How It Works
Three Steps. Zero Internet.
No app. No account. No signal required. Blackout Box is designed to work the moment you need it — not the moment you set it up.
Power It On
Plug in the included power bank, unfold the solar panel, or connect any USB-C source. The Blackout Box boots in under 90 seconds — no setup, no login, no configuration. Battery-backed and solar-ready out of the box.
The device runs on a hardened Raspberry Pi platform — field-proven, low-power, and repairable. It draws less power than a phone charger.
Ask It Anything
Connect your phone or laptop to the Blackout Box Wi-Fi hotspot (no internet — it's local). Open a browser, type your question in plain English. Ask how to stop a bleed, purify water, diagnose a generator, or preserve a harvest.
The Field Kit and Ready-to-Run are headless — you use your own device as the display. The Basecamp has a built-in touchscreen.
Get Answers from the Library
The on-device AI reads your question and pulls answers from your Library pack — hundreds of curated reference texts, all stored on-device. Answers appear in plain language, in seconds.
Important: the AI runs locally, so responses take seconds, not milliseconds. Like any AI, it can occasionally be wrong — always verify life-critical decisions. We tell you this because honesty is how we earn your trust.
What is “Local AI”?
Cloud AI (ChatGPT, etc.)
- Runs on massive servers far away
- Requires internet — no signal, no answers
- Fast because it uses enormous compute
- Your questions leave your device
- Server goes down, it stops working
Local AI (Blackout Box)
- Runs entirely on the device in your hand
- Requires zero internet — ever
- Slower (seconds) because it uses modest local compute
- Your questions never leave the device
- Works when everything else has failed
We use GPT4All and open-weight language models sized to run efficiently on the Raspberry Pi platform. They are genuinely capable at practical question-answering — not a toy, not a cloud model. Just honest about the tradeoff.
The Library: What’s on the Device
Every Blackout Box ships with a Library pack. You choose at checkout. Here’s what each pack covers.
Prepper / Survival
- › Water purification
- › Food safety & storage
- › First aid & triage
- › Shelter building
- › Navigation
- › Emergency comms
- › Offline encyclopedia
Homesteading
- › Gardening & crop planning
- › Food preservation
- › Livestock care
- › Well & water systems
- › Small-engine repair
- › Building & construction
- › Tool maintenance
Tactical / Medical
- › Field & austere medicine
- › Trauma & bleeding control
- › Anatomy reference
- › Medication references
- › Comms & ham radio
- › Splinting & wound care
- › Hypothermia & heat