The Futureproof Series.
Postcards
From the Future.
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Futureproof Series
Postcards From the Future
As part of designbivouac’s Futureproof Series, this collection offers a set of visual explorations and concise narratives designed to spark conversation, challenge assumptions, and inspire strategic thinking about what lies ahead.
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
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Methodology
Futurecasting is a creative process where designers explore various social, cultural, economic, political, and ecological factors to envision potential futures. Rather than predicting the future with certainty, futurecasting focuses on imagining possible and preferable scenarios that inform long-term strategies. It helps businesses understand the forces shaping the future, anticipate changes, and create proactive strategies. Preferable futures align technology with human needs while ensuring sustainability from a planetary perspective.
“The best way to predict the future is to design it.”
Frameworks
The Futureproof: Postcards From the Future series draws on frameworks, such as Joseph Voros’s Futures Cone and backcasting, to guide its exploration. By working backward from a desirable future state to our current reality, backcasting helps identify the necessary conditions to achieve a preferred vision. The aim is to encourage thoughtful consideration of our shared future and inspire active participation in shaping it.
Visual and Narrative Approach
The series' visual approach integrates AI tools into the creative process, blending visuals with written narratives that evolve organically as each postcard from the future takes form. The series is designed to inspire deeper reflection on the necessary actions to make our collective preferred future a reality.
Clearing the Wreckage of War
The war in Ukraine was brutal for all involved. For many years, war wreckage covered vast regions of the country. Mines and unexploded ordnance rendered large swaths of land unusable. Much of Europe’s breadbasket lay dormant. Enter the Weyland Heavy Industries Collassal Landmine Equipment and Armamament Removal (CLEAR) platforms.
Future Narrative
The war in Ukraine was brutal for all involved. For many years, war wreckage covered vast regions of the country. Mines and unexploded ordnance rendered large swaths of land unusable. Much of Europe’s breadbasket lay dormant. Enter the Weyland Heavy Industries Colossal Landmine Equipment and Armament Removal (CLEAR) platforms.
A Weyland Heavy Industries CLEAR platform stands ready to slice and shed an abandoned tank in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
While many knew the cost of rebuilding Ukraine would be high, few grasped the daunting scale of what it would take to make Ukraine ready for reconstruction. Weyland Heavy Industries was one of the first to understand the scope of the challenge. Remarkably, just 18 months after proposing the CLEAR platforms, the company had three prototype units actively clearing former battlefields in Ukraine.
The massive CLEAR mobile recycling platforms shredded and smelted main battle tanks and other military vehicles densely strewn across Ukraine. Minefields and unexploded ordinance were also cleared, likely saving tens of thousands of civilians. Ten nuclear-powered behemoths restored most former battlefields in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Oblast within four years of the program's introduction. Paradoxically, CLEAR platforms left behind what appeared to be an apocalyptic landscape, but the land was safe for Ukraine’s skilled farmers to transform into productive farmland again.
Weyland Heavy Industries applied its large-scale marine manufacturing processes to produce the mega-scale CLEAR vehicles. The battlefield clearing program positioned the company in a favorable light. Once decommissioned from battlefield clearing, the massive CLEAR machines were repurposed, providing power for small—to medium-sized cities. This proved profitable since Weyland Heavy Industries was given rights to all materials salvaged from the battlefield.
The knowledge gained from the program led to the company producing fleets of autonomous mega-combines that productively roamed the same once-scarred landscape—and ultimately, the company’s large-scale future terraforming equipment destined for Mars.
Early Signals
Recycling efforts are upscaling to recover precious resources.
VTN Scrap Shear C1700
VZ-950 Universal Shredder
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.
Futureproof: Protective Acoustic Wave
The war in Ukraine made the importance of drone and artillery defense clear to everyone. A groundbreaking technology emerged, leveraging acoustic wave energy and microwave energy (A.W.E.M.E) to create planar barriers to protect troops from frontal or overhead attacks. Today, a downscaled version known commercially as the SoundSentinel™, safeguards crops from insects.
Future Narrative
The war in Ukraine made the importance of drone and artillery defense clear to everyone. A groundbreaking planar wave technology emerged, leveraging acoustic wave energy and microwave emissions (A.W.E.M.E) to create barriers and protect troops from frontal or overhead attacks. Today, a downscaled version known commercially as the SoundSentinel™ safeguards crops from insects. Like bug zappers from years ago, the planar wave resonance eliminates specific pests as they pass over crops in the field.
In the agricultural sector, this acoustic barrier technology represents a significant advancement in pest control. Chemical pesticides or physical nets can harm the environment and are labor-intensive. Planar wave technology offers a sustainable and maintenance-free alternative. Applying tuned acoustic waves and microwaves to target specific insect species effectively eliminates pests from crops without harming beneficial insects or the surrounding ecosystem. This precise targeting reduces crop damage and increases yield, contributing to more efficient and eco-friendly farming practices.
In military applications, protective planar wave systems are stronger, sometimes leading to the acoustic capturing of smoke and flames, making the barrier temporarily visible. The invisibility of the protective barrier can be restored by briefly cycling the system and allowing smoke and flames to dissipate.
As with many technologies, acoustic and microwave barriers were developed in response to the intense need to protect troops in conflict. The technology then found its way into commercial agricultural applications. When deployed around a base, convoy, or troop formation, planar wave technology projects a plane of high-frequency sound and microwaves that disrupt incoming drones or ordinance. Multiple protective barriers can be deployed horizontally or vertically at various distances, providing full coverage for troops in the field. Forces can integrate planar wave technology into existing infrastructure or deploy it using power provided by armored vehicles that move with infantry units across the battle space, thus providing flexible and robust protection in various combat scenarios.
Refinements of protective acoustic barriers included projecting laser visual indicators that reflected off of trapped particulates within the acoustic barrier to aid troops in identifying the position of A.W.E.M.E. Mark II systems.
Early military planar wave barriers were so strong that, depending on environmental conditions, they sometimes spawned fires. As a result, troops referred to the A.W.E.M.E. Mark I system as the “Gates of Hell.”
Implications
The versatility of this acoustic barrier technology lies in its ability to be finely tuned to specific frequencies and intensities, ensuring optimal effectiveness for various applications. As research and development continue, we can anticipate further enhancements, such as integrating artificial intelligence to dynamically adjust sound parameters based on real-time threats or pest behavior. This fusion of acoustic engineering and advanced algorithms promises to revolutionize military defense and agricultural protection, marking a significant leap forward in the use of non-lethal defense and sustainable crop technologies. However, the health of those using this technology must be safeguarded, and we must avoid unintended consequences such as additional noise pollution or interference with wildlife across wide green spaces.
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.
Futureproof: Roadside Cleanup Crews
I remember driving with my dad and occasionally passing by groups of those convicted of minor offenses serving their community service hours on a roadside cleanup crew. Back then, small groups wore hi-vis vests, carried trash bags, and picked up garbage along the roadways. A van or bus with a supervisor was somewhere nearby. That scene is very different today.
Future Narrative
I remember driving with my dad and occasionally passing by groups of those convicted of minor offenses serving their community service hours on a roadside cleanup crew. Back then, small groups wore hi-vis vests, carried trash bags, and picked up garbage along the roadways. A van or bus with a supervisor was somewhere nearby. That scene is very different today.
Things changed when we started to militarize law enforcement. It happened slowly yet intentionally. To save money, defense forces made obsolete MRAPS and other war vehicles available to police agencies at giveaway prices. These intimidating vehicles are now a part of our communities. Bakersfield resembles a war-torn Baghdad from a bygone era. Prisons are big business today, too. The prison is now the county's third-largest employer.
We also turned our backs on the climate accords and eliminated many environmental regulations that held corporations and individuals responsible for polluting. As a result, over the last 20 years, temperatures and the piles of trash along our roadways have continued to rise. Outdoor work crews must now be equipped with some form of cooling apparatus during the summer months. The garbage they come into contact with is far more dangerous to handle, too. Now, the government spends the money we were supposed to have saved by purchasing MRAP vehicles to equip those convicted of minor infractions with expensive disposable protective equipment, making it a relatively easy yet meaningful task to set up and supervise. Oh yeah, last year, our local city council approved cooling tent attachments for some of the MRAPs, which, ironically, makes them more expensive and polluting as they burn even more diesel fuel.
Seeing these work crews is becoming more common. Every time I pass one of these outfits on the side of the road, I am filled with a bit of fear for the future. The worst thing about all this is that I see the same fear on my son’s face, too.
Implications
To save money spent on decommissioning thousands of mine-resistant armored personnel carriers (MRAPs) produced for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department of Defense provided police forces with the option of acquiring MRAPs at bargain basement prices. This, and other up-armoring efforts, led to a distinct militarization effect for many police forces across America. In a quest for efficiency, cost savings, and force protection, the days of the cop on the beat who was well-known by neighborhood citizens are long gone. What will be the long-term effects of depersonalizing and militarizing America’s policing forces?
Climate change will continue to accelerate without drastic action, rendering important outdoor tasks impossible without the use of expensive environmental mitigation suits. What will the additional human and economic cost of heating and cooling clothing be, and how will this impact workers' quality of life? Will this become a further contributor to climate change?
If we reduce or eliminate environmental protections, what will the consequences be for clean land, air, and water? How might we reinforce an era of personal and corporate environmental responsibility and accountability? Rather than stifling businesses, what new businesses and clean industries could be created to reverse global warming?
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.