On December 11, 2021 Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri and Missisippi were hit by a serious of tornadoes. More than a hundred people were killed, thousands of homes destroyed, roads got blocked by debris, power and water services lost. While this kind of events was the most serious in more than 40 years, there are reasons to believe that they and other weather-related disasters will be becoming more frequent and likely more severe in the near future due to continuing and increasing effect of global warming. At least part of the blame must be put on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions released by human activities. Regardless, we need to be better prepared for these and other natural as well as technological disasters. Nothing in our modern world can function without energy. Our reliance on large centralized energy infrastructure leads to the domino effect of a multiple failures affecting large areas and many people. That could be avoided by transitioning to decentralized energy infrastructure and to autonomous systems.
The Autonomous Mobile Energy System (AMES) module is a technology at the intersection of clean energy, space-grade robotics and AI / machine learning. It can provide heating and electricity without the need for fuel supply or connection to the power grid, using its tiered solar collectors and internal energy storage. Moreover, its embedded sensors warn the system when conditions become dangerous for normal operation. The computer commands the system to retract into the safe "turtle" mode until such time when the conditions become favorable again. Once it decides it is safe, the AMES module deploys again into operational mode automatically. Because each module operates individually, no one which becomes inoperable for whatever reason, affects another, thus avoiding a domino effect. The array of the AMES modules will provide heating and electricity for essential needs while rescue and recovery operations are under way.
