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Welcome to the ClusterDuck Protocol (CDP)!

The CDP is a firmware for Internet-of-Things electronics devices that utilizes LoRa (Long Range radio), Bluetooth, WiFi, and a variety of sensor integrations. This customizable technology gives you the ability to set up ad-hoc sensor and communications networks in areas where connectivity may be degraded, hard to work with, or nonexistent.

You might be here looking for information on some key concepts:

• I want to make my first Duck! Getting Started
• I want to watch some tutorial videos! CDP Video Tutorials
• There are types of Ducks? What is the difference between each? The Duck Family
• What kind of projects are being built with the Duck family? Active Duck Projects
• I am fairly experienced, and I want to understand CDP data structures. Message Handling
• Just give me the API stuff. CDP API Documentation
• I want to join the community to learn more!
  • Weekly town hall is every Monday at 2pm ET
  • Weekly livestreams are every Thursday at 1pm ET
  • Join us in Slack

Why did we make the ClusterDuck Protocol?

In 2017 Hurricane Maria, a category-5 hurricane, brought unprecedented death and destruction to Puerto Rico. This followed just days after similarly catastrophic Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean, and then a year later Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas. In a 12 month window, these four Atlantic hurricanes combined to inflict an estimated 3000+ fatalities and $318 billion in economic damage.

Maria destroyed everything including our infrastructure for electricity and communications. Communications is a cornerstone of disaster response and without it, we have no means to reach out to loved ones, friends, or first responders. Without modern networks, our ability to organize and coordinate an effective response is dramatically impaired.

The ClusterDuck Protocol (CDP) was created by Project OWL to solve this problem. When infrastructure is down, the CDP can help restore that 1% of critical communication that people need to find loved ones and first responders.

Applications of the CDP have grown beyond Hurricane response to adapt for other natural disasters (such as earthquakes, wildfires), cellular congestion (large events, festivals, sports), sensor networks (farmland, offshore industrials), and more. Working with the Linux Foundation, Project OWL open-sourced the CDP in March 2020 to supercharge development and more rapidly put this in the hands of the people and communities who need it most.

How does it work?

The ClusterDuck Protocol is a firmware that may be loaded on to small Internet-of-Things (IoT) electronics turning them into Ducks. A Duck is an ad-hoc mesh network node that can connect to others in network clusters we call the ClusterDuck Network (CDN). This network provides a foundation for communications and sensors in infrastructure-deprived environments.

Civilians, first responders, and others may connect to DuckLinks over WiFi or Bluetooth with their smartphone or computer to submit information to the network. These Ducks communicate that information with other Ducks, and ultimately up to the world wide web through a network gateway somewhere with a connection or over satellite. Ducks with sensors attached can leverage the CDP to operate autonomously collecting data about their environment and help to provide response efforts and emergency personnel with improved situational awareness.

Interested in developing the CDP with us? Read on in this wiki, fork the repo, submit an issue, or join active conversation in the ClusterDuck Protocol public Slack channels. Say hello when you do!