What we love and loathe about the future.
Five Fluxxers visited The Future Starts Here exhibit at London’s V&A museum and selected five designs we love and five designs we loathe.
Paul Virilio, a cultural theorist, captures what technology may have in store for us in one famously eloquent quote, “the invention of the ship was also the invention of the shipwreck.” Even with great technological progress, every new invention carries its own potential to cause trouble.
From cryogenics to collective living, drones to driverless cars, the future is awash with opportunity: some of it good, some of it concerning.
In a fascinating and eclectic exhibition, the V&A explores many landscapes of possibility for the near future, asking pertinent questions.
As an agency that works in these spaces, we were excited to check it out.
We picked out our top five loves and top five loathes; the utopian designs we’d like to sail with into the future and the dystopian ones we think are doomed to be shipwrecked.
LOVES
- Drones for good
Drones are often associated with warfare and surveillance, but how can they be used for good? MOAS, a migrant aid NGO, have been using Camcopter S-100, an unmanned helicopter equipped with infrared camera and real-time video feed, to help rescue crews locate and identify boats in distress. While governments continue to debate the migration crisis, MOAS, has rescued more than 30,000 people since 2014.
(Megan Curtis)
2. what3words, providing the world with an address
Having an address is just another aspect of modern life we take for granted. It’s something 4 billion people around the world go without. What3words have developed a smart solution to the problem, dividing the world into 57 trillion three metre squares, each with a unique address. (The three words for the Fluxx office are ‘garage.rash.spit’ — come say hi!) The technology enables deliveries and aid to reach very obscure locations and is currently being used by the UN and the Mongolian postal service. However, as my colleague Tom Whitwell pointed out, their decision to create a privately owned proprietary system instead of using a universal geolocation system (like latitude/ longitude) may cast some of their motives into doubt…
(Rory Keddie)
3. Digital residency card
Residency cards are usually associated with a geographical location. Digital versions give non-natives access to online services including the ability to register with a bank, use the country’s tax return system or even start a new company. The technology itself is not that new because Estonians have been using digital ID cards for more than 15 years. But with other countries planning to do the same, it begins to question what defines our life opportunities. For tens of thousands of years, a nation assigned to us at birth has been a determining factor defining our values and our opportunities. With digital currencies and a multitude of online communication channels, the idea of new digital nations is a very exciting prospect indeed.
(Jenn Torry)
4. Electric muscles for the elderly
Designed by Yves Bahar, Exosuits aim to enhance the capabilities of the human body. Integrated sensors and pods provide extra muscle power to the wearer, assisting small movements such as getting up. It is common knowledge that there is an aging population, and with this comes an increasing pressure on country’s health services. I’m not saying these suits should be given to all elderly people, but they could help elderly patients who are becoming physically restricted, yet still feel like they can do the same things they could when they were younger.
(Steve Burgess)
5. A superpowered smart wheel
The Copenhagen Smart Wheel simply converts any standard push bike into an electric vehicle. Electric vehicles aren’t exactly revolutionary but what I enjoyed about this idea is that it is an adaptation rather than an overhaul; you don’t have to buy another bike. With more of the world’s population moving to mega-cities and public transport starting to strain under the pressure, perhaps electric bikes could be a viable solution as they provide the same flexibility and convenience of a car but are far more accessible. The Copenhagen Smart Wheel’s simple and easy application and green credentials make it a winner for me.
(Thomas Dowdell)
LOATHES
1. The house that extends your life, at the sacrifice of comfort
The Bioscleave House has been designed by architects Arakawa + Gins with the intent of creating a space which can extend human lifespans. It apparently achieves this through deliberately awkward floor terrain and wall space, which require the inhabitant to actively negotiate even the simplest tasks. The architects believe that this heightened bodily awareness will allow the resident to constantly re-configure themselves and with time the body will develop a strengthened immune system. A recent Yougov poll revealed that 1 in 6 Brits want to live forever, so this uncomfortable abode could soon be a big hit on our shores. Personally, I’d prefer to keep my comforts and remain mortal.
(Rory Keddie)
2. Warehouse wearables
Warehouse wearable micro-computers, used by retailers such as Tesco and Amazon, allocate tasks to warehouse workers and confirms their completion. Staff use an attached finger mounted scanner or a voice controlled headset to record activity and receive immediate feedback if an error is made. Whilst these devices make the workforce more efficient, they can also erode personal value and self-esteem by monitoring and routinising every aspect of the job. How can we improve efficiency whilst retaining human purpose and connection?
(Megan Curtis)
3. World Wide Web of Trees
This project turns living trees into radio antennae capable of communicating over long distances. When the tree antennae are connected, they form a living network. The vision is to create an alternative organic internet. In an always switched on world, nature is our last digital-free zone. A place where people can switch off. Keeping it that way is critical for health, inspiration and intrinsic human needs including spirituality, beauty and art.
(Jenn Torry)
4. Co-living at The Collective
The Collective is a shared living environment where residents share the benefits of collectively having more space, better facilities shared cost of living as well as convenient childcare; everything is in one place — it all sounds great, doesn’t it? I feel like The Collective have identified a need but the lack of interaction with the outside world and the convenience of the insular homogenized community they are building could lead to the formation of potentially closed communities that are not challenged by the external views of the outside world.
(Thomas Dowdell)
5. The cot that rocks your baby to sleep
SNOO is a smart cot developed to combat the number one struggle for parents, exhaustion. It uses a combination of white noise and gentle rocking that responds to and soothes a crying baby without disturbing the parents. Immediately this concerns me that we are moving towards a future where our earliest (and often most important) experiences of comfort are with technology. As well as this, when having a child you should be committed to doing whatever is necessary for that child, but this product is putting the needs of the parents ahead of the child and replacing it with technology.
The Future Starts Here exhibition is at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London until Sunday 4th November 2018.
At Fluxx we use experiments to understand customers, helping clients to build better products & services. We work with organisations such as News UK, Royal Society of Arts and the Parliamentary Digital Service.
