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RLivN — Hardware

Planned device strategy ([HYPOTHESIS]). RLivN is software-first and not yet scaffolded; no hardware has been specified or procured.

Device target

The planned client device is a home tablet (the agent is intended to be persistent across home surfaces over time). Device requirements follow from the accessibility baseline:

  • Large, high-contrast display capable of 32px-minimum text and 80×80px-minimum tap targets.
  • Reliable microphone and speaker for a voice-first, always-speaks interaction model.
  • Enough local capability to run the planned Ollama offline fallback, or to pair with a low-power home device that can. (Local-model hardware requirements are an open question pending the architecture work.)

Sourcing: reuse first

Per the Sustainability & Carbon Awareness directive, reuse is preferred over new manufacture — the carbon cost of manufacturing new electronics dwarfs lifetime operational energy.

  • Refurbished tablets via Boot Up are the preferred client-device path. This overlaps directly with Boot Up's refurb pipeline and senior-track curriculum.
  • Specifying newest-hardware-only would be a carbon decision, not just a UX decision, and is avoided as a default.

Low-power and solar

  • Home tablets should be specified with low-power operation and solar-recharge in mind, not as an afterthought.
  • This aligns the device layer with grid-resilient design: combined with the Ollama offline fallback, the goal is a home device that keeps functioning under unreliable grid power and limited connectivity.

Unmeasured

Low-power and solar-recharge are design intentions, not validated outcomes. Any carbon or battery-life benefit is [HYPOTHESIS] until measured against a real device and methodology.

Known unknowns

  • Specific tablet make/model and minimum specs (not yet chosen).
  • Whether refurbished devices can meet the local-inference and display requirements.
  • Feasibility and sizing of solar recharge for an always-on, always-speaking device.
  • Whether a robot-embodied form factor (see Market Brief) is ever pursued — out of scope for the planned POC.