Solaris Cybernetics LLC
p.o.box 26577
collegeville, pa 19426 USA
610-454-0647
[email protected]
Dragons: a new way to create wealth
The story of civilization and the story of technology are intertwined. Even primitive devices like fire, hand tools, the plow, the spear, domesticated animals, created enough of a surplus in those things needed for survival, food, clothing and shelter, that people could devote some of their time to learning and the arts. So civilization began.
The Industrial Revolution took us to the next step. First steam engines, then machines of all kinds, provided a surplus of effort that did not make corresponding demands of the means of life support. This 'slave labor' that did not have to be fed, clothed or sheltered, made more goods available at a lower cost. Our modern world began.
In the early days of the Industrial Revolution these machines were extremely expensive. So much so that only the wealthy could buy them. Since people tend to look out for their own needs first, this meant they could get more work from less people. This lead to a deep rooted fear among working people that industrial growth was a two edged sword. It made more goods available at a lower cost, but it also made them vulnerable to the whims of the markets.
In recent times we have seen the first step in a reversal of the trend. Personal computers have placed the means of being a business person within the grasp of the average person. Computers and word processors replaced some secretaries and book keepers, as technology had always done in the past, but this time those displaced people could get a computer, too, and provide their skills to others. While a small step, it is the first change in 200+ years.
Here at Solaris Cybernetics we are taking this trend to the next step. Using our robots, individual people of average means can acquire a robot that is a complete factory in itself. Depending on what product is chosen, it seeks out raw materials and energy from free, natural sources, and converts them into a finished product without any supervision. Each person becomes president of their own industrial enterprise. For years corporations have used robots to replace people. Now, people can use robots to replace corporations. Technology is philosophically neutral. It can be used to liberate or oppress, build or destroy. The difference is who guides it.
In essence, the issue isn't about availability of resources. It is about control. Who decides how much you pay? Who decides if you will have access at all? We decided that all people should have access to those things necessary to sustain their life at as low a cost as possible. You shouldn't have to devote the majority of your life worrying if you will have food and water, whether the lights will stay on, whether you can get to your job, your children to school. Technology is supposed to work for us, not the other way around. To do this we invented our robots, the Dragons, and an entire network of like-minded people to help each other cope with issues we all face as people, plus the new challenges to come.
We believe in free enterprise and the right, and ability, of the average person to live their life as they think best. To do that in the modern world requires resources. Political democracy without economic democracy is a half effort. Fortunately we are all inheritors of a great intellectual legacy. Humanity already knows how to take care of everyone in ways that are fair, responsible, and protective of individual liberty.
Because of their appearance, we call them Dragons.
These are low cost robots, comparable in cost to a car, that use renewable energy and biological processes to make things vital to everyday life; fuel, potable water, building materials, food. Working for their owners, they manufacture all the things that make modern life possible. These robots are available as finished machines, kits, and plans. All require accepting the licensing agreement. This makes the technology available to almost all of the people who need it.
Over the last several years we have developed an integrated system to bring the benefits of robotics to everyone. It is a design specifically intended for individuals. 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 businesses profitable. By combining any of the several robot chassis to the various sub-systems designed for different products, you can have a robot for many different enterprises, regardless of your means. 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 be easy to use and adaptable to local needs.
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 Dragon that is ideal for a specialized collection of plants. These plants, natural varieties and usually indigenous, are a biologically based production system that gathers free inputs, such as sun, wind, rain, air, and converts it into a useful and salable product. Thus the Dragons can 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 products and the Dragons 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 full 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? The reason is personal empowerment. Technology is meant to work for people. People are not supposed to work for technology. Robots will work tirelessly for as long as it takes, consuming nothing but sun, wind and rain. Harsh weather can't harm them. Dull, repetitive tasks don't bother them. This frees the human, the thinking human, to create, to plan, to act, to live as they see fit. They are in control. No one can interfere with the sun, wind or rain. No one can deny them the raw materials they need to provide for themselves or their family. They are truly  independent, self-reliant, free. Whatever they choose to do next is what they want to do, not what they have to do.
Our approach does not transfer productivity from one location to another. Ours does not take energy or materials from foreign lands. All over the Earth, there is a vast pool of energy, free to all. Our robotics 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 factors available to the bio-systems functioning inside the robots, allowing them to work at optimal levels at all times. Efficient, natural, and safe for everyone.
In practice, individuals or small groups build a small fleet of Dragons. These might be purchased ready-made, built from kits or built from plans. There is no limit to the number of Dragons you can make, or the uses to which they can be applied. All the things people typically need for everyday life, food, energy, water, fuel and materials, can all be made by those same people in their own neighborhoods. They will be forever free of the uncertainties of the safety of their food or water supply, of interruptions to fuel, of the simple manipulation of the their private lives for political gain by people they have never met.
One last point. Whether you believe global warming is real or not, whether you believe it can be fixed or not, it is obvious we are pushing the Earth's resources to the limit. We as Americans have always prided ourselves on our ability to innovate and adapt. The automobile was invented in Germany, but an automobile for the masses was invented in America. We can keep the dream of personal empowerment if we just consider our options. Cars are not the problem, per se, it is what they spew into the air, and where it comes from. Fix the fuel issue and personal liberty is preserved. We can apply this idea to a myriad of issues. We can support local farmers who use responsible methods of agriculture. We will get cheaper, cleaner food and preserve jobs in our own towns. We can be the solution or we can be the problem. We can do better for the Earth by doing better for ourselves. We can prosper beyond the current ability to imagine, by using better and smarter ways to live better and smarter lives.
This is a new way to create wealth that is good for you, good for America, and good for the Earth.
Thank you.
Rudolph Behrens
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