Context & Design Concept
2057, a world that continues to combat the effects of neglect regarding climate change by past generations. With a progressive set of generations in government, most of the laws, regulations, and mandates focus solely on the preservation of Australia’s wildlife, placing society as of low importance in contrast. This revision in government has been tasked to ensure that of what remains of SEQ flora and fauna continues to thrive alongside human society. Subsequently, these citizens are forced to maintain certain standards within their homes that attract and promote healthy wildlife and a self-sustaining lifestyle. This has resulted in greener cities and streets with emissions at an all-time low.
The speculative design artefact is called the Sol III Analyst. It is a portable device that is used to collect data on flora and fauna in different regions across the country. Through regular collection of this data, the government tracks the growth of flora and fauna and the changes that have occurred over time, as well as predict future changes in certain areas. The Sol III Analyst also collects data on identified and located fauna to understand migration patterns in correlation to flora changes due to climate change.
The Sol III Analyst is a small, portable, and pocket-sized device resembling an old Gameboy device. The device flips open revealing a touchscreen on the top half, and buttons and a small circular space to insert samples on the bottom half of the device. It uses a camera and AI to scan, identify and collect data for flora and fauna, and capture images. In addition to the camera and AI capabilities, the Sol III Analyst utilises LiDAR technology to scan and gather information about its surroundings to track how areas grow and change over time. The device can analyse and collect samples for earth and liquids through the sample slot and identify the presence of micro-organisms. The Sol III Analyst uses GPS to track coordinates and the locations of which the user is working and gathering data for.
The Sol III Analyst is often used by those who have been sentenced with a community service order in the SEQ region. The users are sent out to designated research areas with specific jobs and tasks that are required to be completed. These jobs require the users to either gather earth samples, analysis of different types of flora and fauna, or scans for 3D conversions of the area’s surroundings. The information is gathered and transferred to the lab and an online database in real time to ensure the users are performing their tasks at an efficient rate and to slow the delay in receiving what could be critical information.
As the users and their capabilities vary drastically, the device has been designed to be rather simple and straightforward, with its user interface and functions having a gamified design so that it is easy to understand its use quickly.
Design Provocation
The Sol III Analyst challenges our current government's neglect and urgency of care towards our country and our planet. The design artefact aims to provoke discussions about our current methods of government surveillance, sustainability, and co-existence with flora and fauna. As a result of these socio-technical themes and ethical considerations, the design artefact, Sol III Analyst was derived.
As the devices main users are criminals of various extents, it allows for ongoing surveillance, data collection and analysis of SEQ flora and fauna while allowing professionals and scientists to continue their work in laboratories and behind the scenes without needing to do frequent expeditions. In addition to a tight surveillance of flora and fauna, government surveillance of civilians plays a major role within this design artefact as it is used mostly by criminals or those who have been sentenced with community services.
This concept of tighter government surveillance aims to challenge ethical considerations such as privacy. This lack of privacy exists in this world due to flora and fauna being of the utmost importance to the government. In this 2057 world, not only are criminals’ victims to the use of this device, but so are members of society with extremely low sustainability ranking scores who have failed to implement the minimum effort and execution of certain sustainability standards required in suburban homes. Through street cameras, audits and relying on word of mouth from neighbours, the government can survey the population to ensure the laws in place are being practiced in homes so that flora and fauna remain a priority within our co-existence.
The purpose of the device is to gain better understanding of our surrounding flora and fauna to encourage peaceful co-existence and influence our society into becoming even more sustainable with our actions and way of living. To maintain harmony between co-existence with humans and flora and fauna, a circular economy had been enforced within the region by the government. Sustainable and circular economy industries include the renewable energy sector, cellular agriculture and zero emission vehicles. This results in less destruction to land and oceans for harnessing power, less destruction and harvesting of land, and lower emissions within the region.
The Sol III Analyst also challenges the status quo as its functionality is designed with a gamified approach by requiring its users to compete to complete certain tasks over time for a reward of a lessened service period. The gamification of its design and the rewards connected to the completion of tasks encourages the users to work harder and faster to benefit the research at hand. This need to gamify the process reminds us that at our core, society can be selfish and will only do things so long as it benefits them even if what they are doing is for the greater good of the planet and all living things.
