EPISODE THREE
With the Futureville project well underway, Episode 3 explores how we can enhance the quality of daily life in this future city. What needs to be done to transform how people can get around easily and freely and escape the traffic congestion that chokes up our towns and cities in 2024. What technologies will help shape the future of work and education, or enhance our food security in the face of climate change or deliver the kind of digital healthcare model that enhances access to the services we all need.
Dr Paul Deane, Lecturer in Clean Energy Futures, talks about what a future public transport could look like and how it could work and we visit the Future Mobility Hub in Clare to get an insight into some of the most exciting future transport technologies.
Virtual Reality technology is something most people might have heard of but it will become a significant technological tool in how we prepare and develop our skills in the worlds of work and education in the future. Dr Eric Moore takes us on a tour of his Virtual Labs project in Cork where children of all ages are immersing themselves in the science of the future while Jamie Cudden, SMART City lead with Dublin City Council and Dr Aleksandra Kaszubowska-Anandaragh, the Connect Centre explain what a SMART city is and how increasing connectivity will be used to make our cities function better.
In Athlone, we meet restaurant owner Steve Linehan who talks about how the how important food security will be in the future, we meet Erica O’Meara whose family have faced some very challenging health issues and we hear from some of the children from Scoil na gCeithre Máistrí who gives us their thoughts on the future.
Carla tries out a Virtual Headset for the first time as she gets a glimpse into the world of future work!
Series overview
Futureville Ireland is an ambitious new 3-part series that offers a vision of a new Irish City for 2050 – what would it look like? what would daily life be like for the residents? And what are the latest innovations from the Irish Research community that will make it possible?
Athlone has chosen to be re-imagined as a near future metropolis, a capital of the midlands and a new home for a quarter of a million people in 2050. This exciting transformation, built on Irish scientific research, could happen just as easily to any other Irish town or urban centre.
The series is the centre piece of RTÉ & Taighde Éireann’s (Research Ireland) broadcast collaboration for National Science week beginning on Sunday, 10th November. It will broadcast across three consecutive nights during Science Week on RTÉ One at 7.00pm each evening – Tuesday 12th, Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th of November.
Futureville Ireland is co presented by RTÉ’s Carla O’Brien and Dr. Lorraine (Lollie) Mancey (UCD Innovation Academy).
