Be Right There

Inspiration

Whether it's a coffee catch-up, a morning workout session, or dinner at a restaurant, we all know that one friend who's always late. Our inspirations starts from a very personal problem - punctuality has always been an issue in our friend group. Sometimes, we can't help but wonder - is there a fun way to motivate our friends to be on time?

As enthusiasts of psychology and blockchain, we're constantly seeking ways to use technology to foster behavioral changes. Imagine creating something that's geeky, fun, and practical, using web3 technology in our everyday world. Scroll’s versatility provides a chance to explore this possibility, and this inspires us to create Be Right There as our pilot project.

What it does

Be Right There is a platform leveraging behavioral economics, gamification to address a common issue for every friend group: punctuality. This is where we turn punctuality into a playful bet, to encourage on-time arrivals and positive behavioral changes.

Be Right There allows users to create an event where everyone places a small bet after accepting the invitation. This involves submitting a request to our Backend API to verify each user's location at the event deadline. The API validates user locations, ensuring the precision and reliability of the data. If any participant is verified as late, their bet is distributed to the punctual attendees via a smart contract.

From a behavioral economics perspective, our platform offers a fun and innovative way to leverage friendly bets to incentivize punctuality. By placing bets, users are motivated to be right there on time, as there’s a literal price for being late.

Gamification is also essential to users motivations. A review of 984 studies shows that gamification effectively promotes positive behaviors. Sometimes, you just wouldn’t want to lose this friendly bet with your friends. The social comparisons here create accountability, and they also add a fun twist to friend groups and behavioral improvements.

How we built it

We decided to build this on Scroll because it’s a newly built L2 chain that has low gas fees and high speed, along with huge potential for dApps showcase. It lays a solid foundation for initiating a friendly bet with on chain, given the predictably frequent amount of transactions from multiple parties.

Build an Upgradable Smart Contract:
- We developed an upgradable smart contract using OpenZeppelin's upgradeable contract library. This approach allows us to deploy new implementations and enhance the contract's functionality without disrupting the existing state or losing data.
- The smart contract manages event creation, bet placements, participant tracking, and location verification through a Backend API. It also handles the distribution of bets to punctual attendees.
Build a Simple Frontend:
- We created a simple frontend to interact with the smart contract at https://frontend-landing-six.vercel.app/.
- The frontend allows users to create events, accept invitations, and view their participation status.
- It provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface to make it easy for participants to engage with the platform and manage their bets.
Keep Iterating:
- We continuously improve the platform by adding new features and enhancements. One of the key areas we focused on is adding view functions to the smart contract.
- These view functions allow the frontend to display relevant data, such as event details, participant status, and bet outcomes, in real-time.
- By iterating on the smart contract and frontend, we ensure the platform remains responsive to user feedback and can adapt to new requirements and improvements.

Our development process emphasizes flexibility and scalability, enabling us to provide a robust and engaging experience for users who want to turn punctuality into a fun and rewarding game. As we move forward, we plan to integrate more advanced features and continue enhancing the user experience.

Challenges we ran into

Unexpected Limitations:
- During development, we encountered several unexpected limitations that required us to adjust our approach and find alternative solutions.
No On-Chain Proof-of-Location Solution:
- After some basic research, we realized that there is currently no on-chain solution for proof-of-location. This was a significant hurdle since our project heavily relies on verifying participants' locations.
Leveraging Web2 Solutions:
- To overcome the lack of on-chain proof-of-location, we explored leveraging Web2 solutions. This involved using traditional web technologies and APIs to verify user locations.
Optimizing Workflow:
- We discovered that implementing a more optimized workflow, such as automating the entire verification process by pinging users' phones for their locations, would require extensive development time. This wasn't feasible within our project timeline.
Hybrid Solution:
- As a compromise, we aimed to develop a hybrid solution that combines on-chain and off-chain components to achieve our goals. This would allow us to leverage the strengths of both Web2 and blockchain technologies.
Exploring Chainlink Solutions:
- Our initial plan was to implement a solution using Chainlink's time-based upkeep system to verify user locations at the event deadline. Chainlink Functions would then trigger a call to a Backend API to validate the locations. However, after clarification, we learned that both Chainlink Functions and Chainlink's time-based upkeep system are not available on the Scroll Sepolia Testnet. However, we still managed to create an implementation that integrates Chainlink Functions and Chainlink Automation (Be Right There v2). Details are explained in the video.
Using Mock Contracts and a Simple Backend:
- Despite these challenges, we decided to move forward by using mock contracts and a simple backend. This approach allows us to get the project started and demonstrate its potential, even if it isn't the fully optimized solution we initially envisioned.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Building from Scratch:
- Our Blockchain Developer has extensive DeFi experience and is adept at building smart contracts for typical DeFi interactions. However, in usual work environments, we have support from other teams and can sometimes reference other projects. For this original idea, everything had to be built from scratch. It was a great experience because, instead of focusing on business logic that often feels distant (let's be honest, I don't have 3 million to put into a lending vault), I got to build something fun. Coding the logic of Be Right There rekindled my love for coding.
Adapting and Simplifying:
- Despite all the challenges, we managed to reduce the project to something manageable within a hackathon timeframe. Our team has so much passion for the project, but sometimes, to get things started, you have to learn how to simplify and prioritize.
Stepping Out of Comfort Zones:
- Most of our teammates stepped out of their comfort zones to create something new. We are a new team participating in hackathon and this is our first trial. Some of us had to quickly grasp web3 concepts and work on video production for the project. It was definitely a memorable experience for us!
Team Engagement:
- At the end of building the project, we initiated the first Be Right There Bet within the team and showcased it to our friends, receiving positive feedback and enthusiasm!

What we learned

Start Small and Draw from Personal Experience:
- We've always wanted to build something and participate in a hackathon. Why not begin by addressing significant issues we encounter in our daily lives? This approach made the project more relatable and engaging.
Bridging Web2 and Web3:
- Bridging Web2 and Web3 creates various opportunities. We can promote technology and blockchain use cases by solving real-world problems and making them relevant to the masses. We've discussed this idea with our communities and received a lot of positive feedback. They are excited to use it on Scroll.
Discovering New Use Cases:
- We discovered many potential use cases. For instance, creating a fully decentralized solution for location verification could apply not only to events but also to human resource management and logistics in business.
Integrating DeFi:
- What if we add DeFi to our project? Creating simple 4626 vaults that generate yields for all participants or distributing customized tokens for punctuality are exciting next steps. These features could enhance user engagement and provide additional incentives for punctuality.

What's next for Be Right There

In the future, we are planning to:

Explore Chainlink Oracles and Functions:
- To create a fully decentralized proof-of-location for users, we aim to integrate Chainlink oracles and functions once they become available on Scroll.
Integrate DeFi Solutions:
- With integrations like ERC4626, users' commitments in the vault can be easily integrated into other yield sources, providing additional incentives and benefits.
Expand the Platform:
- Leveraging the technology we've developed, we can expand the platform to address other challenges. One potential field we are considering is health and fitness. 'Be Right There' could be used to verify gym attendance or access running app APIs to confirm workouts. Ultimately, our goal is to use technology to bring positive behavioral changes for a good cause.