Innovation Priority Evidence — Deep Research & Circular Search Origins

1. The Origin — How "Digging Deeper" Was Born

The Wheelder platform has been in continuous development since late 2020, starting as a simple student project called whl_project. By October 2023, it had evolved into a multi-app platform with database backups containing Unix timestamps that prove its existence (1697997845 = October 22, 2023, 18:24:05 UTC).

By late 2024, the platform included an AI-powered learning app that combined a prompt interface with an answer panel — a pictorial chatbot where users could ask questions and receive AI-generated answers alongside images and keyword extraction.

In December 2024, the developer conceived and implemented a specific new feature: the ability to "dig deeper into a topic level by level with only clicking a button." This feature allowed users to progressively explore any subject by drilling down through layers of information — each level building on the previous one, going deeper with each click.

This concept — progressive, automated, multi-level topic exploration — is what later became known as:

• "Digging Deeper" — the original feature name (December 2024)
• "Circular Search" — the renamed feature in Wheelder V2.8 (February 2026)
• "Deep Research" — the current feature name in the Wheelder platform

The feature was immediately archived to Google Drive, creating an immutable, third-party-timestamped record of its existence.

2. Google Drive Evidence — Immutable Third-Party Timestamps

Five milestone archives were uploaded to Google Drive, with the following server-recorded timestamps:

Google Drive API Verification

Anyone with a Google API key can independently verify these timestamps using the Google Drive API:

GET https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v3/files/{FILE_ID}?fields=name,createdTime,modifiedTime,md5Checksum&key=YOUR_API_KEY

File IDs:
  140MW9j7RRoT43rfeYmNmrYfe3TrZ2Lww  — wheeleder_latest_update_and_backup
  1nUjcYIyA5kHy4En5ECDn9sVXxbYpITdi  — whl_project Learn App renamed to ReLearnly
  1M7Awxe7NGoMwNPs62EawOVrK65FahHhN  — ReLearnApp double prompt entry
  1IbQMksPJ1rOtqFel1BDLomxMturf7IE0  — Relearn App Digging Deeper (KEY EVIDENCE)
  1sdiJ4zlSIr4APN8S8g7Btl08jghYiXZS  — wheeleder_files_sorted

The API will return the createdTime and md5Checksum exactly as recorded by Google's servers at upload time.

3. Source Code Evidence — What's Inside the Archives

The archives are publicly downloadable. Anyone can extract them and inspect the source code. Here is what they contain:

3.1 — The whl_project/ Folder

Every archive contains a whl_project/ root folder — the original project directory name used since 2020. This naming is consistent across all archives and matches the SQL backup filenames (wheeleder_backup_1697997845.sql).

3.2 — Dual-Panel AI Chat Interface (learn.php)

The core file apps/edu/ui/views/notes/cms/learn.php implements:

• #answerDiv + #imageDiv — a side-by-side layout with AI answers on the left and images/research on the right. This dual-panel layout has been the foundation of the platform since 2023.
• AI-powered responses — direct OpenAI API integration for answering user queries
• Keyword extraction — automatically pulling keywords from AI responses for further research
• Browser Text-to-Speech — using the speechSynthesis API for reading answers aloud
• Progressive topic exploration — the ability to take keywords and drill deeper into subtopics

3.3 — Hardcoded AI Model: Temporal Evidence

3.4 — API Key Format: Additional Temporal Evidence

The archived code contains OpenAI API keys using the sk- prefix format. In early 2024, OpenAI changed their API key format to sk-proj-. The presence of sk- format keys in the code further narrows the development window to before early 2024.

3.5 — SQL Database Backups

The archives contain SQL backup files with filenames containing Unix timestamps:

• wheeleder_backup_1697997845.sql → October 22, 2023, 18:24:05 UTC
• _backup_1698038636.sql → October 23, 2023, 07:23:56 UTC

These SQL files contain table structures and data entries with created_at timestamp fields dating to October 2023, establishing the platform's existence at that time.

3.6 — Brand Name Evidence: "Wheeleder" Typo

The source code and SQL backups use the spelling "Wheeleder" (with an extra 'e') — the original misspelling that was later corrected to "Wheelder" in 2025. This organic naming evolution, including the preserved typo, is characteristic of original work developed over time, not work copied from another source.

4. Git Repository Evidence — Public Commit History

4.1 — The relearn Repository (First Public Commit: March 2024)

github.com/Wheelder/relearn

This repository contains the initial public commit of the platform's source code, dated March 18, 2024. The commit includes the full learn.php file with:

• Dual-panel layout (#answerDiv + #imageDiv)
• OpenAI API integration with gpt-3.5-turbo-16k-0613
• Keyword extraction and progressive topic exploration
• speechSynthesis TTS
• SQL backups from October 2023
• "Wheeleder" branding throughout

The commit history, author dates, and file contents are all publicly inspectable by anyone.

4.2 — The wheelder_platform Repository (166+ Commits)

github.com/Wheelder/wheelder_platform

The main platform repository with continuous development history from August 2025 to present. This includes the evolution from "Circular Search" to "Deep Research" and all subsequent features.

4.3 — The wheelder-releases Repository (9 Tagged Releases)

github.com/Wheelder/wheelder-releases

Formal version history with tagged GitHub Releases documenting each milestone.

5. Public Timeline Comparison

The following table presents Wheelder's documented development dates alongside the public announcement dates of similar features by other companies. All dates are based on publicly available information.

6. The Complete Evidence Chain

The evidence forms a continuous, verifiable chain from October 2023 through March 2026:

This chain demonstrates continuous, organic development — not a project created retroactively. The gradual evolution from whl_project to "Wheeleder" to "ReLearnly" to "Wheelder," including the preserved typo, the deprecated model identifiers, and the messy student-quality code, all point to authentic, long-term development by an independent developer.

7. How Anyone Can Independently Verify This Evidence

Step 1: Verify Google Drive Upload Dates

Use the Google Drive API to confirm the createdTime for any of the five files listed above. The API endpoint returns the server-recorded upload date, which cannot be modified by the file owner.

GET https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v3/files/1IbQMksPJ1rOtqFel1BDLomxMturf7IE0?fields=name,createdTime,md5Checksum&key=YOUR_API_KEY

Step 2: Verify Git Commit History

git clone https://github.com/Wheelder/relearn.git
cd relearn
git log --format="%H %ai %s" --all

Step 3: Verify Archive Integrity (OneDrive)

45 ZIP archives are stored on OneDrive with recorded MD5 hashes. Download any archive and verify:

# Windows PowerShell
(Get-FileHash "filename.zip" -Algorithm MD5).Hash

# Linux/macOS
md5sum filename.zip

The complete hash manifest is available at wheelder.com/timeline.

Step 4: Verify SQL Timestamps

# Python
import datetime
print(datetime.datetime.utcfromtimestamp(1697997845))
# Output: 2023-10-22 18:24:05

Step 5: Inspect Source Code

Download any archive from Google Drive, extract it, and inspect the code. Look for:

• gpt-3.5-turbo-16k-0613 — deprecated model proving pre-June-2024 development
• sk- prefix API keys — pre-2024 OpenAI key format
• #answerDiv + #imageDiv — the dual-panel layout
• speechSynthesis — browser TTS implementation
• "Wheeleder" branding — the original misspelling

8. Public Repository Links

Additional Public Resources

• Innovation Timeline: wheelder.com/timeline — Interactive evidence page with full hash manifest
• Wayback Machine: Archived snapshot of relearn repository
• Software Heritage: All repositories submitted for permanent, independent archival
• GitHub Organization: github.com/Wheelder

9. Important Note

This document presents verifiable facts and evidence. Every claim made herein can be independently confirmed using the methods described in Section 7. The Google Drive timestamps, git commit history, SQL database entries, cryptographic hashes, and source code artifacts all form a consistent, corroborating evidence chain.

The complete evidence pack, including Google Drive screenshots, archive links, and detailed documentation, is publicly available at github.com/Wheelder/deep-research-founding-proof.

For questions about this evidence or to request additional verification materials, visit wheelder.com/timeline.