I want to be an elephant . (360G-Wellcome-101332_Z_13_Z)

This is a project to build mechanical, physiological and cognitive prostheses that enable a person to walk, eat and sense like an elephant. It is envisaged these prostheses will take the form of an exoskeleton that an occupant is suspended in, allowing them to use all of their limbs to walk with a quadrupedal gait, and which also supports a simple artificial stomach for fermenting and pre-digesting grass, and a helmet which contains various prisms, acoustic channels and so on, to enable the occ upant to experience an elephants world view. The creation of this elephant simulation device will involve following a line of research that runs through physiology, biomechanics and comparative cognition in quite an oblique manner, asking some interesting and unusual questions. So, while the production of the elephant exoskeleton is one goal, the documentation and presentation of the research and development process is equally important. This documentation will be exhibited in the form of phy sical prototyped objects and experiments made in order to get a handle on the different questions and research areas, along with a documentary film and writing. A further goal, contingent on the functionality of the exoskeleton, and to be included in the film, is to document an attempt to walk in the elephant exoskeleton across the Alps, referencing Hannibal's alleged journey with elephants. This part of the project would be done in association with Akademie Schloss Solitude.