Formicarium

This project combines an AI agent with a blockchain-based marketplace for the manufacturing services of autonomous machines. The project features a browser-based application that enables users to interact with an AI agent to express their wishes for a personalized product. Through a chat interface, users communicate their preferences, and the AI agent processes the request and generates an optimized manufacturing plan. In the current version, customers can request a customized 3D printed keychain by providing design idea that they want to be printed. The AI agent first presents a 2D rendering of the design and then provides the corresponding STL file for 3D printing. In addition to providing the design, the AI agent communicates directly with manufacturing machines, sharing relevant information with both the machines and the customer. This interaction ensures that the customer receives all the necessary details about the product and service before finalizing their order.

A blockchain network underpins the entire system, offering a decentralized marketplace where machines can advertise their services through smart contracts, and users can post their orders. When a customer is satisfied with their order details, refined through ongoing chats with the AI agent, they lock the funds for the service (in USDC tokens) within the smart contract. The manufacturing machines then review the order, including details like price, and determine whether they agree to fulfill it. Once a machine accepts, it signs an agreement, and the order is placed in a queue for execution. Orders are processed based on a pricing mechanism that considers both the minimum price for the service and the actual price set by the customer. This allows customers to expedite their orders by providing additional funds to accelerate execution. Throughout the manufacturing process, customers can track the progress of their orders, even watching a livestream of their product being produced. Upon completion of the order, the locked funds for service provision can be released, provided there are no disputes about the execution of the service.

This project leverages a variety of technologies. For AI agent we used AgentKit from Coinbase Developer Platform to enable chat functionality and interaction with smart contracts. For communication between the frontend and manufacturing machines (service providers), we employed FastAPI. A special function for generating a 3D model from grayscale image in the form of a keychain was created using the trimesh Python library. For smart contract development we used Hardhat. We conducted tests on the Base Sepolia and Arbitrum Sepolia testnets, and the smart contract was also deployed on the Base network for production. The AgentKit was also employed for decision-making of the autonomous 3D printer agent. Communication between the AI agent and the 3D printer was handled via FastAPI, and Octoprint was used to manage the interaction between the 3D printer agent and the physical 3D printer.We also used Next.js to build the frontend of the application and the Shadcn boilerplate from Horizon AI to enhance the design of the user interface. To generate the brand image and logo, we utilized Qwen. For logo creation and frontend assets we used Inkscape. Figma was used to design the user interface, ensuring a user-friendly layout, and Canva was leveraged for creating presentation slides.