AnthropoScene
CIIDFinal Project
Mentors: Simona Maschi | Alie Rose
Advisors: Iskra Uscumlic | Zaza Zuilhof
Thank you: Kosuke | Mohit | Aakash | Andrea
IxDA 2022 shortlisted
AnthropoScene is a tangible installation that highlights the loss of wildlife especially due to anthropogenic causes.
INTRODUCTIONLoss of biodiversity due to climate change and human impact is a serious topic with dire implications but it's hard to comprehend the magnitude of the problem as we are physically disconnected.
These changes in the environment happen over a long period of time. The information we receive is fragmented and often, we can't see any instantaneous effects in our immediate environments or imagine the scale.
What if there was a way to bring reality closer to people?
CONCEPTThe Anthropocene Epoch is an unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth's history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet's climate and ecosystems.
'AnthropoScene' is an interactive installation inspired by it's namesake. It is educational - highlighting the loss of wildlife, and includes tangible play while retaining the seriousness of the issue.
HOW IT WORKSPeople can interact with the installation by placing an animal in the centre of the board, which triggers a screen with information about that animal. All of the creatures are on a spectrum of ‘vulnerable’ to ‘facing extinction’ (IUCN RedList). For the purpose of this project, I chose three animals indigenous to Central & South America to demonstrate the installation – the Scalloped Hammerhead Shark, the Giant Anteater and the Jaguar. They are less common than the ones brought up in the media, hence creating an interest to learn more about these unique creatures.
The smaller tokens range from systemic changes (eg. offer alternate jobs/training to poachers) to individual changes (eg. check consumer products before purchasing) that need to be made in order to conserve the particular animal. The visitors can then place tokens by trial and error to find out which ones are relevant to each animal (If the token placeholder lights up, then it’s the right token). Each ‘right’ token when placed, reveals exactly how it affects the animal in more detail. After they have successfully matched the tokens, they will be presented with a QR code. This leads them to the app store to download a widget that lives in the background of your phone. People are able to choose the endangered animal of their choice. This acts like a tamagotchi of sorts and occasionally suggests all the simple things they can do at a personal level to help endangered animals.