The Hamster MinerLink to this section

TL;DRLink to this section

The Hamster Miner is a physical mining device that records accepted wheel-magnet passages as work.
A sensor detects the magnet, and a small computer saves the accepted measurements.
Independent cameras provide video; a working feed doesn't mean work is being counted, or vice versa.

What is the device?Link to this section

The Hamster Miner is a physical hamster mining device built around a wheel, a wheel-mounted magnet, and a sensor. When the magnet passes the sensor, the device checks the reading and saves an accepted passage as one work unit. It's different from a virtual Miner NFT: owning an NFT doesn't give you control of the device.

A Raspberry Pi Pico carries the sensor readings to a Raspberry Pi, which applies the counting rules and saves the results. Independent cameras let you watch the device, but video doesn't measure work, fill gaps in the sensor record, or authorize settlement.

How it worksLink to this section

The wheel-mounted magnet produces active and inactive readings from the Hall sensor. The Pico passes those observations to the Pi, which checks them and saves accepted passages in ten-minute rounds. The production signing chip signs saved measurement records for delivery to the Oracle.

If a camera loses its feed while the sensor and measurement computer remain healthy, counting and round closure continue. The reverse is also possible: video can show a moving wheel while a measurement fault prevents new work from being counted.

Technical detail: hardware responsibilitiesLink to this section

Part	Function	Boundary
Wheel and magnet	Trigger active/inactive sensor readings	Do not identify what moved the wheel or in which direction
Hall sensor and Pico	Send readings with their order and timing	Do not count accepted work, close rounds, or sign records
Pi measurement service	Check counting rules and save passages and completed rounds	Cannot replace uncertain measurements with guesses
Durable SQLite state	Save work, round history, and records awaiting delivery	Must be preserved, unlike a replaceable display cache
Production signing chip	Sign records with a key that cannot be exported	Cannot verify the data supplied by its host
Cameras	Supply independent video feeds	Cannot access the measurement database or authorize settlement

NoIR and OV CSI cameras and an Arducam UVC camera run as separate services. Public playback reveals viewing information, not camera controls or publishing credentials.

Rules and boundariesLink to this section

One accepted passage is one work unit. It does not prove that an animal completed a wheel revolution.
At startup, the Pi must observe an inactive sensor before counting a new passage.
Camera or playback failure alone does not stop counting, round closure, or measurement delivery.
Captured audio must not leave the device. If a provider requires silent audio, it is not microphone audio.
The Hamster Miner does not hold settlement signer or relayer keys.
Software updates must preserve saved measurement history; an update does not justify resetting the counter.
Video cannot fill gaps in the sensor record.

Separate reporting historiesLink to this section

The Pi keeps a physical counter and separate reporting histories. Each reporting history has its own installation identity, counter epoch, start time, and delivery state, so its total isn't the physical counter's lifetime total. Comparisons need to use the matching reporting history.

Records verified work and tracks settled rounds and Squeek blocks on Ethereum. Calculates rewards from settled work, holds funded SQK, and pays eligible NFT owners. The Miner ERC-721 contract. Tracks NFT ownership and coordinates minting and merges with Mining. Applies Core or Mining upgrades authorized by its governing Timelock. Generates Miner NFT artwork from fixed onchain visual data. Queues governance operations and enforces a delay before they can be executed. The SQK ERC-20 contract. Enforces the lifetime supply cap; only Mining can mint SQK. Checks that visual data conforms to the required DotGrid format. When new mining power starts earning. Minting and merging schedule it for a later round, and a checkpoint must process the change. A reward update that processes settled work and scheduled mining-power changes. It can make rewards available but doesn't pay them to an owner's wallet. The Miner NFT permanently burned in a merge. Its unclaimed rewards move to the survivor, but its image is not combined or kept. SQK issued under the mining reward rules. You can direct a share of your Miner's rewards to fund SqueekFi projects. The physical mining device that records accepted wheel-magnet passages as work. It is separate from the virtual Miner NFTs. Squeekchain's record of accepted wheel-magnet passages. It doesn't prove animal identity and isn't how Ethereum reaches consensus. Combining two eligible same-level Miners you own into one higher-level Miner. One NFT is permanently burned; the survivor keeps both Miners' unclaimed rewards. The completed Squeek blocks a Miner must wait through before merging. It measures completed work, not elapsed time or Ethereum blocks; transfers don't reset it. The power used to calculate a Miner's share of rewards when eligible and active. A larger share of total power can mean a larger share of rewards. A ten-minute period used to group measured work. The device saves a completed round's work total when measurement remained uninterrupted. The transferable token used for mining rewards. It has a lifetime supply cap and is separate from the Miner NFT and the device's work count. A completed amount of settled work. Enough recorded work completes one Squeek block; it is not an Ethereum block. Squeek Miner NFTs earn SQK linked to recorded wheel activity. Owners can direct a share of those rewards to fund SqueekFi projects. Squeekchain's ecosystem for hamster-powered onchain finance. Miner owners can choose to fund projects with a share of their SQK rewards. The Miner NFT you keep in a merge. It gains a level, keeps its ID and image, and receives both Miners' unclaimed rewards. A Miner's recorded reward balance that hasn't been paid to a wallet. It stays with the NFT when ownership changes. One wheel-magnet passage that met the device's counting rules and was saved. It records work, not an amount of SQK.