Audience: Artists, Designers, and Scientists at MIT's inaugural global machine olfaction technologies conference and Rhode Island School of Design
Collaborators : MIT Label Free Research Group
India has the world's worst air pollution. Home to 22 of the world's 30 most polluted cities, India's toxic air kills more than one million people each year. According to BBC World News, air pollution caused around 54,000 premature deaths in the INDIAN CAPITAL OF NEW Delhi in 2020.
A 2021 report released by Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago found that all of India's 1.3 billion residents face annual average pollution levels that exceed guidelines as set by the World Health Organization.
The central government of India announced a national clean air campaign in 2019, that aimed to reduce particulate pollution by up to 30% by 2024. But in the past few years, pollution has become a serious killer.
Policies and promises can only take us so far. I wanted to understand what we can starting 'doing' and building to tackle this challenge. Below are some experimentations on this end.
Skating through gas is a visual satire on the state of air pollution in India's capital city.
Experimentation with Rapid Prototyping
My experimentation began by defining the shape of the object. I decided engage in satire and use playful design by choosing to 3D print a nose and vacuum forming it.
After a few failed attempts and adapting the initial design of the 3D print, I was successfully able to create a mold apt for the biomaterials that I had been experimenting with in parallel.
Experimentation with Biomaterials
My goal was to use a plastic substitute that is biodegradable and can be designed using elements from waste to create the finished product. I began experimenting with Biochar and used a standard bioplastic recipe to create the nose.
After experimenting with different ratios of ingredients, I baked a few biodegradable noses and placed them around the campuses of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design to conduct user research, collect feedback, and test the engagement with the form and narrative.
This campaign engaged 500+ users and received an overwhelming positive response. People said that the experience of holding and touching the nose stuck with them and helped them bring a complex and sobering issue such as air pollution and air inequity with their family and friends on the dinner table through the story.
The nose was coupled with an New York Times story on air inequity in New Delhi and invited responses to a survey using a QR code.
Combining the object with a prompt