KAIQING HAUNG

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Thermal Muscle

Speculative Design
August 2023



Composer: Kaiqing Huang
INTRODUCTION

Many extreme athletes are passionate about summit climbing, but it comes with significant safety risks, and we all hope to survive these challenges. The use of Thermal Muscle could provide a solution. Climbers can wear it before a climb to significantly boost their resistance to impacts and freezing temperatures, reducing injury rates and increasing survival chances. It’s the most powerful "life jacket" a climber can have when pushing their limits and embracing their passion.


WHAT IF muscles could completely exist outside the human body?
 WHAT IF muscles could be specifically targeted to enhance their properties?
 WHAT IF muscles become a commodity that could be sold?
            
MUSCLE PRODUCTS






Thirty percent of body heat is lost through the head. Increasing the muscle mass in the head area can help ensure heat supply and storage.





The back muscles are the largest muscle group in the human body, providing strong support. In climbing accidents, 10% of fatalities involve spinal fractures; back muscle products can enhance protection.





The chest muscles provide the most direct protection for the internal organs and are the main source of heat for the torso. 

Heat:
Muscle based on the NST has a strong thermogenic capacity, it can be in the muscle non-exercise heat generation, and is the main source of muscle heat generation, in the case of hiking and freezing can be for the body to continuously heat insulation.

Cushioning:
Under great stress, muscles provide cushioning for joints and bones.
 Support:
The muscles provide essential stabilisation and structural support for the body's upright posture, particularly in the event of sudden strong impacts and significant physical stress or deformations.

Protection:
In extreme cases, the muscles act as a powerful protector and shield for the internal organs, helping to absorb shock and prevent damage.

       
                                                               AR effect in mobile phone
        
Using application Spark AR

THE PROMOTIONAL VIDEO



Footage

REFLECTION

This project mainly focuses on the research on the value of muscles to the human body in the context of extreme peak mountaineering, and imagines that the muscles will exist in the form of commodities in the future.

However, the project currently does not further study the impact of muscle commercialization on human thought and society. This is also the direction in which the project will advance in the future.

The existence of the stolen people goes beyond issues of arming and protection; it also represents a cultural and symbolic dilemma. The significance and cultural symbolism of these displaced people continually reshape the historical trajectory of human civilization.
For instance, in ancient Greece, deprivation was associated with state service, physical prowess, and disability, making this symbol of deprivation an ancient concept even then.

This project, from a speculative perspective, combines materials science, biology, physics, and chemistry to propose the possibility that muscles could become the "life jacket" for extreme mountain climbers in the future.

It also questions whether muscles could also become an entity that is detached from the individual and shared by the masses.