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.”
— Albert Einstein

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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.”
— Buckminster Fuller

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.

AI, Circular Economy, Defense, Environmental Impact, Future Vision, Mars, Storytelling, Sustainability Danny Stillion AI, Circular Economy, Defense, Environmental Impact, Future Vision, Mars, Storytelling, Sustainability Danny Stillion

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.

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Futureproof Series, Robotics, Science Fiction, Storytelling, Visualization, Mobility, Movement, Micromobility, Mars, Sustainability Danny Stillion Futureproof Series, Robotics, Science Fiction, Storytelling, Visualization, Mobility, Movement, Micromobility, Mars, Sustainability Danny Stillion

Futureproof: Progenitor Community on Mars

It’s been almost two years since our trusty spacecraft Progenitor gently touched down in Columbia Hills for the last time. After making five trans-terran trips, we completed all conversion activities in record time, transforming our spacecraft into a high-rise habitat.

Future Narrative

It’s been almost two years since our trusty spacecraft Progenitor gently touched down in Columbia Hills for the last time. After making five trans-terran trips, we completed all conversion activities in record time, transforming our spacecraft into a high-rise habitat. Decades ago, the Mars Rover Spirit discovered that hot mineral springs had once burbled up from the rocks near the Gustav Crater, which is nearby. This has proven invaluable as we now harness hydrogen and oxygen from the soil to meet our air, water, and power needs, and we are growing food hydroponically on the Progenitor’s upper decks. We look forward to having Martian neighbors as the spacecraft Assurance will join us on Plot Five early next year.

Technology

Spacecraft like SpaceX’s Starship will be large enough to ferry many people to the Red Planet.

One way to accommodate new residents of Mars may be to repurpose spacecraft as they are retired into longer-term surface habitats.

Utilizing existing elements in the Martian soil will be crucial to the long-term terraforming of the planet.

Implications

Terraforming other planets will empower humans to become a multi-planet species and live beyond any potential extinction-level events on Earth. How will the new Martian communities survive, thrive, and govern to sustain life on the red planet?

Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.

Read More