Speculative Design Script
Tyler Wise
N11071567
Assessment 2
It is no secret that our carbon footprint has impacted our climate. It is estimated that we have produced, since the industrial era, around 1000 gigatons of carbon emissions. Why is this important? Carbon emissions are a contributing factor towards global warming and thus ruining habitats, raising average temperatures all around the world and rising sea levels. In fact, it has raised so much concern that the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) had to step in and put together a future goal of not exceeding 2 degrees above the average global surface temperature (Cambridge, 2013). Now we must take responsibility and think to ourselves, “what do I want the world to look like in 5,10, 20 or even 50 years’ time?”
electric future is a sustainable one. If we can focus on swapping fuel-based vehicles for electric solutions than we will significantly reduce our carbon footprint as carbon emissions from vehicles are a leading factor in climate change. In order to remain carbon free, focus must also be put towards how we collect this electricity. Eco-friendly ways of consuming electricity have gained popularity in the last decade.
Solar panels, wind turbines, hydropower, all are sustainable ways in which we can plan our future, carbon free. A carbon free future means cleaner air, the stoppage of ice caps melting, the protection of species that would otherwise go extinct. Future generations will be able to gaze up at the stars in the sky without smog from pollution getting in the way.
After becoming aware of what path this design should follow, design processes were carefully considered. This design was chosen after a range of initial sketches seen here. These sketches show the first stage of hypothesising how we can reduce our carbon footprint.
From this, the design was developed and rendered further so that the design could be better visualised. It is important to visualise as then we can see how this would work in the future and what needs to be developed in the meantime. Fortunately, this design used technology that is already available to us but just isn’t developed to the standard it needs to be yet. Planes require a significant amount of energy to get off the runway so a more powerful battery would have to be made. With the advancements in batteries such as Tesla, a leading electric car manufacturing company, developing a battery this powerful is certainly on track to being in reach in the near future.
An iteration of this design that was made was the addition of solar panels on the wings to charge during the flight. This idea was brought up when surveying Josh Doyle after he had seen the prototype of the electric plane design. From this process it was brought to my attention just how crucial feedback from stakeholders is. Without feedback on this design, it never would have been brought to my attention how it would be possible to charge the battery in flight using solar panels on the wings.
It is evident that there is a need for the future of transport to be electric. A mode of transport that is often overlooked in terms of making it sustainable is travelling by plane. Planes are a technological advancement that has changed humanity for the better. Unfortunately, planes run off kerosene-based fuels which is harmful to the environment and if we keep using them eventually this technological advancement will start to do more harm than good. This design a method in reducing carbon emissions completely whilst still utilising all the positive aspects that a normal plane has. A plane that runs off electricity might seem farfetched however with the technological advancements being made in the electric car market, it may be not as out of reach as once thought.
References:
Interaction Design Foundation. (2017). Design Thinking: A five stage process [Image]. Retrieved from
Vector Stock. (2018). [Image]. Retrieved from http://data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/
Physics World. (2019). [Image]. Retrieved from
The Guardian. (2020). Carbon Emissions from Fossil Fuels [Image]. Retrieved from
University of Cambridge. (2013). CLIMATE CHANGE: ACTION, TRENDS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR BUSINESS. Retrieved from
