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Conceptual Products for Future Digital Life
In a future highly digitalized world, after a person's passing, there will be not only the need to handle their physical body but also their brain chip and the memory data stored in the cloud. This gives rise to the concept of the "Soul Urn." The deceased's memory data is stored in the Soul Urn, which is placed in a public cemetery. Through the Soul Urn, the deceased can share memorable moments of their life or leave messages they wish to pass on to the living, presenting these moments to the living in an interactive way.
In the creation of the prototype, we implemented three main soul interaction functions: reading pre-death memories, clarifying pre-death memories, and memory association. For the memory retrieval process, we drew inspiration from radio frequency modulation. By turning the tuning knob, memories corresponding to specific frequency bands are intermittently presented, creating a nostalgic, hazy, and elusive aesthetic.
The Soul Urn consists of an open and closed state. By rotating the outer shell, the box is opened, allowing interaction with the memories stored inside. In the prototype, memory data is presented in a near "holographic projection" form, evoking a sense of futurism and dreamlike qualities. This "holographic projection" is realized through LED screens, with light reflected by transparent plastic sheets to create a virtual image.
To align with the inherent distortion and fragility of memories, the images and sounds translated from "life data" are not clear, often fragmented and ambiguous. What is captured is less about precise details and more about emotions and states—a reflection of subconscious feelings.
In the future, people will be able to engrave their memory data onto records for collection or storage. When they wish to revisit a particular moment from their past, they will use the Soul Record Player. The player reads the memory data from the record, translates it, and ultimately presents it to the user in the form of audiovisual experience. This product, as a representation of "Future Retroism," symbolizes the longing for the ritualistic sentiments of the past in an era dominated by advanced technology.
By rotating the turntable's needle and placing it at different scale positions on the record, the record player will read the memory data from that specific location, translate it into audiovisual data, and present it to the user.
The system primarily relies on detecting the rotation angle of the needle to determine its position on the record.
In terms of audiovisual presentation, to align with the distortion and fragility inherent in memories, the images and sounds translated from "life data" are not clear; they are often fragmented, intermittent, and ambiguous. What is recorded is more about emotions and states—a reflection of subconscious feelings.
