Imagining What the Fossils of the Future Might Say About Us

Technofossils are “human-made artifacts that can become part of Earth’s far-future geology,” potentially offering people generations from now a glimpse into our daily lives. For example, a cheap plastic trinket might take 500 years to decompose—could that kind of longevity be mistaken for a sign of high value? The techno_fossils exhibition imagines the absurd ways people hundreds of years in the future might interpret our society based on the objects we leave behind.

In addition to collaborating on ideation and prototyping, I took the lead on physical computing and developing the interactive experience using Processing and Arduino.
Tools
Processing, Arduino, Physical Prototyping, Experience Design
Timeline
4 days, 2024
Team
Eva Barth

Catch began as an online payment method.

Catch rewards shoppers for using ACH or debit at checkout. Merchants save on credit card fees and offer store credit to boost loyalty, while shoppers earn high rewards (typically 10%) without the drawbacks of credit.
Description
Description

Adding new brands required checkout integration.

By 2024, we had integrated with around 70 merchants, but growth was limited by the need for merchant integration. Potential partner brands had scarce resources for integration, and due to our small network, we didn't yet have the traffic to demonstrate short term value — a real chicken-and-egg situation.

Imagining future interpretations of our artifacts

We pondered how everyday objects might be perceived by future generations, inspired by the concept of technofossils—human-made artifacts that could become part of Earth's distant geological record. A plastic gadget, for instance, may take hundreds of years to decompose, offering future societies a glimpse into our daily lives.

This is the omni-latch relic, circa 1900 to 2000AD. Its multi-symbol interface hints at a complex and versatile utility, possibly linked to a hierarchical or coded system.

Speculative interpretation of a car key

Building the exhbition

To explore this idea, we curated an exhibition titled techno_fossils, imagining the absurd ways people hundreds of years from now might depict our society based on the objects we leave behind. We selected three items we use daily—AirPods, a car key, and a computer mouse—and created an experience that exudes futuristic kitsch.

Crafting an immersive experience

Visitors entering the space were greeted by thumping techno music and an AI-generated voice, synchronized to the beat, inviting them to pick up a fossil. The "technofossils" rest on a platform of black acrylic and aluminum-coated plywood, concealing an Arduino and three photoresistors that triggered different responses based on which object was lifted, exposing them to ambient light.

This is the echo wave surge, circa 1920-2080 AD. It may have been a sacred object carried by individuals of high status or used during rites to invoke a connection with higher powers.

Speculative interpretation of a computer mouse

Visiting the exhibit

When a visitor picks up a fossil, the introductory text on the projector is replaced with a giant, spinning, 3D "deconstruction" of that object, generated using Processing code.

The glossy surfaces of the platform reflected the white pixels dancing across the projector screen.

The booming voice, generated using Dennis Paul's Wellen library, narrates a description based on a hypothetical misinterpretation of that fossil.
Testing out the interactions and sharing our progress with Dennis Paul, our instructor and the creator of the library we used for text-to-speech and sound effects.

Reflections and learnings

Through this project, we learned the power of keeping it simple, the importance of context-setting, and the basics of sound design. We hope that techno_fossils will inspire reflection on the things we own and what they say about us.

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