Life is a window of vulnerability
Donna Haraway
Anti-anthro apparatus (work in progress)
A speculative design exercise.
Headgear made from laser-etched perspex with straps made from laser-etched scrap leather. The hexagon pattern comprises 3200 compound eyes so when worn you will see as a bull ant does. The hole at the top is designed to encase a UV head torch. Later on in my PhD I hope to turn this prototype into a working headset using mixed reality tech to allow the user to view the ant’s perspective, short-sightedness and colour spectrum (blue green and ultraviolet) through compound eyes wherever they look. An electronic sensor will also count the user’s steps, something which is now known to be done by bull ants to assist with navigation.
flat plan including casing for the torch
the laser cut and etched design, just cut
bending the perspex using a heat gun - this was surprisingly tricky!
trying not to move while the hot perspex cools into the desired curve
detail of the laser etched bull ant designs for the leather straps (reclaimed scraps saved from landfill!)
trialling the design
the final design
final design close-up