Devices for Hyper Polluted Futures - Masters Thesis

Man squatting by a graffiti covered wall. He wears a mask, which is connected by a hose to a backpack which has glowing lights seen through a window.

Devices for Hyper-Polluted Futures

What types of devices and technologies would humanity need to survive in hyper-polluted futures?

Approaching this question from a perspective of Speculative Design, my thesis work aimed to highlight the consequences of our actions and inactions on climate change and show a world in which we have failed to address the issues of air pollution and global warming. Following a hybrid methodology created from a mixed methods approach, the research was conducted through an iterative process. Throughout the research, there was an increasing focus on the symbiotic relationship between the user and their ecosystem, and how one protects and provides for the other. The result of the work is a speculative wearable device which relies on James Auger’s theory of perceptual bridges in order to help build a believable and relatable future for the viewer.

Woman wearing backpack device with mask stands on a balcony overlooking a fog-covered city

The backpack device sitting on a kitchen counter partially open. Inside there are wires, fans, batteries and LED lights, and 2 containers containing plant based ecosystems.

Woman sits on a step in an alley. She wears the backpack device with mask.

Man stands in an alley facing away. He wears a backpack device which has glowing lights seen through a window. There are containers which can bee seen to contain plant matter.

The PERA

The Personal Ecosystem Respirator Apparatus (PERA) is a wearable device which would allow the user to breath ambient air in toxic environments. The PERA contains a micro-ecosystem which recycles the toxic ambient air, into clean, breathable air for the user. The user relies on this device in order to live their day-to-day life without considerable damage to their health.

Although the PERA was one of the main outcomes of the research, other types of devices utilizing different technologies were designed. Below there are two examples: the first based on a CO2 extraction technology and the second utilizes the recycling properties of an algae farm in a wearable form.

Front, back and both side views of a man, with rendered images of a speculative wearable device. This device looks like a black backpack with vents along one side, and a hose that connects to the users face on the other.

Front, back and both side views of a man, with rendered images of a speculative wearable device. This device looks like a blue, circular backpack with vents along around the circumference, and a coiled pipe with algae inside.

Homemade ecosystem including rock, mud, plant matter and river water.

2 homemade ecosystems in storage containers sitting on a table, covered in LED grow lamps.

2 small ecosystems, containing water, rocks, soil and plant matter, sitting in clear containers. They sit on a desk in a studio.

Man wearing a red 3D printed face mask that is styled like a respirator mask.

A completed 3D print of a section of a casing, sitting on a 3D printer bed.

5 sections of 3D printed casing lying on a table

2 clear plastic contains, holding micro-ecosystems, inside a 3D printed housing. There are fans, pipes, hoses and wires connected to batteries and LEDs

Turquoise hard shelled backpack with a clear bubbled window. Inside are 2 plastic containers holding micro-ecosystems lit by LEDs.

Man stands in an alley looking over his shoulder. He wears a backpack device which has glowing lights seen through a window.

Man walks down the street facing away. He wears a backpack device which has glowing lights seen through a window.

Man in a corner shop is opening a large fridge. He wears a backpack device which has a hose connected to a facemask on his face.

A mini-ecosystem is in a white storage container on a plinth. There are LED grow-lights above. There is a pamphlet and business cards on the plinth.

The backpack device on a mannequin. The backpack is fully open, showing the contained ecosystems, pipes, hoses, batteries, fans, wires and LEDs.

Laser cut acrylic silhouette of a person wearing a backpack. There are arrows cut and etched into the acrylic to show the direction of the air through the backpack device, and then onto the person.

The entirety of this work can be found here.

Art installation in a gallery. Includes an acrylic infographic of how the deceive works, a series of photos of the device being used, some examples of other prototypes as renders, a sample of the ecosystem and a mannequin wearing the device.