[Steven K. Roberts] is the original digital nomad, having designed and built mobile computing for his own use since the 80s. His latest project is Bionode, a portable computing lab built into a hand truck that can accommodate a wide spectrum of needs for a person on the go.
Far more than just a portable computer with wheels and a handle, Bionode is an integrated collection of systems with power management, a sensor suite, multiple computers, NAS for storage, networking, video production tools, and even the ability to be solar charged. [Steven] also uses a laptop, and Bionode complements it by being everything else.
If one truly wishes to be mobile and modular as well as effective, then size and weight begins to be just as important as usability. Everything in Bionode has a purpose, and it currently contains a PC with GPU for local AI and machine learning work, a NAS with 14 TB of storage, an Ubuntu machine, a Raspberry Pi 5 running Home Assistant, another Raspberry Pi 5 for development work, a Raspberry Pi 3 for running his 3D printer, and a Raspberry Pi 4 for SDR (software-defined radio) work. A smart KVM means a single keyboard, mouse, and display can be shared among machines as needed and additional hardware in a thoughtful layout makes audio and video projects workable. Everything is integrated with sensors and Home Assistant with local AI monitoring, which [Steven] likes to think of as the unit’s nervous system.
Bionode is therefore more than just a collection of computers crammed into a hand truck; it’s a carefully-selected array of hardware that provides whatever [Steven] needs.
Give it a look if you want to see what such a system looks like when it’s been designed and assembled by someone who’s “been there, done that” when it comes to mobile computing. Bionode would complement something like a mobile workshop quite nicely; something [Steven] has also done before.
Thanks [Paul] for the tip!
Great idea, but what happens if its stolen?
Use the “Find My Bionode” app, of course!
;)
It’s cool and I hope he’s on whatever our side is but not “What does he need it for?” but “What does he do with it?” No I won’t watch the video. Policy.
There’s a video? One of us needs their eyes checked.
The dude is famous for building and riding around a battleship of a recumbent bike in the ’80s loaded with computers and radio gear.
He’s one of us.
The BEHEMOTH (Big Electronic Human-Energized Machine… Only Too Heavy) : https://microship.com/behemoth/
He’s got his own display at the Computer History Museum here in the Bay Area! The man’s a legend.
He used to drop by Information Appliance in Palo Alto and hobnob with Jef Raskin and the guys when he was in town. His machine evolved considerably with each visit. I recall a good portion of his setup at the time was wire-wrapped. My apartment mate was one of the software gurus on the Canon Cat and a recumbent enthusiast. They had a lot to talk about.
My ideea of “mobile computing” was a van (big or small) with two “workstations” sides like you see in electronics warfare planes pictures. For playing network games. Left side versus the right side. Back to back.
I wish I had more information to give you, but there’s a guy on youtube who’s a van dweller. His passenger seat faces backwards into the cabin, but isn’t really easily accessible from there – because it’s a driving simpit (Simulator cockPit). He streams from inside the van. It’s pretty nutty.
Why would you have half of this stuff when you can put in your basement and wireguard / ssh into it?
Why would you run multiple pis when you could just run VMs to do what they do?
It’s probably so that he can take it somewhere and do any of several different kinds of work that normally require internet access. If portability and ownership are more important to you than convenience when everything goes well, it makes sense.
One thing to remember is that this guy does not in any way think like you. He’s basically a sci-fi character whose weird future came to pass. He used to write articles while biking round the country using a chording keyboard built into the handlebars. It let him type one byte in binary at a time and took the input as ASCII text.
In other words, he’s someone who has been rejecting your reality and substituting his own for 40-odd years. He doesn’t care that the technology doesn’t exist yet, he’s fine with building it by hand and oddball parts if need be.
Looks like a terrorist van :D Don’t get surprised if you get jail time for owning it in the UK.