2.3. Concept choice process

Which software system to develop?

The current people on the Adria colony have already put out a list of absolutely necessary software systems (= Adria's Critical Apps) to be developed. You have to think of a non-existing solution within the domain you are assigned to.

In the second week every group has to pitch their topic.

You have to meet the conceptual requirements and convince the jury of your idea.

After the pitches have finished, you will get a GO or NO GO. If you get a NO GO, you should go back to the drawing board and come up with a better concept.

List of pre-determined Adria's Critical Solutions (can not be choosen)

  • AdriaBook: Adria connector application (cfr facebook/other social media ) to connect the different people of Adria and other colonies. Connections to intergalactic citizens are not possible (Mars and space station). Earth only.

  • Adria Rover rental: Rent a rover, complete with navigation system, designed to easily find your way around the surface of the Earth and toward the other colonies. Integration with weather app for danger alerts is mandatory. The application comes with a built-in function to simulate driving with the Adria rover and learn how to handle it before taking it out in the field.

  • 24/7: Collection app for all events on Adria, what’s happening, when and where (and are you invited?)

  • Mapp Store: Adria’s App store, collecting all available applications for AdriaOS devices

  • Are you the Adrian I’m looking for?: Looking for a person with a certain skillset? Perhaps he can do a job for you or vice- versa? An upscaled linked-in with instant work opportunities. Think about constraints in this new environment. If a person needs to go under the colony or to another one, transport needs to be arranged etc.

  • Adria's Auction House Produced/minded (and other) materials are available to all creative people of Adria. The auction house is the entry point to sell and buy Adria’s materials. Since the Adria’s community has a focus on sustainability, restoring/saving resources, this can be extended with suggestions for optimization of materials use.

  • Adria Exchange: The Adria’s stock exchange. All these new companies building all these new products will probably be looking for investors. Develop a market place of them to trade, based on Terran stock markets though creative deviations are allowed.

Inspiration

There are plenty more today's Earth based applications you can modify to Adria's needs that haven't been listed above (Fitbit, find that person instead of that device, …) but nicer would be to look at things from an Adria's perspective and truly focus on what this new society needs.

Maybe you can think along the lines of applications such as a person's impact on Adria (everything from your excretion to how many plants you fertilise by it..). Colonisation requires progeny, how will we handle coupling? Is a Tinder/Grindr clone what we're looking for or can we match people in a different way? Can you integrate the physical world into it?

What about the world around Earth? Maybe there are deepsky objects that require our attention. What value would they have? How do we connect with the people on Mars?

When you start working on your concept for Adria 2084, it can be really useful to look at speculative stories that show both the power and the dangers of new technology.
The series Black Mirror is a great example: in the episode "Hated in the Nation" you see how automated systems can spiral out of control and create chaos, while in the "Arkangel" epsiode an overprotective AI makes a child blind to what danger really means. These stories remind you that technology isn't just exciting—it can also backfire if you don't think about risks.

Besides Black Mirror, you could also check out:

  • Philip K. Dick's short stories (many of them inspired films like Minority Report and Blade Runner)
  • The Matrix (how virtual worlds can distort reality)
  • The Handmaid's Tale (how systems of control shape society)
  • The Expanse (life in space colonies, politics, survival)
  • Love, Death & Robots (short animated stories with both inspiring and dystopian tech ideas)

Use these as fuel for your imagination—but always ask yourself: what could go wrong if people in Adria rely too much on this technology?

Finally: do not find yourself constrained by current technological limitations and assume the tech can handle it. If you can think of it, it's possible (with the exception of time travel, inter-dimensional travel and zombies – we are not yet in the year 3000).