When he squints, he can see, maybe 30 years down the road, Africa’s coast dotted with supertankers, docked at offshore rigs. But they wouldn’t be filling up with oil. Seafloor powerlines would carry renewable electricity to the rigs from wind and solar farms on shore. On board, one device would use the electricity to desalinate Read more about Liquid solar energy[…]
Disclaimer – this is just some notes to help organise my thoughts. It might be of interest to someone, but it’s not a ‘proper’ blog entry. I’m particularly interested in a peer-to-peer mesh as a network for SSB messages: a decent(ralised) secure gossip platform https://www.manyver.se https://github.com/staltz/manyverse https://www.scuttlebutt.nz https://github.com/ssbc https://github.com/ssbc/stack-diagram It works, with a sufficient density of Read more about Offline communications in 2018[…]
The thousand trees project – Fuel and carbon capture. Distributing a forest in the urban landscape of Bristol UK, then using the coppiced wood to create heat, power and biochar to capture and store carbon. This is essentially reverse coal mining, taking carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the ground. Agroecology Lab is Read more about The Thousand Trees Project[…]
Humanity faces the challenge of how to achieve a high quality of life for over 7 billion people without destabilizing critical planetary processes. Physical needs such as nutrition, sanitation, access to electricity and the elimination of extreme poverty could likely be met for all people without transgressing planetary boundaries. More Ecological Footprinting analysis shows Read more about A good life for all within planetary boundaries #OnePlanet[…]
Been thinking about what it is that makes robot harvesting difficult. Part of the problem is picking up the cut leaves. By growing vertically that harvesting could be easier, using a relatively cheap robot arm with scissors and a bucket (above from Micropede) You’d need to move the arm around, possibly using Tslot as rails Read more about Robotic harvesting for Vertical Aquaponics[…]
Thinking about the ARK and how fish behaviour could be monitored. There already exists a temperature compensating feeder from Aquaponics lab. What would it look like to factor in the fish behaviour into a feeding regime? So if fish were observed using an underwater USB camera & A Pi what analysis could you run? Some useful tools Read more about Visual Fish analysis in Aquaponics[…]
What it is: A standardised and Open Source Aquaponics system Suitable for temperate climates. Affordable but capable of producing useful food Basic Kit £400 parts target (Ballpark £600 shipped cost) Well insulated single IBC system with media grow bed above tank Dual Airlift pump < £30 ESP Temp & EC sensor Transparent Polycarbonate inner cover Read more about Aquaponics Research Kit (ARK)[…]
Sowing seeds is often a pleasurable activity, it can become tedious or routine on a large scale. It seems like it should be fairly easy to automate with a vacuum and a XY rack of some kind. Or a conveyor belt system You can get commercial systems: And there is a couple of Arduino versions Read more about Seed sowing robot[…]
I’ve been looking into Sodium Acetate as a long-term heat store. It’s a phase change reaction, so this heater could be warmed on your woodstove and then left in situ for weeks or months, so long as you remember to check the level now and again. This is a concept, I haven’t built it yet A Read more about Phase change cloche heater[…]
So it seems to me robotics is interesting in agriculture where the following conditions are met Uses power generated on site Reduces fossil fuel use Designs are opensource I think the best way of reducing weeds is to use mulch, either compost, or a long lasting aluminium mulch Which in a small horticultural setting basically Read more about Open Source horticultural robots[…]