Pattern Language

Introduction

Technology may be broken down into a collection of fundamental building blocks or modules that make up technological devices. When one understands how technological things work, it turns out that there is a rather small set of underlying building blocks that much of technology has in common. Modules or building blocks of technology may be identified. These building blocks are like words that make up sentences. If we can understand the words, or building blocks, then we can master the language, or technosphere.

The key benefit of a pattern language is the transparency that it sheds on a subject. This is the aim of exposing the underlying components of all technologies - so that people can understand the technology around them. Only when non-specialists begin to understand technology will humanity be able to master its technological base. When this happens, humans cease being slaves to poor technology choice.

To understand the pattern language of technology, we began breaking down technological devices into their components. Here we discuss one possible breakdown.

We chose a small set of technologies for building the infrastructure of Global Villages of tomorrow. These technologies are those discussed on the main page.

All of these technologies have a smaller set of underlying building blocks that they are made of. This set of building blocks may be broken down to only 18 items:

Open Source Technology Pattern Language

The technological components of interest in the Global Village Construction Set constitute basic building blocks of economies. More complex products and devices may be represented by a collection of icons. We remind the reader that the proposed set is not complete, but sufficient- applicable in a broad range of applications. Other technologies may and should be used where appropriate.

It should be underscored that any community interested in its own self-determination should: (1), have production capacity of the essential components as part of its own infrastructure, or, (2), should have external relations established for providing these technologies without incurring geopolitical compromises. We are talking of basic needs here– and the basics must be provided internally to secure stable society by design.

Note that not all of the Global Village Construction Set technologies of interest are represented in the picture above. This is because some of these are represented by combinations of the above icons. The last 5 icons in picture represent the major parts of a flexible fabrication facility.

The difference between the past work and the picture lies in a few updates that arise from experience gathered since the former report was published. There are 4 main differences.

The first difference is that the new set eliminates the former pulley and the power transmission icons, as well as the electric wheel motor and electric motor (see last link) and replaces them with the wheel motor shown in the picture above.

Wheel motors are high power, low speed electric motors that may be coupled directly to wheels, or other rotors, for powering vehicles or other electromechanical devices without the need of power transmission. They have no internal power transmission, either – as they are inherently suited to many direct-drive applications by design. The subtlety here is the proposition - known well in progressive vehicle design (such as Hypercars ) – that the availability of such wheel motors produces a great simplification in vehicle design. Pulleys, gears, and other power transmission devices – including drive shafts, differentials, clutches, and transmissions – not to mention grease and oil pans - are eliminated for gross simplification in the overall complexity of cars and other electromechanical devices. Moreover, the former electric wheel motor - which was a