Pi in the Sky Idea
The Pi Server
Super Computing on a Budget!!
We all know about these just deserts served to us from our neighbors accross the pond. The power of a pentium in the palm of your hand. What good are they beyond a novelty toy to play with and toss aside? That's just what we should do, toss them aside!
Mission to Mars
Thanks for ride SpaceX
Cloud computing is not the wave of the future it is the reality we live in. What do you do when Azure machine learning is not available, what do you do when you go to a place where there is no cloud?
You bring your own cloud with you. Capable of running Windows 10, these devices bring the power and capabilities you are used to but leave the weight and bulk behind. In the movie The Martian they showed the astronauts bringing their laptops with them to space. Picture instead a vast number of hardened cluster units deployed in advance and ready when you arrive. Some of these units will be used Immediately for reasearch and data processing while others will remain dormant until needed. With a simple wake signal, these incredible machines provide the power of a super computer spread accross miles of rough terrain. Where the machines and people we send will only need to bring an inteface device, the computations will be done and ready for you to analyze.
Gone will be the days of data dumps and difficult decisions delayed by the speed of light. Instead we will have an Azure machine learning cloud in place on the ground making the tough calls. All we need to worry about is looking for the incoming snapchats from these clusters
Geo Syncing
Round and round we go
These units are inexpensive and come with on board bluetooth for close proximity networking and WiFi for longer distances. After deployment the units will be encapusulated in a thermal protectice polyvoltaic sphere. The protective casing also serves to enhance the radio's effective range. At only 10w of power consumption when running at full tilt, it does not take much to keep them going.
With the radios built in, these units don't need much to make an effective unit for deployment. Place enough of these above the earth and you have an instant global beowolf platform that can be added to during every space mission.
The Road Less Traveled
Distributed networking in places humans don't like
With this self contained unit they can be dropped or left in isolated areas forming a networks of hubs. Each hub contains 6 units each perfoming a separate task to improve the capabilities of the unit. Fully biodegradable materials allow the 2 year lifespan to come to a graceful end.
The units are water proof and weather proof. Like a swarm they will automatically connect with nearby hubs to crunch those big numbers. The more you deploy the stronger your network.
Imagine a radio telescope spanning hundreds of miles with each cluster serving as a node in a vast network. SETI will be making two way calls in no time flat.
An Explosive Idea
A fun way to retire equipment for profit
At the end of the life cycle these geosynchronous orbiting devices will need to return their elements to the earth. The simple answer is to let them burn up in the atmosphere. These units have been engineered to burn at specific colors in the visible light spectrum. You can schedule a generation of unit retirement to coincide with your specific event. Schedule your own personal meteor shower and help recyle our products.
Ready for Deployment Today
Is not what I am saying
These are prototypes and much of what you see here is not needed in the final production model. With the right funding and enthusiasm We can be up and running in no time!
Cost
$ $ $
With each cluster in mass production running at about $100 these units are rediculously affordable. The power comes from quantity while the fun and usefulness comes from quality.
Design Team
If you can have fun and save the universe, why not
Jianshu Chi is a software engineering student at Rio Hondo College in Whttier California.
Design Team
Life is too short, let's be immortal.
Dana Arazi is an instructor of ASL at Rio Hondo College and an enthusiast in random technologies from woodworking to Pi Clusters. He currently is studying JAVA at Rio Hondo