What Became of the SunnyBot?

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I recall reading a certain Superman comic-book story in my youth. Our hero was having more than a few bad days. On one of them, he had built and gifted a high-tech solar array to Metropolis. It was reflecting sunlight into, what would otherwise be, shadowy places. Unfortunately, the concentrated sunlight was also causing major fires. As you might imagine, Superman had a PR problem as the city was responding with hostility rather than kudos.

This story came to mind when I first read about a device for tracking the sun that was featured in a KickStarter campaign about eight years ago. The SunnyBot, as it was named then, was a sun-tracker that provided a way to reflect light on a fixed point of the user’s choosing. In other words, what amounted to a motorized mirror, could be used to focus the light on a crystal chandelier, to create a rainbow effect all day long. 

Having grown up, to the extent I grew up, as part of a patent office family in the burbs of Washington, DC, I remember thinking: “There’s nothing really protectable here.” The motor base was basically of the same type that was used decades before to track, center, and image stars through long exposure photography. Then, when someone decided it would be useful to follow our own sun across the sky with solar panels, the same basic techniques were used.

The thing that was unique about the SunnyBot, was that the user could effectively dial-in the reflection angle, and have that angle continuously recalculated as the primary mirror moves, and as the reflector target remains fixed. Most of the comments I read, prior to cancellation of the KickStarter campaign, related almost exclusively to hobbyist or novelty uses such as the one involving the chandelier.

Even though I failed to see a viable and protectable business model, I was really disappointed when the developers seemed to give up on the project. To me, the promise for such a device was in feeding the world without having to destroy more forests. The idea, that one could set a robot controlled mirror on a pole in a clearing and beam a shaft of light under the forest canopy, to a growing dome or greenhouse, thrilled me.

While the original SunnyBot was largely built upon ‘prior art,’ it was also marketed lousy. The highest and best value proposition for such a device was not pretty rainbows on dining room walls. It is rather, increasing the kind of photosynthesis that is used to produce your Impossible Burger.

For those that object to the way large agri-business concerns operate, for those concerned about the lack of transparency with respect to what’s actually in our food, having a growing dome over the kitchen would be a dream come true. And, having just the right combination of shade from deciduous trees and light precisely directed from the clearings, is now more realistic than ever before. For safety, the mirror system could even be detuned by means of pneumatics or hydraulics should the electricity fail. Got that Superman?

To round out such a vision, a rotating clock wheel type gantry system would insure the plants within the dome each received an appropriate share of available natural light. Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) sensors on the dome could be monitored by an inexpensive Arduino or Raspberry Pie computer. That computer could log the intensity and wavelength of the light entering through the window and then calculate the precise amount and color of any artificial light needed to support optimal plant growth.

The software that would control the mirrors, as well as that needed to measure and control the light within the dome, could be developed and maintained within the public domain to insure the maximum benefit to a great humanity. The scripts necessary, to produce the required mechanical parts with 3D printers, could also be made available royalty free. All of the things necessary, to insure world wide food security though a system that reflects the design criteria that then insures there will be “no single point of potential failure,” are well within our grasp.

Precisely directed illumination complemented by customized gantry systems are in use today in vertical farms located within, or at the edge of, major cities. These futuristic farms also make extensive use of hydroponics techniques that include micro-irrigation, specialized nutrient solutions, and optimized gas envelopes. But once the cities become dependent upon these large farms and the cross country trucking is winding down, a pathogen introduced intentionally or accidentally could take out a big part of the food supply for an entire city.

The no single point of potential failure doctrine will ultimately drive the movement towards produce department sized growing domes as well as the home scaled growing dome. When the oops factor presents itself, as it undoubtedly will, we would have options. I’m excited about building a growing dome over my kitchen. Even so, I’ve experienced more than my share of senior moments lately and will likely make some mistakes. Sooo neighbor, don’t be surprised if I knock on your door and ask to borrow a tomato.

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