Category: Heather

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

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