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| Solaris Cybernetics LLC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| p.o.box 26577 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| collegeville, pa 19426 USA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 610-454-0647 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [email protected] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dragons: a new way to farm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Over the last several years we have developed an integrated system to bring the benefits of robotics to farmers. It is a design specifically intended for the agricultural markets. Therefore it is simple, rugged and adaptable. It is also very affordable and is easily maintained by the owners. We specifically designed the robots in order to make small family farms profitable. By combining any of the several robot chassis to the various sub-systems designed for different crops, you can have a robot for virtually any agricultural enterprise, regardless of size. And these are true robots, fully capable of performing their design functions without any human supervision for days or weeks at a time. Everything about the Dragons is designed to reduce the farmer's costs and add to his independence from market fluctuations and bad weather. Some cost less than a used car. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Dragons make small farms profitable for several reasons. The most obvious is they are autonomous and do not require hired help to operate. Next, they turn farming into a 12 month business with a real cash flow for all of those 12 months. They also get farmers into higher profit crops, including organic crops and bio-fuel. Finally, they allow double land use. The Virtubots absorb inputs from their surroundings and keep in motion. That means they can operate in fields that are also planted with traditional crops, or grazing livestock. The farmer gets 2 crops on the same land at the same time. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| That being said what, exactly, is a Dragon? I'll begin with what it is not. It is not C3PO or R2D2. It has more in common with an insect than a robot from the movies. Yet it is autonomous, able to move and take care of itself, like an insect, and perform tasks useful for the group, much like bees or ants. Like insects it has a strong exoskeleton and a simple nervous system. It is this nervous system that is the main advantage Dragons have over other kinds of robots. Rather than a complex digital, computerized control system, it has a simple analog control system using dozens, rather than thousands, of simple components to perform its functions. The components, and the system itself is therefore rugged, impervious to most kinds of damage and able to perform even when damaged. It is powered by the sun and the wind, never has to be programmed and is always ready. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Integrated into the hull of the Dragon is a closed system that absorbs light, wind energy, water and nutrients from the outside and creates an artificial environment inside the Virtubot that is ideal for the crop you are growing. Integral to that are other systems to process the crops, if necessary, into a usable form. We have several sub-systems that can be inserted. These make biofuel, grow building materials, collect atmospheric water, desalinate water, cultivate fruits, herbs or vegetables, restore depleted farmland organically, or raise fish. All of these are premium, high value crops and the Virtubots produce them 12 months a year. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The processors are a closed environment that receives its air, water, light and nutrients from sunlight, wind turbines and photovoltaic panels. With no purchased inputs, the cost of production is merely overhead. Inside the perpetual Summer of the processor any plant reaches market size in record time, and is growing to that size all year. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| These processors are integrated into mobile, robotic platforms that actively seek wind, sunlight, water, etc, to drive the process. These are allowed to move about within a confined area, such as a farm field or parking lot, so as to minimize their environmental 'foot print'. The product is harvested from the processors daily. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Why robots or robotic buildings? The reason is productivity. Let us assume a hypothetical square mile of land. Left to natural factors it can grow some amount of food annually, depending on where it is located. A square mile near the South Pole will grow nothing while one near the Equator with grow a lot, assuming water is available. Over the centuries Mankind has developed many methods to improve the productivity of a piece of land. Some use natural means while others use artificial means. The one thing they have in common is they both remove productivity from another piece of land and transfer it to the piece they wish to enhance. The next effects cancel each other out, at best. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Our approach does not transfer productivity from one location to another. Ours expands the domain of that piece of land by extending it vertically. Extending from the surface of that land, all the way to Earth orbital space, there is a vast pool of energy that is not normally available to that land. Our robotic greenhouses harvest that energy and use it directly. This allows a net increase in productivity on a global basis. It also makes good business sense to use that which you already own and possess in virtually unlimited quantities, before you purchase anything. The mechanical structure enhances the nutrients going to the organism, allowing extremely high productivity without the risks of GMO, genetically modified organisms. We believe this technology is a rational alternative to GMO in other areas of agriculture as well. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| One last point. It seems that storms have become more frequent and severe in recent years. The damage to crops is enormous. The Dragons offer a considerable degree of insurance against crop loss from weather. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This is a new way to farm that is good for you, good for the land, and good for America. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thank you. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rudolph Behrens | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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