Thesis: According individuals who are known as bioethics abolitionists, one of the goals of a posthuman society would be to eliminate human suffering, including negative emotions such as sadness and anger.  As people work to achieve this goal is is possible that technology that are currently being developed to treat serious neuro-developmental and neuro-psychiatric disorders will be used to eliminate unwanted emotions. As this process occurs, we run the risk of eliminating all emotion from people and creating a monotonous society run more by technology than humans themselves.

 

 
 
 

Below are three 3D images created using three different scanning technologies. The Kinect created the best images as both the Digitizer and the 123D catch app created weird geometries that had holes depending on the picture angles.

 

Thesis: According to some, one of the goals of a posthuman society would be to eliminate human suffering, including negative emotions such as sadness and anger. As people work to achieve this goal is is possible that technologies that are currently being developed to treat serious neuro-developmental and neuro-psychiatric disorders will be used to eliminate unwanted emotions. As this process occurs, we run the risk of eliminating all emotion from people and creating a monotonous society run more by technology than humans themselves.

Reference Photographs:

Additional Research: After conducting research on my idea, I realized that I inadvertently decided to create a project around the idea of bioethics abolitionism, which is a school of thought in which all suffering, no matter how small should be eliminated. The main problem that people with this believe face is that much of the suffering that we endure is genetically inherited and is largely biological and therefore it can be difficult to eliminate from a society. The Abolitionist Society was founded by David Pearce, Pablo Stafforini, Sean Henderson, and Jaime Savage. They believe that through the use of neuroscience, biotechnology, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and psychopharmacology, that depression and suffering can be eliminated from our present society and also stopped from being passed on to future generations. This process is known as the Hedonistic Imperative. The abolitionists beleive that suffering should be eliminated not only from the human race, but from the entire living world. http://www.hedweb.com/transhumanism/bioethics.html

 
 

untitled.2 untitled.3 untitled.4

 

Project Description 

My first project was an underwater bus for Michael Phelps to explore the deep sea. I was drawn to many of Phelps’ physical characteristics, mainly his height, long wingspan and flexibility, all of which I felt I could illustrated via an articulated bus. The design is long and flexible, contains multiple compartments, and included grand and spectacular “arms” like Phelps, and is made of gold to touch on Phelps’ desire to win gold medals in the Olympics. Unlike Phelps’ typical experiences in the water, where he is moving rapidly and trying to win a race, this vehicle is for deep sea exploration. There are still enemies that Phelps will encounter in the deep sea, which is why the vehicle contains components of many different ocean dwelling creatures. The crab claws, the scaled tail, the octopus arms, and the anglerfish head all provide protection and camouflage for the vehicle, allowing Phelps to ride around undisturbed. The renders highlight the exterior and interior features of the vehicle while displaying an interaction between the vehicle and it’s environment.

Project Renders

 

 
 

For the first project, “Vehicles designed for harsh environments”, I am designing a vehicle for Michael Phelps to aid him in his adventures in the deep sea. In thinking about the deep sea, the key aspects that I am considering include the darkness, the extreme pressures and temperatures, and the dangerous creatures that live in the depths of the ocean. I plan to incorporate different aspects from various deep sea creatures in the vehicle so that it can camouflage as a defense mechanism.

creature1

Deep Sea Creature that will potentially be used for inspiration.

creature2

Angler fish that will be used as inspiration.

octopus

Squid/octopus that will be used as inspiration.

sea floor

Deep sea floor, the harsh environment that the vehicle must be able to survive in.

 

When considering Michael Phelp’s characteristics that should be included in the project, I immediately thought of his various physical traits. These include his height and slender frame, his long arms, flexibility, and large lungs. Additionally, I plan to incorporate his preference for winning gold medals and swimming in the design.

wingspan

Michael Phelp’s wingspan.

phelps size

Various aspects of Michael Phelp’s body, all of which I am using as inspiration for the vehicle.

 

The design is loosely based off of the idea of a stretch bus that is connected via a pivoting joint that allows the bus to remain flexible while increasing it’s length.

seavehicle.jpg2

Deep sea vehicle. Note the spheres used, as they survive well in the deep sea environment.

sub

Submarine. Some aspects of this vehicle might be useful to include as submarines are built for the deep sea.

nxC5mUe

An articulated bus connected by a joint that increases the flexibility and length of the bus.

 

The vehicle that I plan to design will resemble a segmented bus with each segment being a round orb that can withstand the high pressures and extreme temperatures associated with the deep sea. The vehicle will include features from various deep sea creates including, but not limited to the angler fish and an octopus/squid.

project1-3 project1 project2

 

Bothwell_render1 Bothwell_render2 Bothwell_render3

 

Radio2 Radio3 Radio1

 

Duck2 Duck3 Duck1

 

Headphones1

Headphones2