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In the dystopian future of The Matrix, humanity has been converted into a renewable crop by energy-starved sentient machines, with “farms” of human bodies harnessed and harvested for their metabolic output. It’s one of those disturbing sci-fi premises which can leave one suspicious of artificial intelligence, robotic vacuums, and the whole “internet of things” trend. But maybe Agent Smith and his robotic compatriots were onto something in regards to the human body as a renewable energy source.
Industrial design graduate student, Naomi Kizhner of Jerusalem’s Hadassah College envisions jewelry one day serving purposes beyond adornment, a three-piece collection connecting and converting the human body into one gigantic battery for biological data feedback.
Energy Addicts’ entomological-styled accessories hints of early David Cronenberg at his best/worst, the jewelry’s macabre beauty furthered by how each piece is worn: sharp pincers and stings pierce skin, establishing an “interface” between body and each bio-electrically powered accessory. Creepy. Cool.
Blinker is worn like an eyeglass bridge. Inside, a tiny microcell stores energy collected with each blink of the eye.
Blood Bridge: designed to tap directly into the action of ulnar artery – the body’s main blood vessel – the pulmonary flow of the heart spins an enclosed wheel to generate electricity.
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8 Comments
Amy @ The American-Made Guide to Life on 08.23.2014 at 10:53 AM
This creeps me out. Like really creeps me out.
Julia on 08.24.2014 at 15:15 PM
It is just creep but not cool at all.
Meg on 08.25.2014 at 11:30 AM
This is far-out.
Concerned designer on 08.26.2014 at 11:16 AM
This is an awful idea, not only is a waste of time since it’s just concepts that have no grounding in reality, but even the premise of “tapping” humans for energy by shoving a mini turbine into our artery is the most assinine thing I have heard this week. A simple 12″ windmill could produce more electricity than any of this crap combined. Good thing students are wasting there money and time on garbage. Please solve more pressing problems like clean water, medicine in remote areas, nutrition in remote areas, drought etc.
Gregory Han (post author) on 08.26.2014 at 15:33 PM
It’s hard to imagine a fellow “concerned designer” would belittle exploratory designs so harshly considering how little of it is permitted. Conceptual design work, versus commercialized product, is meant to step over the demarcation of daily necessity and explore “what if” propositions, sometimes with head scratching focus.
For example, what if biometric pulmonary powered accessories were able to provide cardiac activity monitoring without the worry of battery drain ever? What if a connected monitoring device also scanned/filtered blood flow with improved accuracy for diabetics, all powered internally by wearer?
Clean water, medicine, nutrition are all vital problems deserving the best of design and engineering efforts, but it’s not an either/or condition young designers imagine solutions beyond the pragmatic.
Julia on 08.27.2014 at 07:28 AM
I am total agree your point about the vital problems deserving upon the another design field, and the idea about the conceptual design work.
But I could not agree more your point about the conceptual design work on this project. This design work simply could not match with the example that you have written by all my mean. I am a freshman in this part industry, maybe have very simple and naive thinking. I do believed sometimes naive thinking may be the best when we discussion one design works.
I just have awful feeling especially the chips the model has pinned it in her body. It is very hateful and dramatic for me. I could not image what if the power is from the peoples body instead any other much more making sense idea. How much power the body could given. How would we do this disregard our body? I am to scare to do this.
Sure conceptual design works have step ahead and explore more propositions even head scratching. But the thinking should be the same, more useful reasonable propositions.
Gregory Han (post author) on 08.27.2014 at 13:10 PM
First off, best wishes to the beginning of your studies in design! I look back at those years as one of such intense focus in the studio, one cannot but be excited to know another is embarking on the challenging, but satisfying studies in design (I studied environmental architecture-graphic design).
I do not believe you opinions are naive, and in fact your strong reactions are absolutely normal considering the shape and application of these insect-shaped works. But from a wider perspective they are perhaps misplaced when considering the topic of exploratory design work.
Reservations about utilizing the body in such dramatic fashion is a natural response. Breaking the skin and any parasitic forms are going to elicit a negative knee jerk reaction, emotions inherently deep rooted in the human mind. But let us consider this: for the most part people around the world already pierce their ears, tongues and nose without much notice. This is the same “dramatic” action against the body you’ve noted. Is this disregard for our bodies too? How about tattoos, all for adornment and without the utility of these jewelry? Would your strong emotional reactions be the same if the design above was integrated into a round normal earring shape? Probably not, because we’ve become socially acclimated to the specific location of the piercing of skin through the ears, lips, nose and even tongue. One should consider our own emotional reactions vs. rational considerations of a product concept.
You ask how much the body could produce? Probably a very modest amount. But as a conceptual idea and model, that’s a question the designer is partially attempting to answer and could one day have real world application. For example, as deep space exploration expands, scientists and designers will have to consider how to provide power without adding weight; imagine if life vitals monitoring devices like these powered by the body were integrated into the equipment taken to space; no need for additional power source (extra weight) and securely attached.
One needs to remember many concepts were first deemed “not useful”, yet later proved a solution later once designs and technologies were further refined.
All this is a roundabout way to say, don’t be afraid of new ideas. You’ll have many years of “reasonable propositions” waiting for you once you graduate. Conceptual design is a mere 5-10% of the design profession, an exceptional part of the career which makes the field rewarding. Exploratory opportunities are quite scarce in the actual day-to-day workflow of a designer. The ideas which “make sense” are the easiest route, usually already worked many times over…it’s the ideas which initially perplex, challenge the norm, and maybe even anger which change the world.
Jacob Capodanno on 10.22.2014 at 13:07 PM
I would love to try one of Naomi’s product if you believe it really works. I’m willing to be a test subject even. I think her concepts are amazing and working with new energy concepts is a thing of the future. We need to move away from the era of harmful emissions
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