Tech YouTuber and networking expert Chris Sherwood has developed Project NOMAD, a 250GB «digital ark» with a knowledge base, local AI, and offline maps that you can download to your computer for free.
Tech YouTuber and networking expert Chris Sherwood has developed Project NOMAD, a 250GB «digital ark» with a knowledge base, local AI, and offline maps that you can download to your computer for free.
Sherwood, who runs the YouTube channel Crosstalk Solutions, started Project NOMAD out of curiosity, but later turned it into a real community.
NOMAD stands for Node for Offline Media, Archives, and Data. It brings together an offline version of Wikipedia, maps, educational and informational tools, a local AI assistant, survival guides, and more.
«When the internet connection goes down, everything goes down. I wanted to find a way to keep a copy of this information locally,» Chris Sherwood said in a video about the project.
The information part contains an offline version of Wikipedia, Project Gutenberg, medical reference books, repair manuals, and much more. The AI assistant allows you to use powerful large language models completely offline for communication, analysis, and programming.
Offline Maps offers full offline mapping based on OpenStreetMap data. With navigation, route planning, and offline exploration. There’s also an educational platform with Khan Academy courses, educational videos, and interactive lessons. This direction covers the full curriculum for students from preschool to grade 12.
According to Sherwood, Project NOMAD would be suitable for emergencies,
when the usual infrastructure fails. The project may also interest hermits who want to live in a cabin in the woods, a car trailer or on a yacht, or tech enthusiasts who want to have a local LLM and knowledge base.
Project NOMAD runs on any x86-based computer running Linux. Chris Sherwood recommends three PC configurations ranging in price from $150 to over $1000. You can download Project NOMAD from GitHub .
