Decentralized Marketplace for Online Laboratories
Coach Name
Juan Juan
EU Organization
Nebulous Systems S.L. (Spain)
Members
- Luis de la Torre Cubillo
- María Reyes Sánchez Herrera
CA Organization
University of British Columbia (Canada)
Members
- Victoria Lemieux
- Zehua Wang
Project Overview
DecentraLabs is a pioneering platform that transforms how online laboratories (OLs) are accessed, shared, and monetized across the global education and research ecosystem.
The project tackles two critical barriers in remote experimentation:
- sustainability, and
- interoperability of lab resources across institutions.
Using blockchain, smart contracts, and tokenomics, DecentraLabs enables universities, research centres, and lab equipment manufacturers to securely list, reserve, and operate decentralized Online Laboratories (dOLs) inside a transparent, auditable ecosystem.
A decentralized marketplace allows institutions to connect their labs, automate bookings and payments, and ensure trust without relying on intermediaries. The platform was piloted across multiple universities in Europe, America, and Asia, proving its ability to streamline remote access, encourage equipment sharing, and stimulate international collaboration.
Methods and approaches
Blockchain-based Architecture & Smart Contracts for dOL Management
DecentraLabs designed and deployed smart contracts enabling:
- provider registration,
- lab listing,
- reservations,
- secure payments,
- auditability for all transactions,
token-based incentives via the $LAB token.
These contracts were deployed on the Sepolia testnet, externally audited, and later deployed to mainnet.
Decentralized Marketplace with Real Institutional Pilots
A fully functional dApp marketplace was built (web-based), allowing users to:
- connect crypto wallets,
- browse and book existing dOLs,
- allow lab providers to register and list their labs,
- integrate an authentication/authorization API for remote access.
Several institutions—including UNED, UBC, PUCV, ProSystemy, and Wuhan University—integrated their laboratories and tested bookings with real users.
Key Achievements
Complete functional prototype of the decentralized marketplace for online labs.
Smart contracts for dOLs and $LAB token published, audited, and deployed.
Tokenomics fully defined and published
Integration of multiple real labs across three continents, including robotics, control systems, and simulation labs.
Achieved engagement from six institutions as lab providers, testers, or developers (UBC, UNED, UHU, PUCV, ProSystemy, Wuhan University).
96 stakeholder artifacts collected (interviews + surveys) to guide design and usability.
Multiple APIs and open-source repositories released publicly.
MoU signed with the Vietsch Foundation to fund further development (EduGAIN integration).
Smart-contract audit completed and published.
Impact & Results
Scientific Impact
DecentraLabs enhances global availability of scientific laboratories by enabling secure remote access to specialized equipment. It supports transparency and verifiability in scientific experimentation by recording transactions and data flows on blockchain.
Economic Impact
The marketplace allows lab providers to monetize underutilized equipment, creating a new revenue model and improving ROI for scientific infrastructure. Two new jobs were created directly (community manager, content creator; plus one project manager hired during the program).
Societal Impact
By democratizing access to laboratories, DecentraLabs expands opportunities for students and researchers in underserved regions, helping reduce educational inequalities and enabling high-quality remote experimentation.
Industrial / Open-Source Ecosystem
The project deeply integrates and contributes to open-source communities—publishing code, specifications, metadata schemas, APIs, and encouraging external contributions.
EU–Canada Collaboration
The partnership between Nebulous Systems and UBC strengthened through joint development, events, research proposals, and PhD co-supervision (blockchain security). Long-term collaborations are already underway.
Publications and Open-Source Contributions
- Main GitHub organization: https://github.com/DecentraLabsCom
- Marketplace code
- Smart contracts (dOL + $LAB token)
- Smart contract specifications
- Lab metadata specification
- API (“Blockchain Services”)
- Lab App Control
- Tokenomics document
- 96 interviews and surveys dataset
- Conference publication (IFAC PapersOnLine 2025)
Future directions