Phygital Object

Merging Physical and Digital Realms

Introduction

A phygital object integrates its physical form with digital connectivity, ensuring changes in one reflect instantly in the other. Embedded chips update physical alterations digitally, while databases mirror physical states. In web3, such objects enable secure transactions, where ownership transfers upon digital confirmation, and offline sales require digital equivalence for finalization.

An object is phygital if and only if its digital side is so connected with its physical one that any change in one also changes the other.

• For its physical part, this is ensured by transferring information about the alteration of its digital state to the chip embedded in the item.

• For its digital part - by modifying the register about its physical state in the corresponding database.

Consider the example of its implementation in web3. If a non-fungible token with a physical equivalent is sent from one wallet to another, the recipient now owns that equivalent. If the item is sold offline, the sale will not be finalised until its digital equivalent arrives at the buyer’s blockchain address.

If either condition is not met, the transaction - on and off-chain - will be cancelled, and the material item marked as illegally retained.

In sum, all parts of the phygital object behave as if the material and the virtual had never been separated. It is simultaneously present in these two realms, and thus combines them in itself. In it, the digital is physical and the physical is digital, and both exist insofar as one is the other.