The Institute for Future Technologies and ESILV welcomed Lucy Li, PhD candidate at the MIT Media Lab, for a research talk and academic exchanges focused on speculative design, emerging technologies, and future imaginaries.
Building on these speculative narratives, the discussion then shifted from conceptual frameworks to concrete exchanges with ESILV’s academic community, connecting research exploration with pedagogical practice.
A research encounter at the intersection of technology and imagination
As part of its scientific and academic activities, the Institute for Future Technologies (IFT) and ESILV hosted Lucy Li, PhD candidate at the MIT Media Lab, where she is co-advised by Prof. Hiroshi Ishii and Professor-researcher and IFT Director, Xiao Xiao.
Her visit offered an opportunity to engage with research approaches that combine technology, design, and critical reflection on future trajectories.
Lucy Li presented a talk titled “Untold Machine Dreams—Rewilding our Imagination about Technology and Futures.” The presentation explored how technological systems influence not only tools and infrastructures, but also narratives, symbols, and collective projections about the future.
Speculative design as a research method
The talk introduced speculative design as a way to examine technological developments through fictional yet plausible scenarios. Rather than focusing on immediate applications, this approach uses design to question assumptions, social impacts, and power structures embedded in technology.
Through a series of research projects, Lucy Li illustrated how speculative artefacts can serve as research instruments, helping audiences reflect on climate change, space governance, memory, and temporality. These projects sit at the crossroads of design, engineering, and social inquiry, aligning with ESILV’s interest in interdisciplinary approaches to technological innovation.
Dear Satellite: Memory, Loss, and Orbital Technologies
One of the projects presented, Dear Satellite, examines how space technologies could intersect with human experiences of memory and grief. The project draws a parallel between orbital mechanics and the way memories circulate over time—sometimes distant, sometimes close, repeatedly returning before fading.
Set around a fictional CubeSat in Low Earth Orbit, the narrative follows a child who listens to recordings left by a parent, accessible only when the satellite passes overhead. The project integrates technical realities of satellite orbits—such as rotation cycles and communication windows—into the design of tangible interfaces. Through this framework, Dear Satellite raises questions about the commercialisation of space, access to orbital resources, and the need to democratise how future space infrastructures are imagined and used.
Illegal Rain: Climate Futures and Domestic Decision-Making
Another project, Illegal Rain, is set in Austria in 2030 and focuses on water scarcity and climate adaptation.
The installation places visitors inside a family living space, where an eight-armed drone designed for cloud seeding becomes part of everyday life. The domestic setting highlights how environmental crises translate into intimate, family-level decisions.
The project combines narrative elements, physical prototypes, and researched technical components, including materials, aerodynamics, and chemical processes involved in inducing rainfall. By grounding speculative fiction in realistic engineering constraints, Illegal Rain encourages reflection on climate governance, resource access, and the ethical implications of weather modification technologies.
Academic exchanges with ESILV students and researchers
Beyond the talk, Lucy Li engaged with ESILV’s academic community through several dedicated moments.
She met with Master’s students, led a workshop on speculative design methodologies, and discussed research perspectives with ESILV PhD student and alumni Paul-Peter Arslan, class of 2021.
These exchanges are part of an ongoing collaboration, as Paul-Peter Arslan will join the MIT Media Lab for a visiting research period starting in January.
Research, design, and future-oriented engineering
Through this visit, ESILV reaffirms its commitment to exposing engineering students and researchers to diverse research cultures and methodologies.
By engaging with speculative design and critical perspectives on technology, future engineers are encouraged to situate technical expertise within broader societal, environmental, and cultural contexts.
Learn more about ESILV’s research strategy
This post was last modified on 16 December 2025 4:44 pm