo is one small, encrypted message. Here's how it gets from a device with no internet to the app that needs it, and how the device learns that it arrived.

The journey, step by step

The journey of a cargo A rider device advertises its cargo over Bluetooth LE. A nearby driver picks it up and delivers it over the internet to the Thummer cloud, which queues it for the consumer the rider addressed. A signed delivery receipt travels back to the rider through any driver. Rider IoT sensor or device makes encrypted cargo Driver phone passing by carries it, can't read it Thummer cloud authenticates, limits, queues and counts Consumer your app or cloud fetches its messages Bluetooth LE HTTPS queue signed delivery receipt, carried back by any driver

  1. The rider creates a cargo

    The device encrypts its message with its own key and puts it in a queue. It can address the cargo to a particular consumer by that consumer's 8-byte ID.

  2. It advertises over Bluetooth LE

    Small cargo rides inside the Bluetooth advertisement itself; larger cargo (up to 512 bytes in all) is read over a quick Bluetooth connection.

  3. A driver picks it up

    A nearby phone running the Thummer app takes the cargo and acknowledges it, so the rider can move on to the next one. The driver stores it safely until it can reach the internet.

  4. The Thummer cloud checks and queues it

    The cloud verifies the cargo came from a registered rider, applies the account's size and frequency limits, removes duplicates and files it in the consumer's queue.

  5. The consumer collects it

    The consumer's app or cloud fetches its queue with its API key, then acknowledges what it has processed.

  6. A receipt goes home

    The cloud signs a delivery receipt. The next driver to pass the rider carries it back, so the device knows its message arrived, or why it was turned away.

Riders

Riders are endpoint devices that produce data but have no internet connection of their own: environmental sensors, meters, asset trackers and other IoT devices.

  • Register once; the device and the cloud agree a key with ML-KEM-768, and the key itself never travels.
  • Encrypt each cargo on the device and advertise it over Bluetooth LE.
  • Get signed delivery receipts back through any driver.

Rider platforms

Android today: the Thummer app's rider role.

FreeRTOS, Zephyr, iOS coming: rider functions for embedded and mobile devices.

LoRa, LoRaWAN, HaLow, satellite coming: more ways to reach a driver.

Drivers

Anyone with a Thummer account can be a driver. Turn on driving in the Thummer app and go about your day: when your phone passes a rider with cargo, it picks it up and delivers it to the cloud.

  • Carry cargo you can't read: it's encrypted for the cloud (or the consumer), not for you.
  • Hand delivery receipts back to riders as you pass.
  • Build a rating from the speed and reliability of your deliveries.

Driver platforms

Android today: the Thummer app's driver role.

Linux and iOS coming: for routers, gateways and iPhones.

Rewards coming: every delivery is counted for future micro-payments and awards.

Consumers

Consumers are the third-party apps and clouds that use the riders' data. Each consumer has an 8-byte consumer ID; riders put it on their cargo, and the Thummer cloud routes the cargo to that consumer's queue.

  • Fetch your queue with your API key and acknowledge what you've processed.
  • Publish a public key, and riders that scan your QR code seal their messages so only you can read them.
  • Manage keys and read messages in Thummer Consumer, the web app for consumers.

Getting started as a consumer

  1. Create a Thummer account.
  2. Create a consumer for it; your consumer ID is shown with a QR code.
  3. Sign in to Thummer Consumer, generate a key pair, and give riders your QR code.
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