The Radix is an automated system designed to provide all the food, fresh water & energy necessary to sustain life indefinitely. Freedom from these essential needs will radically change the way we interact with each other, our planet, our work and our government.
All land is inherently productive
The Radix uses only incident rainfall & sunshine as inputs, and produces only useful outputs (no waste). The development will be open-sourced and will be shared here.
While this page is under construction, I encourage you to check out the important work my colleagues are doing:
- Acre – energy independent homes
- Regen Villages – self-sustaining communities
- Boxouse – tiny off-grid homes
- Y Combinator New Cities initiative
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – R. Buckminster Fuller
A resource map demonstrating the closed-loop system, resource economy, and operators.
1 Radix Resource Economy
Water
- Clear Water – purified water that is safe to drink.
- Gray Water – water that has not been purified.
- Black Water – human & animal waste.
Biomass
- Food – organic matter fit for human or animal consumption.
- Biomass – plant matter & non-food vegetation.
- Soil – nutrient rich composted organic matter.
Energy
- Sunlight – the only energy input source to the system.
- Electricity – DC electrical power.
- Heat – thermal energy.
2 Living Operators
Living operators are plant, animal & human residents that refine, degrade or convert resources within the system.
Human
- Humans degrade clear water into gray water (shower & sink runoff, urine).
- Humans degrade food into biomass (food waste, scraps & byproducts).
- Humans produce black water in the form of solid waste.
- Humans consume electrical power and heat.
Animal
- Animals consume clear water and biomass.
- Animals produce food.
- Animals produce black water in the form of solid waste.
Plant
- Plants consume gray water and soil.
- Plants produce food and biomass.
3 System Operators
System operators are machines that refine or convert resources within the system.
Bioreactor
The bioreactor converts biomass and black water into enriched soil and gray water. A fully automated system at the residential scale has yet to be developed.
Filter
The challenge with water filtration is to accomplish continuous filtration without the need for disposable filters, or salt build-up/calcification.
Solar Cells
Compact, lightweight and efficient solar cells already exist that can provide a combination of heat and electrical energy. Conversion efficiency to electricity is the main limitation.