○Mid-tech
Due to the Earth’s resource constraints, high-tech technologies that heavily rely on rare metals cannot be continuously used. Therefore, in Prout Village, the focus is on Mid-tech devices, which lie between high-tech (advanced technology) and low-tech (manual) technologies.
Technology Category | Characteristics | Examples |
High-tech | High resource and power dependence | Smartphones, AI home appliances, EV cars |
Mid-tech / Appropriate Technology | Regionally sustainable and renewable | Electronic blackboards, automatic watering timers |
Low-tech | Extremely simple, no resource use | Fire pits, hand pumps, foot-operated sewing machines |
In Prout Village, Mid-tech is defined as follows:
Perspective | Content |
Technology Level | Basic use of advanced processing or electronic control is avoided; if electronic control is used, designs remain relatively simple, allowing repair and maintenance at the regional level. The technology is kept to the essential minimum. |
Repairability | Users or local communities can perform repairs. Modular replacement and disassembly are easy. |
Resource Burden | Rare metals and fossil fuels are basically not used; if used, only in trace amounts. Local resources are utilized. |
Longevity | Usable for spans ranging from 10 to 100 years. |
Reproducibility | Manufacturing and introduction at the regional level is possible. Does not depend on centralized infrastructure. |
○Rare Metal-Free Personal Devices
Modern smartphones are not sustainable from a resource perspective. Therefore, in Prout Village, the goal is to design rare metal-free devices that do not use scarce metals and function adequately even with low specifications. The design for personal devices used daily under these principles would be as follows.
Overview of Rare Metal-Free Personal Device Design (Assuming 1 Billion Users)
Item | Details and Specifications |
Main Functions | - Text sending/receiving (short messages, local HF radio, LoRa, wired mesh) |
| - Voice calls (low bandwidth, compressed) |
| - Disaster message relay support |
Communication Methods | - Rare metal-free HF radio (3–30 MHz shortwave) for inter-regional communication |
| - Ultra-low power LoRa/BLE (short range) |
| - Wired contact communication using copper and aluminum wires (regional mesh network) |
| - Regional relay PCs connected via HF radio antenna network forming a distributed communication network |
| - Partial combined use of low-rare-metal satellite communication and optical communication as needed |
Display | - Reflective segment LCD with metal mesh electrodes (alphabet, hiragana, katakana, numbers, symbols display, etc.) |
Input Devices | - Physical keypad (mechanical switches) |
| - Simple microphone and speaker (ferrite magnet or piezoelectric element) |
Notification Methods | - Notification by text display |
| - Haptic feedback by physical vibration motor or piezoelectric element |
| - Audio or buzzer notification (power-saving design, only when necessary) |
Body Materials | - Iron, aluminum, copper |
| - Bamboo fiber resin |
| - Waterproof, shockproof, heat-resistant design |
Power Supply | - Magnesium air battery (non-rare metal) |
| - Hand-crank / foot-pedal power generation terminals |
Electronic Components and Circuits | - Simple circuits mainly analog |
| - Transistors use organic or silicon-based very small semiconductors |
| - Modular replacement for easy repair |
| - Rare metals limited to 0 to less than 0.01 g (trace contamination possible in manufacturing process) |
Display UI | - 1 to 4 lines of text display |
| - About 6 to 8 characters per line, 3 to 4 lines vertically |
| - Menu selection and text input mainly via physical operation |
Expandability | - Device-to-device data sharing via proprietary contact communication |
| - External communication linkage via Municipality PC |
| - Local apps possible (public relations, disaster notification) |
Storage Device | - Personal device designed as pager-type with temporary memory only |
| - Stores a few to several dozen messages, automatically deletes oldest when new arrives |
| - No large storage like hard disk or SSD |
| - Data requiring permanent storage dispersed to relay PC, paper, or non-electronic media |
Repair and Maintenance | - Disassemblable with one tool |
| - Parts replaceable by module |
| - Regional workshops |
| - Repair system managed by Municipality |
Service Life | - Physical device life over 20 years |
| - Long-term operation (50 to 1000 years) expected with repair and upgrades |
Resource Use Policy | - Complete non-use of rare metals or less than 0.01 g |
| - Mainly iron, copper, aluminum |
| - Over 90% recycled materials |
Annual Production Limit | - Even with new production for 10 billion people, consumes less than 1–2% of iron and copper resources |
| - Thorough collection and reuse enables virtually infinite resource circulation |
Social Operation | - Communication relay centers installed in villages and Municipalities |
| - [Personal device] ← mesh, wireless/wired communication → [Regional relay PC] ← HF radio antenna network → Other regional relay PCs → World Federation (World Parliament) |
| - Distributed communication network independent of centralized internet network |
| - Functions as survival infrastructure during disasters |
Design Aesthetics | - Thick and heavy (12 cm × 6 cm × 2.5 cm, about 250 g) |
| - Style like late 1990s to early 2000s mobile phones |
| - Simple structure designed for repairability and long life |
Required Metal Quantities When Producing for 10 Billion Units Worldwide
Material | Estimated Usage per Unit | Total Usage (10 Billion Units) | Percentage of Earth's Mined Reserves |
Iron | Approx. 150 g | Approx. 15 million tons | Approx. 0.0015% (Mined reserves: 20–30 trillion tons) |
Copper | Approx. 30 g | Approx. 3 million tons | Approx. 1.5% (Mined reserves: 200–300 million tons) |
Aluminum | Approx. 30 g | Approx. 3 million tons | Approx. 0.3% (Mined reserves: 10–100 million tons) |
Furthermore, over 90% of resources can be recovered through modular disassembly after use. Used parts will be locally reprocessed to establish a permanent device renewal cycle. With this device, the rare metal depletion problem can be completely avoided. Also, by enabling a material cycle mainly based on iron, copper, and aluminum, maintaining communication devices for over 1000 years becomes realistic.
This ensures that all humanity can fairly maintain a “minimum level of connectivity” without information overload. This design philosophy presupposes repair and reuse, enabling manufacturing at the Municipality level.
○Rare Metal-Free HF Mesh Network for Communication
The unsustainability of modern internet communication infrastructure (at the household, country, and world levels) is as follows.
Level / Perspective | Household | Country Level | World Level |
Resource Issues | - Disposable parts containing rare metals- High dependence on resource imports (especially rare metals)- Uneven distribution of rare metals | - Lack of awareness about material origins- Delayed recycling technologies- High environmental impact of mining | - Dependent on international supply chains (though political influence is small)- Risk of deteriorating relations with supplier countries- Resource conflicts and digital hegemony competition (geopolitical risks) |
Design Philosophy Issues | - Short lifespan design (2–5 years)- Prioritizing fast product cycles for global market competition- Mass production and mass consumption model based on disposal | - Business models premised on frequent replacement | (No explicit entry in original text, can be understood as continuation of the above) |
Energy Issues | - Always-on connection + high resolution + video-centric- Heavy energy consumption focused on data centers and 5G- Some infrastructure (submarine cables, satellites) requires enormous maintenance costs | - High standby power consumption | (No explicit entry in original text, can be understood as continuation of the above) |
Maintenance & Repair Issues | - Non-replaceable or unrecommended parts exchange- Dependence on overseas manufacturing equipment and parts- Aging cables- Difficulties in equipment upgrades | - Maintenance personnel concentrated in urban areas | (No explicit entry in original text, can be understood as continuation of the above) |
Political & Geopolitical Risks | × (Political influence is small but) dependent on international supply chains | - Risk of deteriorating relations with supply countries- Resource conflicts and digital hegemony competition (geopolitical risks) | - Significant impact from international price fluctuations- Vulnerability to supply chain disruptions |
Since communication equipment also uses rare metals, it is not sustainable, and a reconsideration of the system is necessary.
Communication Equipment / Part | Used Rare Metals | Purpose / Role |
Base stations / antennas | Indium (In), Gallium (Ga), Tin (Sn) | Used in high-frequency amplifiers, radio transmission/reception devices, and semiconductor components. |
Optical fiber communication devices | Erbium (Er), Terbium (Tb) | Dopants necessary for optical signal amplification. |
Network switches / routers | Gold (Au), Silver (Ag), Palladium (Pd), Tantalum (Ta) | High-speed signal transmission, capacitors, solder materials, etc. |
PCB (Printed Circuit Boards) | Gold, Silver, Copper, Palladium, Bismuth | Improve conductivity, durability, and contact reliability. |
Power supply units / backup power | Cobalt (Co), Lithium (Li), Nickel (Ni) | Used in batteries and UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies). |
Data centers / servers | Tantalum, Rhenium, Neodymium | Required for heat resistance, strong magnetism, and cooling components. |
Based on these facts, the following principles form the foundation for achieving sustainability for over 1000 years:
Minimization of rare metal use and establishment of a complete recycling system
Design based on repair and reuse (modular design, standardized parts)
Low power consumption design operable with natural energy
Regionally autonomous Mid-tech communication (e.g., optical fiber + local mesh)
Global resource agreements and fair distribution rules
For these reasons, the communication network for small data volumes among Prout Villages worldwide will first become a decentralized mesh network using rare metal-free HF radio.
Rare metal-free HF radio (shortwave) is a communication system using transmitters and antennas made from abundant resources such as copper, aluminum, and ferrite without using scarce metals, operating in the high-frequency band of 3–30 MHz. These shortwave radio waves are reflected by the ionosphere in the sky, allowing them to travel beyond the Earth's curvature, enabling text data transmission and reception between villages and bases. The transmitter converts electrical signals into high-frequency radio waves, and the receiver converts those waves back into the original signals.
The antenna is a simple structure, consisting of copper or aluminum wires stretched over bamboo or wooden poles, designed to efficiently radiate and receive radio waves. Power is supplied by natural energy sources such as magnesium batteries, and a low-power design enables sustainable operation. Furthermore, relay stations receive data and retransmit it to reach more distant bases, making it an effective, sustainable social infrastructure suitable for non-real-time text communication. Villages and bases act as points (nodes), connected by many paths (communication routes), where any path can be used, allowing flexible routing of information.
Approximate Relay Point Intervals
Communication Method / Environment | Recommended Relay Interval Range | Reason / Characteristics |
HF Radio (Shortwave) | Several hundred km to several thousand km | Utilizes ionosphere reflection for long-distance communication, but requires segmentation for stability |
VHF/UHF and other short-range bands | Several tens km to several hundred km | Line-of-sight communication, susceptible to terrain and obstacles |
Mountainous/Forested Areas with many obstructions | Several km to about a dozen km | Dense placement to avoid radio wave blocking by terrain |
Flat Terrain / Urban Areas | 10 km to several tens km | Less radio wave blocking but needs consideration of building effects |
Additionally, the HF band (3–30 MHz) communication speed is very low, causing delays in data transmission. Since each node relays data sequentially, congestion and waiting can easily occur. There is a risk that simultaneous transmissions can bring down the entire network, so transmission intervals must allow for sufficient “buffer” time.
Approximate Transmission Intervals
Communication Type | Expected Transmission Interval |
Short-distance / Within-village communication | About once every several minutes to 10 minutes |
Regional relay communication | About once every 30 minutes to several hours |
Intercontinental communication (e.g., Japan ⇔ UK) | Several hours to a few times per day |
This HF mesh network serves as a basic and sustainable communication infrastructure at the Municipality and regional levels, primarily exchanging minimum essential information such as text and calls. It can operate independently with a low-energy, rare-metal-free design. Additionally, long-distance radio broadcasts will also be conducted.
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