Exploring ENS-based Onchain Identity for Robots & Machines (ROS / OEM Feedback Welcome)

[onchain-idllc]

Hi everyone 👋

I’m exploring an open, standards-aligned approach to machine and robot identity using existing Ethereum + ENS infrastructure, and I’d love feedback from the ROS and robotics community.

What I’m Working On

I’m building Onchain ID, an identity layer that allows robots, machines, devices, and fleets to have:

A globally unique, human-readable identifier

Verifiable ownership and control onchain

Programmable rights (who can update, operate, or authorize actions)

Interoperability across vendors and systems

Importantly:

This is not a wallet

Not custody

Not a payment system

Just naming + identity + rights, anchored to Ethereum via ENS

Example identifiers:
alpha.robot-id.eth
unit-023.machine-id.eth
drone-17.fleet-id.eth

Why I’m Posting Here

Before pushing this further, I want to sanity-check the idea with people who actually build robots and systems:

Does ENS-style naming make sense as a machine identity primitive?

Where would this realistically plug into ROS (config, auth, discovery, logging, fleet mgmt)?

What would be unacceptable from an engineering or ops perspective?

What problems are not solved by this approach?

I’m especially interested in feedback from:

ROS maintainers

Robotics OEM engineers

Fleet / autonomy infrastructure teams

What This Is Not

To avoid confusion:

❌ Not proposing robots hold funds

❌ Not replacing existing PKI or device auth

❌ Not requiring Ethereum knowledge for operators

✅ Intended as a verifiable identity layer, similar to DNS — but programmable

Goal of This Discussion

I’m not pitching a product — I’m looking to understand:

Whether this is useful

Where it fits (or doesn’t)

How it should be shaped if it’s ever to be adopted responsibly

If this is the wrong direction entirely, I’d rather hear that early.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, critiques, or questions. 🙏

Happy to share more technical details if useful.

— Hector
Founder Onchain ID