2022
Fauna Futura
Fauna Futura is speculating on the future of wildlife and the power and ethics of AI. Together with the developer Konstantine Tsafatinos, we built a web-based 3D environment where users can interact with AI-generated birds. The names, descriptions, song, video and images are all AI generated, and we trained our own models.
My role
- UI/UX
- Front-end development
- three.js
Concept
Digital wildlife for a future world
Due to pollution and altered nature, natural ecosystems are degrading at a rate unprecedented in human history. How can we ensure that people can experience and interact with nature and wildlife in the future? Can AI help - and should it be able to?
In our minds, Fauna Futura is a startup in a not-too-distant future, where the metaverse is widely accepted and frequently used. Fauna Futura provides content for the metaverse, specializing in artificially created "natural" worlds where anyone can see and experience AI-generated birds flying around in a north European forest.
Process
Building a synthetic ecosystem
I came up with the concept, created the UI, and did most of the frontend coding and 3D assets. My teammate Konstantine generated the AI content and worked on sound effects and sound editing.
- Iterative UI design: Wireframes, mockups and prototypes in Figma
- Front-end development: Implementing the UI and coding interactions using three.js
- 3D-modelling: Creating assets in Blender (modelling, texturing, animating)
- User testing: Qualitative user testing in a 1:1 format with 6 different people
The Solution
A browser-based 3D experience
The end result is an experience made in HTML and javascript, with the aid of three.js to render 3D in the browser.
Exhibition
Featured in Digital Art History Journal
In June 2023, Fauna Futura was featured in the online group exhibition "A Kind of Alchemy: The Work of Art in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" hosted by DAHJ (Digital Art History Journal).
Conclusion
Reflecting on our technological future
The way I see it, Fauna Futura touches upon a few different subjects regarding the future and our relationship with technology.
If you've tried out Fauna Futura, I would be thrilled to hear your opinion. Please copy my mail address in the bottom of the page, and tell me what you think!