What robots need to operate as Decentralized Physical AI (DePAI)

Decentralized Physical AI (DePAI) reimagines autonomous robots as self-sustaining agents in the Machine Economy. These robots combine AI “brains,” real-world hardware “bodies,” and decentralized infrastructure to perceive, decide, and act independently. Key components include AI models for cognition, sensor networks for data collection, spatial intelligence for navigation, on-chain identities for economic agency, and Machine DeFi for autonomous financial transactions. Powered by peaq’s Layer-1 blockchain, DePAI systems operate at the edge, outside centralized control, and interact directly with their environments through decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs).

Key Ideas

DePAI integrates AI, hardware, and decentralized infrastructure to enable autonomous machine operation.
Robots gain agency through on-chain identities, decentralized data inputs, and financial autonomy via Machine DeFi.

Why It Matters?

DePAI slowly disrupts industries reliant on manual labor, centralized logistics or proprietary data. Strategic moves include piloting DePAI technologies, investing in decentralized machine intelligence and transitioning from asset ownership to participation in decentralized networks where machines act as independent economic agents. Business models such as “machine-as-a-service” allow robots to manage their own costs and upgrades via decentralized finance.