Category Archives: Methodology

Posts discussing the proposed methodologies for gravity design.

Locus of Design

This is an interactive exercise for understanding design as an intersection of domains representing social factors, functional capabilities and experiences. It was developed by former design professor Greg Daigle in 2006 and first appeared in Core77. It has also appeared in the ebook “Gravity 2.0.”

There are several design frameworks for describing the relationships between people and the products they use. “User-centered design” (UCD), “activity-centered design” and “experience design’ are leading models. This model was developed in 2006 and employs three overlapping domains, each with concentric rings of influence to establish the “locus of design.” In combination, all three domains address the social-functional-experiential basis for design decisions.

The Social Domain includes the user, the local cohorts (immediate family, co- workers, friends, neighbors with whom they interact) and wider social groups including extended family, long distance collaborators and society in general.

The Functional Domain includes how products “function.” This ranges from simple mechanisms or electronics, to systems of functions working together within the same product or used in conjunction with nearby products, to local and wide area networks of products connected non-physically or through the cloud.

The Experiential Domain is both temporal and perceptual and includes the “in-the-moment” experiences, but also those over time (often shared with others) and experiences which transform long-term behaviors for individuals, groups or society.

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On the first screen users have the option to explore the different concentric circles of each domain to see what they represent.

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In subsequent screens the user can select settings from each of the domains and see how the concentric domains move into place to represent the overlaps.  Users can also drag the concentric domains until they overlap and view the outcomes… or take an interactive quiz to show if you understand the concept fully.

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The interactive version of the app for desktops was build with ZebraZapps.  See it below… (may take a full minute to load).

Be sure to click on the “Z” in the corner to see your viewing options to zoom to full screen.

The app is also available on Google Play for android devices: Locus of Design.

Explore how any design situation can be described as an overlapping set of three domains that determine the “locus” of design.

Black Swans: GME-2 And Orbo

“Black swans” are the extraordinary exceptions of scientific discovery most likely to increase economic competitiveness and cause profound shifts in our ordered world.  On November 21 I presented at MinneBar, the Minnesota Bar Camp’s “unconference” on the topic of black swans. It was held at the corporate headquarters of Best Buy in Minneapolis.

After a little background on myself and the nature of black swans, I gave two examples of potential candidates already discovered but yet to be widely recognized as valid discoveries: GME-2, the gravity propulsion configuration as proposed by Droscher and Hauser, and Orbo, the overunity technology claimed by Irish firm Steorn. Information for the GME-2 portion of the presentation was largely pulled from my upcoming book. Information for Orbo was all pulled from publicly available sources.

The presentation addressed the question of whether after their discovery (since their discovery is random) technology black swans can be leveraged to improve local economies before they have been recognized as true breakthroughs by the many who would exploit them.

After the presentation I provided a revised version of the slideshow. It can be accessed HERE.

New Companion Web Site

There is now a companion Web site to this blog. It can be found at:
http://www.gravitymodification.com

The site will include contents of this blog as well as discussions of the chapters from the Gravity Modification Discussion Points noted here on 1/19/08. It will also include input from various threaded discussions seeded into site covering industrial design, architecture, transportation, etc. The purpose of the site is to expand discussion in anticipation of additional research publications late this year or early in ’09.

is gmod green?

As in the debate over biofuels, the total “environmental accounting” for a new technology should be taken into consideration before declaring one method as environmentally superior or more beneficial than another.  We will look at the possible environmental drawbacks of gMOD (from ore extraction to disposal) at another time.  Today I’d like to focus upon its environmental benefits for transportation.

One environmental benefit of gMOD is its potential to replace the burning of fossil fuels (FF) as a means for producing propulsion.  Configured for propulsion, a gMOD generator could replace the burning of fossil fuels by automobiles, trains and ships to produce both forward movement and braking.  A gMOD generator employed within a family vehicle would therefore be the environmental equivalent of an electric vehicle, since it converts electrical energy into vehicle propulsion, though field propulsion as opposed to mechanical propulsion.

However, any requirement to generate large magnetic fields (e.g. in the multiple Tesla range) or to cool generator coils to superconducting temperatures could easily make a gMOD generator an energy “hog” and unsuitable for mobile applications.  In addition, any need for a coil of several dozen or more meters in diameter (as suggested by Tajmar’s patent) would similarly make it impractical for single vehicle usage.  So a compact profile and efficient energy conversion are essential to its usefulness for many transportation needs.

Reduction of operating friction is another potential advantage of gMOD.  Small devices could provide lift-assist in airplanes, dirigibles and maglev (magnetic levitation) trains to improve their efficiency without relying exclusively on gMOD.  Even the conventional family car could benefit from the reduction of friction on wheel bearings, thus reducing operational temperatures and improving fuel efficiency… all made possible with an assist from a small gMOD generator. If standing fields can be shaped according to need then such fields could also be suitable for forming transient airfoil and hydrofoil shapes for reducing air drag and improving mileage.  The field could either form the entire envelope or provide the ability to dynamically change the displacement of air/water as speed or direction changes.

And then there are “flying platforms”.  A fleet of pilotless (autonomous) platforms controlled by Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and carrying a wide range of cargo containers could navigate between cities/nodes via satellite GPS.  Shipping goods between cities is perhaps the largest initial growth area for gMOD, even surpassing transport for people.  Such a system would reduce traffic load on highways and reduce wear and tear by fleet vehicles.  This would reduce maintenance costs and increase the longevity of our highways including the consumption of FF-based bituminous roadway material.

How do you ensure the success of a new technology today?  Answer:  Make it an essential strategy for Wal-Mart.  This has been true with RFID chips and it could be true with gMOD.  The biggest horizontal industry in the world is logistics — getting raw materials in, processing of products, packaging products, transporting, warehousing, distributing and retailing to the consumer.  gMOD platforms could fill that need.

If gMOD is found to be practical, there are only a few criteria which must be met to overcome barriers to introducing a gMOD generator.  These include:

1)The technology must be competitively priced both to purchase and to operate in comparison to alternate conventional technologies.

2)It must operate at an efficiency that allows it to perform work at various scales (ideally from palm-sized generators capable of lifting several kilos to closet-sized generators capable of lifting several tons.)

3)Its operation must not present unacceptably high risks to operators, citizenry, or the environment.

4)Any byproducts of its usage must be managed and disposed of safely.

Of these, items 3 and 4 represent areas of potential environmental impact.  It is these areas which represent the potential negative environmental impacts of gMOD technology.  Unfortunately, not enough is known about byproducts or safety risks specific to this technology to address them today.  We’ll reserve speculation about them for another day.

why gmod?

I’ve recently changed the title of this blog to “gMOD: gravity modification”.  Why gMOD?  First, it stands for “gravity modification”.  The traditional use of the term “antigravity” has been a hinderance to earnest researchers.  Dr. Ron Koczor of the Science Directorate, NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center knows about choosing the terminology to match your audience.  During an interview with him for a previous article he told me, “When you talk to the general public or the kids whose eyes are half-glazed with anticipation, call it “antigravity”.  But when you talk to people who control the course of research and who themselves have the credibility of their decisions questioned by higher-ups, I think you need to rethink your use of that term.”

Others, such as Dr. Tajmar, have used “artificial gravity”.  However that brings to mind only positive gravity that attracts.  Dr. Tajmar’s studies have discussed both an attractive and repulsive effect, so artificial gravity draws upon the wrong imagery to cover these effects.  In lieu of the term artificial gravity, Dr. Koczor prefers “gravity modification”.

I have used the term “modified gravity”, or modG, in past articles.  However, the term “Modified Gravity” has recently been used to describe a theoretical distance-dependence of gravity as an alternative to “dark matter” or Modified Newtonian Dynamics.  Therefore I’ve returned to Ron’s use of gravity modification to describe methods of modifying gravity locally whether attractive or repulsive.  Hence, “gMOD”.

There is also the “iPod” effect.  Like the first generation of digital “e” functions (email, eLearning, eCommerce, etc.), Apple has glommed onto the “i” devices (iPod, iPhone, iMac, etc.) and has defended it vigorously.  So I’ve coined “gMOD” or “gMod” as a way to described gravity-related functions and devices.  Hey, why not?

I also have a logo.  The floating “g” suggests that gravity is modified… even optional!  Enjoy.

g_MOD logo