Life is a window of vulnerability
Donna Haraway
Anti-anthro apparatus
A speculative design exercise from 2023.
The headgear and straps were made using laser-etched perspex and scrap leather. The hexagon pattern interprets 3200 compound eyes to imagine bull ant vision. The hole at the top is designed to encase a UV head torch. One day (post PhD) this rough prototype could become a working headset using mixed reality to visualise the ant’s perspective and colour spectrum of blue green and ultraviolet through compound eyes. Bull ants actually count their steps to assist with navigation, so an electronic sensor is planned to count the user’s steps.
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