How Tech Works (2012–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Episode #1.3 - full transcript
On this
episode of How Tech Works
Take a ride down
an Olympic-sized set of rapids
that are entirely artificial
designed with cutting-edge
skate-park technology.
And...
Try this new suit on for size.
You're going to need it
for your next big trip
to Mars.
Hi there, I'm Basil Singer
and you are in for a thrill ride
on this week's episode
of How Tech Works.
We're gonna take a spin
on a vehicle of the future.
it's got two wheels.
And, we're going to explore
the underground
tunnels of Barcelona
without disturbing
the peace above ground.
But, first...
when you think of
white-water rapids
what comes to mind?
Rafting in Colorado?
The rivers of Zambia, maybe?
Now what if I said,
the English countryside?
It's probably not
top on your list.
But there's a brand-new
artificial white-water river
in north London
and How Tech Works
is gonna be there, to witness
the wild-water course
get whipped into shape.
Wow!
Two years ago,
this site was a car park.
But thanks to
the London Olympics
this stretch of white-water
takes center stage.
It can create an Alpine river
in the middle of Hertfordshire.
With
the heavy lifting complete
it's now up to these two
to turn messy whitecaps
into world-class rapids.
So what're
we looking at then?
Simon Ricketts
and Julian Gaspard
know this stretch of
riverbed better than anyone.
...over here, pour over-
They've
spent months building
testing and tweaking
every rapid along its length.
Today, they've
got their eyes set
on one area in particular.
This is the first
big bend on the course.
Block walls have
already been added
to constrict the flow
but the water
moving through is still flat.
It needs bigger drops, faster
water, and cleaner eddies.
So we're looking to
add some blocks into the middle
to create a feature both on this
groin here
and on this one here.
The trick?
Fix one problem
without causing ten more.
A change can be made
at one point in the course
and that affects both
downstream of that change
and upstream of the change.
And then
everything that
you've worked on so far
becomes null and void
because the level
changes so much
that the features
change completely.
To start, Simon heads
to the center's control room.
Here, massive banks
of computer equipment
keep the entire
system running smoothly
or stop it entirely.
At the touch of a
button, the pump stops
and the entire river drains out.
Now, the work crew go in.
The artificial course here
uses a special system
called rapid blocks.
Hollow plastic blocks
that can be stacked
like giant pieces of Lego
and bolted into
special rails in the riverbed.
The blocks can be
moved and angled
in any way the guys see fit.
The trial and error has been
is it a single height
a double height
a triple height
how far we constrict it
coming in at the sides.
So, what we're doing today
is quite a subtle change, with
just a single block going in
and it'll be interesting
to see how that changes
from this morning.
They've
got their fingers crossed
that this simple fix
will give the river
the makeover it needs.
Here we go. Let's see how
our changes have worked.
With
the pumps turned on
the riverbed starts
to fill back up.
In a matter of minutes
the work area is
buried beneath the waves.
So as you can see
the depth in the pool
here behind me
is much deeper.
It's probably another
70 centimeters deeper.
That's because these blocks
here have backed the water up.
The water's coming
over those blocks
and it's creating a bit
of a V-stopper here.
And then the five
that we've put across here
has created a
full drop, river-wide
and now we've got a big hole
with a stopper
at the back of it.
Comparing the
before and after at full flow
the change is obvious
but the guys have one more test.
Upriver, Julian is
preparing for action.
We always
need to make sure
the changes are safe
and it actually works
as we think it will
when you're in a boat.
It's a big moment
but when you're
testing two rapids at a time
it's also a very short one.
In a few seconds, it's all over.
So how was that?
It was great, excellent.
This time,
it gets the thumbs up.
Of course we are happy when it
when it works
but when it doesn't
work, you learn.
Working with white water
may be an art
as much as a science
but the more
these guys learn today
the closer they'll get
to rapid perfection.
From the north of London
we travel south
all the way to the
south of Spain, in fact
to catch up with the
European Space Agency's
team of researchers.
You see, the terrain at
Spain's Rio Tinto region
resembles our
planetary neighbor, Mars.
In other words,
it's a perfect place
to test the latest
in Martian clothing.
I'm a 38 regular, should
anyone care to know.
Human
exploration on the red planet
may be questionable
but that's not slowing
down these researchers.
I honestly believe
that the first human to
walk on Mars is already born
and is maybe right now
watching Discovery Channel.
Getting to
Mars requires at least
a 34 million mile space ride
not a human-friendly feat yet.
But, scientists here
say the terrain
at Rio Tinto, Spain,
is as close as it gets.
This spot
here has kind of magic
because it's got
so much potential
to tell us about the
way how things work
on a totally different
world called Mars.
Gernot Groemer
is admittedly space-obsessed.
As the president of
the Austrian Space Forum
he's spent the past two years
piecing together
three thousand parts
to create this one-of-a-kind
Martian space suit.
It's also augmenting the
capabilities of the astronaut.
And that's a big difference
with current space suits
because they don't need that.
Urlich Luger
is a "quasi-astronaut."
For now, a suit tester
but Urlich still needs to meet
all of the medical specs
that the real guns do.
Every time I'm into the suit,
I'm very excited
because there's
always something new
and something unexpectable.
And that's something which
makes it really really great
something no one
has done before.
It takes
four hours and three people
to fit Urlich for
his tasks today.
The 45 kilogram suit makes
simply wearing it, a workout.
This suit is totally different
than anything we've seen before.
If you would take a
regular Apollo-type space suit
like they used on
the Moon and put it on Mars
it would be dead and
gone after a few days.
And our suit is supposed to
work for at least a year on Mars
because the next
Radio Shack or a Home Depot
that's 380 million
kilometers away.
With Superman
qualities, the suit is designed
to keep the astronaut alive
in the harshest of conditions.
The surface temperature
on Mars is frigid
minus 113 degrees
Celsius in winter
and the warm-up in summer
isn't exactly sweltering.
The hottest it gets is zero.
So, the outer layer
of the suit is made
with stronger-than-steel Kevlar
and an aluminum coating
to keep it light-weight.
Underneath, a wearable
life support system.
At the moment
I'm very happy with
the head-up display
which is working
absolutely great.
And I'm also receiving
telemetry data so I can
I can have a look at my
own status inside the suit.
This suit even
has speech recognition
and sensors to measure
the physical performance
of the astronaut.
I'm pretty excited
for the first experiment.
One of today's tasks
is maneuvering in the suit
with a prototype
rover, the "Eurobot."
Then, Urlich has the finite
task of taking soil samples
so Gernot and his
team can analyze
contamination on the suit.
They underestimate the dust.
The dust
is the natural enemy
of the astronaut, so to say.
It's blocking mechanisms
it's covering the spacesuit.
But the fine granular
sizes of the sand here, it's
everywhere on the equipment.
Just one of
many discoveries made here.
This suit simulator
has wowed this crowd.
But there's more work to be
done to make it Mars-ready.
And I'm sure
people will be walking on Mars
make no mistake.
This is a fact that will happen.
I want to tell my grandchildren
you know, this little screw,
that's the one I designed.
Coming up on How Tech Works
How does it feel to be driving
the vehicle of the future?
And tunneling under history.
How do you dig a
high-speed train tunnel
directly underneath Barcelona's
most cherished buildings?
The answer? Very carefully.
Welcome back to How Tech Works.
I'm Basil Singer.
We head now
to Barcelona, in Spain
where they're building
a high-speed train line
underground.
This big dig poses many
challenges for the engineers
starting with
how the heck
do you build a tunnel
right underneath
some of the city's
most cherished historical sights
without doing damage
to the delicate buildings.
The answer
is right here.
Barcelona
is bursting at the seams
with culture and street life.
One of the big
draws is architecture
like Gaudi's
Sagrada Familia church.
And this building, La Pedrera.
A city this attractive
means there are
a lot of tourists
and transportation needs.
That's why they're building
a high-speed train tunnel
right through Barcelona,
linking Spain to France.
And we're taking you underground
into the heart of things
where engineers are
doing everything they can
to protect the city above.
Jose Gomez is
responsible for risk control.
We're now at Sardenya Street
where the Sagrada Familia
is located.
A short
distance away, another icon.
We're situated below
El Passeig de Gracia
one of the most
famous streets in Barcelona.
And to our left is La Pedrera
the second monument designed
by Gaudi that our tunnel passes.
As with La Sagrada Familia,
our tunnel passes very close by.
The
tunnel is 12 meters wide
running directly
beside these buildings.
That means the team
is under intense scrutiny
from media, government
even UNESCO, which protects
the World Heritage sites.
Construction has been
an exercise in extreme caution.
There's no room
for human error here
no possibility for
anything that could cause
problems on the surface.
So far, they've
carved five kilometers
through the earth.
They've got
200 meters more to go
on this section of the line.
This is how they're
chewing through the earth
with a Tunnel-Boring
Machine, or TBM.
We're inside a
tunnel-boring machine
designed to withstand
ground pressure.
These are some of the 18 motors.
Between the cutting wheel
and this chamber is where
the excavated
material is collected.
The machine
is breaking new ground
not just under city streets
but under existing
subway and rail lines.
This particular
Tunnel Boring Machine
is for pressure-sensitive earth
more specifically
for soil, not hard rock.
As the machine
bores through the earth
there's a pressure difference
between the leading edge
the cutting wheel
and this chamber
where the machine's course
is set and monitored.
This is a dynamic project
running 24 hours a day.
Actions need to be immediate.
Pressure
is highest at the front.
That's why they
hire diving experts
to do maintenance
on the cutting head.
These men are
trained, quite literally
in high-pressure situations.
Today, the divers are changing
bits on the cutting head.
Here, you can see the difference
between a new cutting tool
and a tool worn out by
very abrasive terrain.
Pressure
sensors at the front
of the cutting head
monitor how much weight
pressure and volume
is being applied there.
Jose and his team
can track progress
in real time on monitors
not just in the tunnel,
but directly from their desks.
We see what the pilot is seeing.
We have a multidisciplinary team
with geologists, people who
have expertise in risk control.
Engineers test
for vibrations at ground level.
Sensors at street level
can detect shifts in the earth.
So far, so good.
The ground has
subsided just two millimeters.
There's never before
been a machine this
big in Barcelona
which has had so little
impact on the surface.
The street level changes
are not only minimal
they guarantee to the
people of Barcelona that
there has been no
damage to the structure
of La Sagrada Familia.
The
Tunnel-Boring Machine
cuts through the last 200 meters
and achieves breakthrough.
It's safe to say
that the results have been
even better than we'd hoped
and we aimed to do it
very well.
It looks
like the buildings are safe
and the tunnel
project is on track
to bring more
visitors to Barcelona.
And finally, I thought
I'd introduce to you
something built for all
you speed demons, but
also for you back seat drivers.
It might sound
unusual, and it is
but this is a machine
of the very near future
that marries high-speed
thrills on two wheels
with extreme
safety. Have a look.
Sleekly designed
with game-changing technology
this two-wheeled
fully-enclosed
electric vehicle
is called the C1.
Take a good look.
If innovator
Danny Kim has his way
the C1 will be
just the revelation
that up-ends the
way we get around.
If you look at
the real behavior patterns of
commuters, you will realize that
70% or most people drive alone.
The average commute is 48 miles
and most people
don't take more than just
a briefcase or maybe
a couple of bags of groceries.
Kim is founder
and CEO of Lit Motors
a gutsy start-up with
a two-wheeled mandate.
So Lit Motors is a sustainable
transportation company.
We basically see
that two-wheeled vehicles
are the future of
transportation
for sustainability.
Yeah, I like that.
His goals?
Give two-wheelers a make-over.
No one's really
innovating in the architecture
of scooters or motorcycles.
We can bring a lot of
value and a lot of fun
to sustainable transportation.
His small
design and engineering team
cut their teeth on this
a scooter, that's
cargo-friendly.
The
cargo scooter is magic.
It's the pickup truck
for developing countries.
You can put a 22
by 22 inch box inside.
This
ride is fully electric
and can hit 35 miles an hour.
Riding
the scooter's great.
It's like riding
an electric stallion.
That's probably the
best way to describe it.
Or unicorn, if you prefer.
But don't
try this with your unicorn.
Unicorns can't do this.
The folding's great,
it loses 15% of its footprint.
50% of the scooter
actually just kind of
disappears into thin air.
Kim got even more
ambitious with his next redesign
which is currently
in development.
The C1 basically takes
the efficiency and the
romance of a motorcycle
and combines it with
the safety and comfort
of a traditional car.
It's going to be wicked fast.
It's 120 miles per hour.
This really handles like a car.
You sit in it like a car.
You drive it like a car.
But what makes this
two-wheeler truly exceptional
is that it will also
be self-balancing.
No need to put your feet down
and un-tippable
thanks to Lit Motors' patented
gyroscopic-based technology.
The gyroscope
dictates the tilt and lean
of the vehicle at all times.
So this vehicle can drift
which is really unprecedented
for most motorcycles.
In the case of an
accident, the vehicle
would skid,
rather than flip over
so it's exponentially safer.
Here's an off-the-shelf
electric scooter thing for kids
that we retrofitted
steering on
and then we're just
taking advantage of the
the stock motor for driving
it forwards and backwards.
Sorry, it's classified.
So inside the box is
our core technology.
It's inside a box because it's
proprietary and we want to
keep a hold on our secrets, but
the basic concept is, there is a
a gyro spinning
a flywheel, and a number of
sensors to determine
kind of what direction it's
oriented and we use that
with a laptop to
to work on prototyping the
balancing software
and algorithms
for...
keeping this thing upright.
Testing
their technology under
different conditions
is crucial to perfecting it.
I would
like to get up to seven.
We'll have to play with it.
Today,
they hit the ice.
Right now, we're gonna
see how it responds to
to side-impact collisions,
from a safety standpoint, so
we're out on the ice rink
to simulate,
like if you are in an icy
in winter environment if you
get hit by something.
Time to
see if these conditions
will impact
their stability system.
They start by testing
its self-balancing feature.
I'm looking at a number
of different things.
I'm looking at the...
what condition the battery is in
so we can see how
it's reacting over time
at how much power
the flywheel's drawing
and then general
information about the flywheel.
Despite the slippery
surface, it performs well.
Time to step things up.
Will the scooter tip
or glide on impact?
Here I go.
It's holding up really well.
It's exactly what
we expected it to do
we expected it to be able
to hit and slide sideways
as opposed to just falling over.
It glides
reinforcing what
they already know.
They are on to
something pretty big.
For me it's
it's incredibly exciting.
I've been working on this for
dreaming about this
for the last seven years
so being this close
is pretty exciting.
I was just thinking
about taking that
non-tipping technology
to the next level.
No more training wheels
on kids' bicycles,
no more crashes
at the racetrack, the
possibilities are endless.
Anyway, that's all
the time we've got.
Thank you very much for
watching How Tech Works.
Until the next one,
I'm Basil Singer.
episode of How Tech Works
Take a ride down
an Olympic-sized set of rapids
that are entirely artificial
designed with cutting-edge
skate-park technology.
And...
Try this new suit on for size.
You're going to need it
for your next big trip
to Mars.
Hi there, I'm Basil Singer
and you are in for a thrill ride
on this week's episode
of How Tech Works.
We're gonna take a spin
on a vehicle of the future.
it's got two wheels.
And, we're going to explore
the underground
tunnels of Barcelona
without disturbing
the peace above ground.
But, first...
when you think of
white-water rapids
what comes to mind?
Rafting in Colorado?
The rivers of Zambia, maybe?
Now what if I said,
the English countryside?
It's probably not
top on your list.
But there's a brand-new
artificial white-water river
in north London
and How Tech Works
is gonna be there, to witness
the wild-water course
get whipped into shape.
Wow!
Two years ago,
this site was a car park.
But thanks to
the London Olympics
this stretch of white-water
takes center stage.
It can create an Alpine river
in the middle of Hertfordshire.
With
the heavy lifting complete
it's now up to these two
to turn messy whitecaps
into world-class rapids.
So what're
we looking at then?
Simon Ricketts
and Julian Gaspard
know this stretch of
riverbed better than anyone.
...over here, pour over-
They've
spent months building
testing and tweaking
every rapid along its length.
Today, they've
got their eyes set
on one area in particular.
This is the first
big bend on the course.
Block walls have
already been added
to constrict the flow
but the water
moving through is still flat.
It needs bigger drops, faster
water, and cleaner eddies.
So we're looking to
add some blocks into the middle
to create a feature both on this
groin here
and on this one here.
The trick?
Fix one problem
without causing ten more.
A change can be made
at one point in the course
and that affects both
downstream of that change
and upstream of the change.
And then
everything that
you've worked on so far
becomes null and void
because the level
changes so much
that the features
change completely.
To start, Simon heads
to the center's control room.
Here, massive banks
of computer equipment
keep the entire
system running smoothly
or stop it entirely.
At the touch of a
button, the pump stops
and the entire river drains out.
Now, the work crew go in.
The artificial course here
uses a special system
called rapid blocks.
Hollow plastic blocks
that can be stacked
like giant pieces of Lego
and bolted into
special rails in the riverbed.
The blocks can be
moved and angled
in any way the guys see fit.
The trial and error has been
is it a single height
a double height
a triple height
how far we constrict it
coming in at the sides.
So, what we're doing today
is quite a subtle change, with
just a single block going in
and it'll be interesting
to see how that changes
from this morning.
They've
got their fingers crossed
that this simple fix
will give the river
the makeover it needs.
Here we go. Let's see how
our changes have worked.
With
the pumps turned on
the riverbed starts
to fill back up.
In a matter of minutes
the work area is
buried beneath the waves.
So as you can see
the depth in the pool
here behind me
is much deeper.
It's probably another
70 centimeters deeper.
That's because these blocks
here have backed the water up.
The water's coming
over those blocks
and it's creating a bit
of a V-stopper here.
And then the five
that we've put across here
has created a
full drop, river-wide
and now we've got a big hole
with a stopper
at the back of it.
Comparing the
before and after at full flow
the change is obvious
but the guys have one more test.
Upriver, Julian is
preparing for action.
We always
need to make sure
the changes are safe
and it actually works
as we think it will
when you're in a boat.
It's a big moment
but when you're
testing two rapids at a time
it's also a very short one.
In a few seconds, it's all over.
So how was that?
It was great, excellent.
This time,
it gets the thumbs up.
Of course we are happy when it
when it works
but when it doesn't
work, you learn.
Working with white water
may be an art
as much as a science
but the more
these guys learn today
the closer they'll get
to rapid perfection.
From the north of London
we travel south
all the way to the
south of Spain, in fact
to catch up with the
European Space Agency's
team of researchers.
You see, the terrain at
Spain's Rio Tinto region
resembles our
planetary neighbor, Mars.
In other words,
it's a perfect place
to test the latest
in Martian clothing.
I'm a 38 regular, should
anyone care to know.
Human
exploration on the red planet
may be questionable
but that's not slowing
down these researchers.
I honestly believe
that the first human to
walk on Mars is already born
and is maybe right now
watching Discovery Channel.
Getting to
Mars requires at least
a 34 million mile space ride
not a human-friendly feat yet.
But, scientists here
say the terrain
at Rio Tinto, Spain,
is as close as it gets.
This spot
here has kind of magic
because it's got
so much potential
to tell us about the
way how things work
on a totally different
world called Mars.
Gernot Groemer
is admittedly space-obsessed.
As the president of
the Austrian Space Forum
he's spent the past two years
piecing together
three thousand parts
to create this one-of-a-kind
Martian space suit.
It's also augmenting the
capabilities of the astronaut.
And that's a big difference
with current space suits
because they don't need that.
Urlich Luger
is a "quasi-astronaut."
For now, a suit tester
but Urlich still needs to meet
all of the medical specs
that the real guns do.
Every time I'm into the suit,
I'm very excited
because there's
always something new
and something unexpectable.
And that's something which
makes it really really great
something no one
has done before.
It takes
four hours and three people
to fit Urlich for
his tasks today.
The 45 kilogram suit makes
simply wearing it, a workout.
This suit is totally different
than anything we've seen before.
If you would take a
regular Apollo-type space suit
like they used on
the Moon and put it on Mars
it would be dead and
gone after a few days.
And our suit is supposed to
work for at least a year on Mars
because the next
Radio Shack or a Home Depot
that's 380 million
kilometers away.
With Superman
qualities, the suit is designed
to keep the astronaut alive
in the harshest of conditions.
The surface temperature
on Mars is frigid
minus 113 degrees
Celsius in winter
and the warm-up in summer
isn't exactly sweltering.
The hottest it gets is zero.
So, the outer layer
of the suit is made
with stronger-than-steel Kevlar
and an aluminum coating
to keep it light-weight.
Underneath, a wearable
life support system.
At the moment
I'm very happy with
the head-up display
which is working
absolutely great.
And I'm also receiving
telemetry data so I can
I can have a look at my
own status inside the suit.
This suit even
has speech recognition
and sensors to measure
the physical performance
of the astronaut.
I'm pretty excited
for the first experiment.
One of today's tasks
is maneuvering in the suit
with a prototype
rover, the "Eurobot."
Then, Urlich has the finite
task of taking soil samples
so Gernot and his
team can analyze
contamination on the suit.
They underestimate the dust.
The dust
is the natural enemy
of the astronaut, so to say.
It's blocking mechanisms
it's covering the spacesuit.
But the fine granular
sizes of the sand here, it's
everywhere on the equipment.
Just one of
many discoveries made here.
This suit simulator
has wowed this crowd.
But there's more work to be
done to make it Mars-ready.
And I'm sure
people will be walking on Mars
make no mistake.
This is a fact that will happen.
I want to tell my grandchildren
you know, this little screw,
that's the one I designed.
Coming up on How Tech Works
How does it feel to be driving
the vehicle of the future?
And tunneling under history.
How do you dig a
high-speed train tunnel
directly underneath Barcelona's
most cherished buildings?
The answer? Very carefully.
Welcome back to How Tech Works.
I'm Basil Singer.
We head now
to Barcelona, in Spain
where they're building
a high-speed train line
underground.
This big dig poses many
challenges for the engineers
starting with
how the heck
do you build a tunnel
right underneath
some of the city's
most cherished historical sights
without doing damage
to the delicate buildings.
The answer
is right here.
Barcelona
is bursting at the seams
with culture and street life.
One of the big
draws is architecture
like Gaudi's
Sagrada Familia church.
And this building, La Pedrera.
A city this attractive
means there are
a lot of tourists
and transportation needs.
That's why they're building
a high-speed train tunnel
right through Barcelona,
linking Spain to France.
And we're taking you underground
into the heart of things
where engineers are
doing everything they can
to protect the city above.
Jose Gomez is
responsible for risk control.
We're now at Sardenya Street
where the Sagrada Familia
is located.
A short
distance away, another icon.
We're situated below
El Passeig de Gracia
one of the most
famous streets in Barcelona.
And to our left is La Pedrera
the second monument designed
by Gaudi that our tunnel passes.
As with La Sagrada Familia,
our tunnel passes very close by.
The
tunnel is 12 meters wide
running directly
beside these buildings.
That means the team
is under intense scrutiny
from media, government
even UNESCO, which protects
the World Heritage sites.
Construction has been
an exercise in extreme caution.
There's no room
for human error here
no possibility for
anything that could cause
problems on the surface.
So far, they've
carved five kilometers
through the earth.
They've got
200 meters more to go
on this section of the line.
This is how they're
chewing through the earth
with a Tunnel-Boring
Machine, or TBM.
We're inside a
tunnel-boring machine
designed to withstand
ground pressure.
These are some of the 18 motors.
Between the cutting wheel
and this chamber is where
the excavated
material is collected.
The machine
is breaking new ground
not just under city streets
but under existing
subway and rail lines.
This particular
Tunnel Boring Machine
is for pressure-sensitive earth
more specifically
for soil, not hard rock.
As the machine
bores through the earth
there's a pressure difference
between the leading edge
the cutting wheel
and this chamber
where the machine's course
is set and monitored.
This is a dynamic project
running 24 hours a day.
Actions need to be immediate.
Pressure
is highest at the front.
That's why they
hire diving experts
to do maintenance
on the cutting head.
These men are
trained, quite literally
in high-pressure situations.
Today, the divers are changing
bits on the cutting head.
Here, you can see the difference
between a new cutting tool
and a tool worn out by
very abrasive terrain.
Pressure
sensors at the front
of the cutting head
monitor how much weight
pressure and volume
is being applied there.
Jose and his team
can track progress
in real time on monitors
not just in the tunnel,
but directly from their desks.
We see what the pilot is seeing.
We have a multidisciplinary team
with geologists, people who
have expertise in risk control.
Engineers test
for vibrations at ground level.
Sensors at street level
can detect shifts in the earth.
So far, so good.
The ground has
subsided just two millimeters.
There's never before
been a machine this
big in Barcelona
which has had so little
impact on the surface.
The street level changes
are not only minimal
they guarantee to the
people of Barcelona that
there has been no
damage to the structure
of La Sagrada Familia.
The
Tunnel-Boring Machine
cuts through the last 200 meters
and achieves breakthrough.
It's safe to say
that the results have been
even better than we'd hoped
and we aimed to do it
very well.
It looks
like the buildings are safe
and the tunnel
project is on track
to bring more
visitors to Barcelona.
And finally, I thought
I'd introduce to you
something built for all
you speed demons, but
also for you back seat drivers.
It might sound
unusual, and it is
but this is a machine
of the very near future
that marries high-speed
thrills on two wheels
with extreme
safety. Have a look.
Sleekly designed
with game-changing technology
this two-wheeled
fully-enclosed
electric vehicle
is called the C1.
Take a good look.
If innovator
Danny Kim has his way
the C1 will be
just the revelation
that up-ends the
way we get around.
If you look at
the real behavior patterns of
commuters, you will realize that
70% or most people drive alone.
The average commute is 48 miles
and most people
don't take more than just
a briefcase or maybe
a couple of bags of groceries.
Kim is founder
and CEO of Lit Motors
a gutsy start-up with
a two-wheeled mandate.
So Lit Motors is a sustainable
transportation company.
We basically see
that two-wheeled vehicles
are the future of
transportation
for sustainability.
Yeah, I like that.
His goals?
Give two-wheelers a make-over.
No one's really
innovating in the architecture
of scooters or motorcycles.
We can bring a lot of
value and a lot of fun
to sustainable transportation.
His small
design and engineering team
cut their teeth on this
a scooter, that's
cargo-friendly.
The
cargo scooter is magic.
It's the pickup truck
for developing countries.
You can put a 22
by 22 inch box inside.
This
ride is fully electric
and can hit 35 miles an hour.
Riding
the scooter's great.
It's like riding
an electric stallion.
That's probably the
best way to describe it.
Or unicorn, if you prefer.
But don't
try this with your unicorn.
Unicorns can't do this.
The folding's great,
it loses 15% of its footprint.
50% of the scooter
actually just kind of
disappears into thin air.
Kim got even more
ambitious with his next redesign
which is currently
in development.
The C1 basically takes
the efficiency and the
romance of a motorcycle
and combines it with
the safety and comfort
of a traditional car.
It's going to be wicked fast.
It's 120 miles per hour.
This really handles like a car.
You sit in it like a car.
You drive it like a car.
But what makes this
two-wheeler truly exceptional
is that it will also
be self-balancing.
No need to put your feet down
and un-tippable
thanks to Lit Motors' patented
gyroscopic-based technology.
The gyroscope
dictates the tilt and lean
of the vehicle at all times.
So this vehicle can drift
which is really unprecedented
for most motorcycles.
In the case of an
accident, the vehicle
would skid,
rather than flip over
so it's exponentially safer.
Here's an off-the-shelf
electric scooter thing for kids
that we retrofitted
steering on
and then we're just
taking advantage of the
the stock motor for driving
it forwards and backwards.
Sorry, it's classified.
So inside the box is
our core technology.
It's inside a box because it's
proprietary and we want to
keep a hold on our secrets, but
the basic concept is, there is a
a gyro spinning
a flywheel, and a number of
sensors to determine
kind of what direction it's
oriented and we use that
with a laptop to
to work on prototyping the
balancing software
and algorithms
for...
keeping this thing upright.
Testing
their technology under
different conditions
is crucial to perfecting it.
I would
like to get up to seven.
We'll have to play with it.
Today,
they hit the ice.
Right now, we're gonna
see how it responds to
to side-impact collisions,
from a safety standpoint, so
we're out on the ice rink
to simulate,
like if you are in an icy
in winter environment if you
get hit by something.
Time to
see if these conditions
will impact
their stability system.
They start by testing
its self-balancing feature.
I'm looking at a number
of different things.
I'm looking at the...
what condition the battery is in
so we can see how
it's reacting over time
at how much power
the flywheel's drawing
and then general
information about the flywheel.
Despite the slippery
surface, it performs well.
Time to step things up.
Will the scooter tip
or glide on impact?
Here I go.
It's holding up really well.
It's exactly what
we expected it to do
we expected it to be able
to hit and slide sideways
as opposed to just falling over.
It glides
reinforcing what
they already know.
They are on to
something pretty big.
For me it's
it's incredibly exciting.
I've been working on this for
dreaming about this
for the last seven years
so being this close
is pretty exciting.
I was just thinking
about taking that
non-tipping technology
to the next level.
No more training wheels
on kids' bicycles,
no more crashes
at the racetrack, the
possibilities are endless.
Anyway, that's all
the time we've got.
Thank you very much for
watching How Tech Works.
Until the next one,
I'm Basil Singer.