Abstract
rBridge is a factory for robotics hardware: 3D printed parts, CNC machined parts, PCBs and actuators, ordered from one place and made in cells run by the Avaani robot. It is an rLoop project. It is owned and governed through the rLoop DAO, operated by rLoop's regional companies, and uses the existing $rLoop token for payment, staking, machine funding and governance. No new token is created.
This paper sets out what rBridge makes, how an order moves through the factory, how the organisation is structured, how $rLoop is used, and how control of the treasury moves from the core team to the community over time.
The problem: robots are hard to supply
rLoop builds Avaani, a 32-degree-of-freedom humanoid robot. Designing it was hard. Getting its parts made was harder, and supply became the single biggest obstacle in the project.
A robot needs many processes in small batches with tight tolerances. One arm alone needs machined brackets, printed shells, a custom circuit board and several actuators. Each of those comes from a different supplier, each supplier quotes in weeks, and every design revision restarts the cycle.
Most robotics teams, from startups to university labs, face the same problem. Large manufacturers are built for volume, not for the 5-off, change-it-next-week work that robot development needs.
The robot-run factory
rBridge is built from cells. Each cell is a group of machines, such as CNC mills, 3D printers, an inspection station and an electronics bench, tended by Avaani.
For factory work, Avaani is configured as a humanoid torso on a vertical lift column, mounted on an autonomous mobile base. It drives to whichever machine needs it, loads stock, starts the job, unloads the part, inspects it and moves it to the next step. One robot tends many machines, so a cell keeps working through the night.
Phased capabilities
| Phase | Processes | Why this order |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CNC machining, 3D printing, scan-based inspection | What Avaani's own structure needs most, and the easiest to automate |
| 2 | PCB fabrication and electronics assembly | Motor drivers, sensor boards and controllers for Avaani and customers |
| 3 | Actuators, sub-assemblies, kitting and logistics | The highest-value parts of a robot, built on the processes from phases 1 and 2 |
Avaani is rBridge's first customer. Every part rBridge learns to make for Avaani becomes a catalogue part it can sell to other robotics teams. The long-term aim is a one-stop shop for robotics supply.
How an order works
A customer never has to touch a wallet. Ordering works like any online manufacturing service.
- Request. The customer uploads CAD, Gerber files or drawings with the process, material, quantity and deadline.
- Quote. The rBridge team reviews the files and replies with a price and delivery date. Later, instant quotes for 3D printing and CNC are calculated from the uploaded geometry.
- Pay. The customer pays by card, bank transfer or $rLoop. Paying in $rLoop earns a discount.
- Make. The job is scheduled into a cell, and Avaani runs the machines.
- Inspect. Every part is scanned against its CAD model. Parts out of tolerance are remade, not shipped.
- Ship. Parts are kitted by build and shipped with their inspection report and part passport.
Regional operators
Orders are contracted and invoiced by the rLoop company for the delivery region:
| Delivery region | Operator |
|---|---|
| Europe, the UK, the Americas and rest of world | rLoop UK |
| India | rLoop India |
| Asia outside India | rLoop Pakistan |
Organisation
A DAO is good at collective decisions and transparent money. It is not good at signing a lease, owning a machine, issuing a VAT invoice or carrying liability. rBridge therefore separates governance from operations.
The same core team runs Avaani and rBridge, so the projects share one DAO, one treasury and one governance system rather than each building its own.
One token: $rLoop
rBridge does not issue a new token. Everything runs on $rLoop, the existing rLoop token on Avalanche, which has a fixed supply of 1,000,000,000. One token is easier to understand, keeps all activity flowing to a single asset and avoids splitting the community.
Pay
Customers can pay for orders in $rLoop at a discount. Contributors (rMakers, machinists, QC reviewers) are paid in $rLoop.
Stake
Anyone who does work for rBridge, such as a partner machine shop or a QC reviewer, stakes $rLoop as a quality bond.
Fund machines
Holders lock $rLoop into a pool for a specific machine or cell, and earn rewards from the work it does.
Govern
Staked $rLoop votes on budgets, councils and policy, as described in section 09.
Paying contributors fairly
Rates are set in money, for example €25 per hour of machining or a fixed fee per inspected batch, and settled in $rLoop at the market price on the day of payment. Contributors carry no price risk on work they have already done. Rate changes need 14 days' public notice and approval by the Rate Council.
Staking as a quality bond
Partner shops and reviewers stake $rLoop before taking work. Good work earns staking rewards and more jobs. Parts that fail inspection, or jobs delivered late without notice, cost the provider a share of its stake. The size of each penalty is set by governance.
Machine pools
New capacity is funded through pools. Each pool names one asset, for example "CNC cell 01". Holders lock $rLoop into the pool, the DAO acquires the asset through an operating company, and the pool's stakers earn rewards in proportion to the revenue that asset brings in. When the lock ends, stakers withdraw their $rLoop.
How value returns to the token
A fixed share of rBridge revenue is used to buy $rLoop on the open market. The DAO sets this share. The bought tokens go to staking rewards and the treasury, and the DAO may vote to burn part of them.
What goes on-chain
Blockchain is used where it makes the system more trustworthy, and kept out of the way of customers.
Part passports
For every part, a record of the CAD revision, material batch, machine, operator and inspection scan is hashed and written to Avalanche. The full data stays private. Anyone holding the part and its record can prove which design it was made from and that it passed inspection. This gives robotics customers traceable quality, and prepares rBridge for the EU's coming Digital Product Passport requirements.
Partner machine network
One robot-run cell cannot cover all demand. Independent machine shops can join rBridge by staking $rLoop. They take overflow jobs, follow the same inspection process and build a public quality record on-chain. This is how rBridge grows capacity without owning every machine.
Design royalties
rMakers who design catalogue parts, such as an actuator housing or a joint bracket, earn $rLoop each time that part is ordered.
Contributor payments and staking
Contributor payments, quality bonds, machine pools and governance votes all run through the DAO's contracts on Avalanche.
Using existing allocations
rBridge is funded from $rLoop allocations that already exist. No new tokens are minted.
| Allocation | Tokens | Proposed use for rBridge |
|---|---|---|
| R&D Ecosystem | 325,000,000 | Milestone grants: pilot cell, first paid order, Phase 2 launch |
| Staking Rewards | 100,000,000 | Rewards for early machine pools and quality bonds until revenue buybacks take over |
| Treasury | 100,000,000 | Working capital and a reserve for contributor payments |
| NFT Airdrop | 47,798,906 | Founding customer and founding rMaker rewards |
Grants are released in milestones and each one is reported publicly. rBridge does not receive a single lump sum.
Governance: from multisig to community
Today the rLoop treasury is controlled by a multisig wallet held by the core team. That is practical at the start but not where a DAO should stay. Control moves to the community in stages, each one earning trust before the next.
- Stage 1 · Now
Transparent multisig
Signers and wallet addresses are published, along with a monthly treasury report. The core team spends within an approved operating budget, and anything above it goes to a community vote.
- Stage 2
Community votes, multisig executes
Stakers vote off-chain on Snapshot, and the multisig commits to executing every vote that passes. Two community-elected signers join the multisig. Each project receives a quarterly budget approved by vote.
- Stage 3
On-chain governance
A Governor contract with a timelock on Avalanche executes passed votes automatically. The multisig becomes a guardian that can only block malicious proposals, and this power has a fixed end date. The councils receive their own streamed budgets.
- Stage 4
Full community control
The guardian role ends and the DAO runs entirely through on-chain governance.
Voting rules
- Only staked $rLoop votes. Longer locks carry more weight, so long-term holders count for more than short-term traders.
- Delegation. Holders can delegate their vote to someone they trust.
- Unvested team tokens do not vote. Foundation team tokens gain voting power only as they vest.
- Quorums and notice. Every vote needs a minimum turnout, and changes to pay rates need 14 days' notice.
Councils
Two councils elected by stakers handle day-to-day decisions within limits set by the DAO:
- Node Council approves new machine pools, partner shops and cell locations.
- Rate Council sets contributor pay rates and staking penalties. It includes an independent seat.
Growth
- Build in public. A weekly short video of a part Avaani made, from file to finished part.
- Open parts catalogue. Avaani's joint, bracket and actuator designs, published with an "Order this part" button on each.
- Direct outreach. Humanoid and robotics startups, university labs and student teams, starting in Central Europe.
- Community rewards. Referral rewards in $rLoop for members who bring in customers, and a founding-customer discount on the first 50 orders.
Roadmap
| Step | Ordering | Factory | Token and governance |
|---|---|---|---|
| MVP | Quote request form, manual quotes, payment link | Pilot cell: CNC and 3D printing with Avaani tending | Transparent multisig, published treasury report |
| V1 | Instant quotes for 3D printing and CNC, checkout, order tracking | Inspection and part passports live | Snapshot voting, first machine pool, quality bonds |
| V2 | PCB quotes from Gerber files, API for repeat customers | Phase 2 electronics, first partner shops | On-chain Governor with timelock, councils elected |
| V3 | Full robotics catalogue | Phase 3 actuators and assemblies | Guardian ends, full community control |
Open questions for the community
- What share of revenue should buy back $rLoop, and how much of it should be burned?
- How long should machine pool locks run, and how large should quality bonds be?
- Who should hold the independent seat on the Rate Council?
- Which jurisdiction should the token foundation sit in?
- Which parts should go into the first public catalogue?
Join the discussion on the rLoop Discord.
Important. This whitepaper is a draft for discussion. It describes proposed plans that may change, and it is not an offer to sell, or a solicitation to buy, any token or other asset. $rLoop is a utility and governance token. Nothing here is financial, legal or tax advice. Holding or staking $rLoop carries risk, including the loss of its full value.