Futureville Ireland is back for a second series. And presenters Carla O’Brien and Dr Lollie Mancey are ready explore even further their vision for a city of the future for Ireland. This city would be home to a quarter of a million people, where science helps solve some of the biggest issues facing our country today.
Last series Futureville Ireland reimagined the midlands town of Athlone as a brand new city for the year 2050. Their plan would rejuvenate the best of the old town, but added brand new neighbourhoods and transport networks. Carla and Lollie called this new city Futureville. There was a strong response to the programme, with some who thought Futureville a great idea and wanting to know how they could help meanwhile others thought the pair were off their rockers!
Now Carla and Lollie are back to show us that Futureville is no pipe dream. It’s entirely possible, and more important than ever. In this series the pair explore the potential for Ireland’s future even further and set out to see what daily life would be like in their new city. They travel the country to meet the scientists, researchers and ordinary men and women working on remarkable ideas that could revolutionise how we live our daily lives 25 years from now.
Futureville Ireland – Series 2
Tues 11th, Wednesday 12th and Thursday 13th November – 7pm, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
Presented by Carla O’Brien and Dr Lollie Mancey
Episode 1 – Tuesday 11th November
In the first episode, Lollie introduces us to the idea of life with an AI companion. After experimenting herself with an AI boyfriend she called Billy, Lollie invites influencer Emma Keogh to see whether after three weeks living with her own AI companion, Emma could imagine it replacing her own friends.
Carla discovers why, in Futureville, artistic expression will be on every street corner. She meets urban artist Maser to discover how, after a career spent painting on bricks and mortar augmented reality is turning thin air into brand new canvas.
We join geologist Sarah Hand on her search for a brand new energy source that could power Futureville non-stop, summer and winter, to deliver Ireland energy independence.
And we meet Roger and his wife Brigid, who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. But new technology mean the pair can continue to enjoy their independence while continuing to live at home. It’s all thanks to a new system involving AI and movement sensors, which could mean Futureville’s elder generation never have to enter a nursing home.
And Carla meets the farmer in Cork, who has abandoned his dairy farm in favour of breeding pigs. His new business model side steps the supermarkets and could mean that in 2050, Futureville can feed itself.
Episode 2 – Wednesday 12th November
In Episode 2, Carla goes on the hunt for the new source of vegetable protein that could fill our store cupboards in 2050. Things don’t get off to a promising start when she finds herself standing waist deep in pond, thick with duckweed.
Later she prepares a midweek dinner using some ingredients that sound challenging today, but could be an everyday staple in Futureville. But how will Lollie react to being served cricket crumble?
And Lollie meets the communities whose big ideas about the environment could mean that Futureville and the natural world will be able to exist side by side.
We hear from young entrepreneurs whose inventions are making sports events accessible to the visually impaired, right around the world.
Meanwhile Carla travels to Tipperary to meet a farmer working in his own kitchen to invent an edible plastic made from food waste that could mean an end to single-use plastics in Futureville.
Episode 3 – Thursday 13th November
In the third and final episode Lollie travels to Helsinki to discover a new food source created from microbes and thin air. She also gets to enjoy it a gourmet meal cooked up by one of Finland’s finest chefs.
Carla comes face to face with a humanoid robot which today is keeping young people fit, but which, in Futureville, could be responsible for taking care of us as we age.
We meet the doctor pioneering a medical device fitted onto our hearts that could warn us when cardiac failure could be just around the corner, so doctors can prevent heart disease rather than cure it.
And we hear how a new scientific technique could make timber the solution to building Futureville, quickly, cheaply and sustainably.
Futureville Ireland is produced by Rare TV Ireland Ltd and is funded by RTÉ and Research Ireland.
