0:00:05 > 0:00:08Hello, Tech fans. This is Technobytes,
0:00:08 > 0:00:11here to serve finger-food-sized Technobabble morsels
0:00:11 > 0:00:14that satisfy even the biggest of tech appetites.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Let's see who's first to the tech buffet today.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Via our randomly named messaging app.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Vlogster, how will transport change in the future?
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Oh, good one.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28But if you're not all travelling around in wormholes like me,
0:00:28 > 0:00:31I don't want to know. I'll send Lucy today,
0:00:31 > 0:00:32this one's right up her street.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37I'm sending Lucy to visit a car-maker
0:00:37 > 0:00:40who's developed one of the first self-driving cars
0:00:40 > 0:00:42to be allowed on UK roads.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44She's meeting techspert Laura Hardy,
0:00:44 > 0:00:46who is going to teach her all there is to know
0:00:46 > 0:00:48about this impressive vehicle.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53So, Laura, I believe you're going to show me a car that drives itself.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56And I'm assuming this good-looking machine is it.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59It's a little normal looking, though. I'm not going to lie,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02I was expecting something a little bit more futuristic looking.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Yeah, it does look pretty normal. But if you take a look around,
0:01:04 > 0:01:09I think you'll notice some major differences.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Let's take a look.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13OK. It's empty. Where's the engine, Laura?
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Where's the engine?
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Well, why don't you take a look at the back?
0:01:17 > 0:01:18OK. Let's go to the boot.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21OK. Now, I'm really confused.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23All I can see are car seats.
0:01:23 > 0:01:24Still no engine.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Laura, how on Earth does this car drive?
0:01:27 > 0:01:29If you want to press the button to shut the boot, I'll explain.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30I'll press the button.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36And this is the chassis. And here's the motor.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Oh, my gosh, it's tiny.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Yes. It doesn't need much. Just a rotor, and then it's powered
0:01:41 > 0:01:43by the batteries in the floor of the car.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47So, this thing is 100% electric and powered by batteries.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49That's right. And thousands of these little cells.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Amazing. So, how do you charge one of these?
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Well, you can charge them anywhere.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55There's thousands of charging points all over the country.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58And you can also charge in your house overnight.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00That's amazing. So, I can park this in my garage
0:02:00 > 0:02:03and have the comfort of charging it in my own home.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Yes, and 300 miles ready to go the next day.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07- That's a pretty long journey.- Yes.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11OK, I'm ready to see one of these things drive themselves.
0:02:11 > 0:02:12- Shall we do it?- Let's do it.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Whoa, that is a whopping great display on the dashboard.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25- This thing is huge.- Oh, I likey.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28This is the sort of screen I could get used to.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Jog on, Vlogster. I'm about to look at some serious hi-tech,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36and I'm going to need that screen. So, I'm ready to drive.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37Let's get going.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45So, we're just coming onto the motorway now.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47And you can set the speed now.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50So, the top speed that you want to be going at.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51It's not going to go any faster than that.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53And then we can activate the auto steer.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56- Yes.- And that means that the car is now braking,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58accelerating and steering for you.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00Does this car actually drive on its own?
0:03:00 > 0:03:02No, you still need to be behind the wheel.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Oh, so no naps in the back.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06No, definitely not. Definitely not.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11I am so impressed with the self-steering.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14I like the fact that I can just quickly scratch my ear,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17then scratch the other one and the car's looking after me.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20And it's really smooth, as well.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22As I'm driving, I can feel it altering the speed.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25How is it able to do that? In fact, now, we're slowing down.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Now, we're speeding up. It's blowing my mind.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31So, it's keeping track of the car in front.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33If that car slows down, you'll slow down.
0:03:33 > 0:03:34And if that car speeds up,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37it will speed up to your top speed that you've set.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Obviously, we're staying within the lane.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42How is it able to do that? Is that via sensors?
0:03:42 > 0:03:44Yes, so the car has got 12 sensors around it.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46So, it is able to sense vehicles around you,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49objects around you, and also it's looking at the white lines.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52And it's keeping us within the white lines and in a safe distance.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Talk to me about the tech inside this thing.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58- What else can it do?- The technology, it is updatable at all times.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01So, we can change the user interface. People can download new
0:04:01 > 0:04:03functionality overnight on their driveway.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06So, in a way, this car's a bit like a smartphone.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08I think that's really cool.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12- Do you see cars being completely driverless in the future?- Yeah.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16At the moment, the safest combination is you and the driver
0:04:16 > 0:04:20assistance system. As soon as the car is safer than the driver,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23then we've got more chance of tipping that the other way.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24That is insane.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26I think my mind has actually just been blown.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28What do you think about that then, Vlog?
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Well, I'm a very good driver.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33But how about one for the road?
0:04:33 > 0:04:36This is not Transformers, but it is Motobot.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39A robot that can ride a motorbike all on its own.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Designed to perform better than a world-champion racer,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43this Robo rider will one day race
0:04:43 > 0:04:47around the track at more than 125mph.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Talk about putting you in the driving seat, Vlogs.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53- What else have you got for me? - Ever wanted to float in thin air?
0:04:53 > 0:04:55A bit like yours truly?
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Then this future concept hover car could be for you.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Using electromagnetic road networks,
0:05:01 > 0:05:04the car travels a couple of feet in the air.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06It has a series of onboard sensors
0:05:06 > 0:05:09and a computer to take you safely from A to B.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Time to put the brakes on, Lucy.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Consider yourself parked.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Let's just hope she doesn't get a parking ticket.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20Meanwhile, down the road, we've got another techie quandary.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Vlogster, could you turn off the internet?
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Whoa! What's the internet ever done to you, Kamal?
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Apart from show you how to bite Charlie's finger.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Ow, Charlie.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36The internet is very robust because it doesn't rely on just one
0:05:36 > 0:05:38supercomputer or giant cable.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42It's a network of other computer networks, all working together,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46crossing over continents, under oceans and even through space.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48When you connect to the internet,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51data follows one of millions of pathways.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53And if a particular connection is damaged,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56the data finds a different route to your device.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Trying to turn off all these pathways would be a bit like
0:05:59 > 0:06:01herding one million cows.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02Come by, come by.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05It's a messy business, I can tell you.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09The internet was first switched on in 1990, and since then some nations
0:06:09 > 0:06:13have intentionally switched it off in their own countries.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15They can be lots of reasons for this, but it's usually
0:06:15 > 0:06:18in times of crisis, like a threat to national security
0:06:18 > 0:06:20or during conflict.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23But clever people can find quick fixes.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Landline phones could still make international calls
0:06:26 > 0:06:29to logon to dial up Internet in the outside world.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33And voicemail services might be used to turn spoken messages
0:06:33 > 0:06:35into text and tweets on social media.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Something that could turn off the internet
0:06:38 > 0:06:43with disastrous consequences is an electromagnetic pulse or EMP.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47A large enough EMP could make all electronic equipment useless.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52And giant pulses happened during solar storms created by the sun.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54The last one struck in 1859,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57when a mega flare hurled around one trillion kilograms
0:06:57 > 0:07:00of charged particles towards the Earth.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Thankfully, it's unlikely a solar pulse
0:07:03 > 0:07:06would cover the entire planet, and the countries that weren't affected
0:07:06 > 0:07:09would send supplies to the areas that were
0:07:09 > 0:07:11and rush to repair communication networks.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14So, the internet would be back.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Quicker than the Terminator.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21You see, it's not as easy as you think to plunge the world
0:07:21 > 0:07:25into techno chaos. Phew. Ciao for now!