0:00:05 > 0:00:06Welcome to Technobytes,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10the show that bites at the heels of its Technobabble sibling.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Grarr-woof-woof-woof!
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Hee-hee-hee! Oh, and there's the randomly named messaging app.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18You must need some Techspert help.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Vlogster, how will technology help disabled people?
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Lovely question there, Nick.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25I need a sensitive soul for this one,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29but I don't think they're available so Marcus will have to do.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33I'm sending Marcus to Oxford University
0:00:33 > 0:00:36to meet Techspert Professor Stephen Hicks.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39He's a neuroscientist who has been working on
0:00:39 > 0:00:42a pair of glasses that are helping blind people to see.
0:00:42 > 0:00:43Wow, these look amazing.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45It looks like I can see through walls with these.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Well, you can't quite see through walls,
0:00:47 > 0:00:48but, if you're partially sighted,
0:00:48 > 0:00:50these can show you where the walls are,
0:00:50 > 0:00:51and where things like people and other things
0:00:51 > 0:00:53that you might bump into are.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55Sounds like these could be potentially life-saving, then.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58What's it like for partially sighted people when they use these?
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Well, a lot of people who are partially sighted have
0:01:00 > 0:01:03a small amount of sight remaining. It often can be dark and cloudy,
0:01:03 > 0:01:05and it can just mess with all the interesting details of the world.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Is there any way I can see what it's like to be partially sighted?
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Yes, if you want to try, we've got these here,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12and these demonstrate a little bit about what it's like
0:01:12 > 0:01:13for one type of blindness.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16I can see shapes, but I can't really focus on anything.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19We use the central part of our vision to really work out
0:01:19 > 0:01:22what details are, to understand if that's a person that you know,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24to see an expression or to read text.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26I find it a little bit scary, actually.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29- So shall I try these on now, then? - Yeah, sure.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32This'll put an image in the central part of your field of view.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Wow, so straight away, I can see a lot more detail.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39For example, I can see your face, I can see your glasses.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41I can even see you smiling there as well, and nodding.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Wow, yeah, go on, hold a few fingers up, let me guess.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46- Five, all five are there. - Yeah, well done.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49Everything in the background, there's less detail in it.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51- Why is that? - What we try to do with these is
0:01:51 > 0:01:53we try to focus on the thing that's most important,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55and often, that's the thing that's closest to you.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58So we do that by dropping out all the stuff in the background
0:01:58 > 0:02:00and just focusing on stuff that's right there in front.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Well, I'd love to go out and about and try these smart specs.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Yeah, well, we've made these ones so they're really portable.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08It's got a battery pack, so you can run around for about six hours.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Yeah, let's do that, I'm well up for that.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13JURASSIC PARK THEME
0:02:17 > 0:02:19Wow, this place is amazing. Why have you got me here?
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Well, to show you that this is a system that you can take outside.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24You know, it's battery-powered, so you can take it to a museum
0:02:24 > 0:02:26and just kind of, you know, see more stuff.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Awesome, and I notice you've made some adjustments as well.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Yeah, that's right, this is like a sunglasses module.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33You can put that on the front so it darkens all the background.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35It just means you can pay more attention to what's on the screen.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Excellent, so I can focus more on what's going on.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40- Yeah, exactly.- Well, let's go check out some exhibits then.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43- Yeah, let's have a look. - Ah, all right, that way.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46JURASSIC PARK THEME
0:02:56 > 0:02:59I'm not actually seeing through the camera, am I? How do these work?
0:02:59 > 0:03:01No, so you're just seeing what's on this display,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04- what's on the digital display inside your glasses themselves.- Right.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07So it's taking a representation of the outside world
0:03:07 > 0:03:10and making it really high contrast so getting rid of everything else,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13just focusing on something like a big word or a big obstacle.
0:03:13 > 0:03:14It's a very fast video,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17so you should be able to react to things as quickly as normal,
0:03:17 > 0:03:18avoid things when you walk.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20I'm not sure if we can catch a ball yet, but, you know,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22we're working on that.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Definitely pick up all the shapes.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30- Are you getting some round shapes? - Mm-hmm.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33This is amazing. What can we expect from the future of this technology?
0:03:33 > 0:03:35A sort of artificial intelligence that'll let you know actually
0:03:35 > 0:03:38what you're looking at, and be able to help you find friends,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41be able to help you understand if that's a bird, what's on the menu.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43We're putting that in there now, we're testing this at the moment.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46I tell you what, that's amazing, and this has all been amazing as well.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48I cannot wait to see this out and about.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Oh, Vlogster, look! Museum shop, time to get some treats.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55I've got a treat for you,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58and it doesn't involve novelty pencil rubbers.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Now, for a wheelchair user in the city.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Swiss students have built a self-balancing wheelchair,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07with a track that lowers to climb stairs.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10The inventors hope future versions will be able to master
0:04:10 > 0:04:12a step every second.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14Amazing! What else have you got for me?
0:04:14 > 0:04:17I give you the ReWalk Exoskeleton,
0:04:17 > 0:04:19a wearable robotic suit.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23This tech-skeleton helps people with spinal-cord injuries to walk
0:04:23 > 0:04:26by controlling their hip and knee movements.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29The system senses subtle changes in the wearer's upper body,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33so that walking, turning and climbing stairs happen freely.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38Next up, full-blown Iron Man suit with built-in force field,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41rocket shoes and a radar. OK, maybe not.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44There's no maybe about it, Marcus.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48But back to the near-future, in fact, the very near-future,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51in fact, now! We've got another tech teaser.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Vlogster, could people ever walk on water or levitate?
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Oooh, I like how you just floated that one in.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Let's see what I can find.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Turns out, researchers have been trying to find ways to help
0:05:02 > 0:05:04you humans for years,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07looking at animals that already walk on water,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09like the basilisk lizard.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12These clever little reptiles slap their big fringed feet
0:05:12 > 0:05:15on to the water's surface, creating pockets of air
0:05:15 > 0:05:17to help them stay afloat.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21One tiny problem - a lizard weighs about 200g,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25which is 200 times lighter than the average babbler.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29That means you'd have to run at 67mph, as fast as a cheetah,
0:05:29 > 0:05:30to stay dry.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33But some clever types in Malaysia have created
0:05:33 > 0:05:36a pool of water that people can actually run on.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Someone has even cycled a bike over it.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40That's wheely good!
0:05:40 > 0:05:42The pool isn't filled with just water though,
0:05:42 > 0:05:47it has 2,000 gallons stirred up with corn starch.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50When they mix together, the forces of physics means the starch
0:05:50 > 0:05:53and water form a solid when pressure is applied.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57This is why the pool works so well if you run over the mixture,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00but this isn't quite water we're after.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04So, do you know it's possible for scientists to levitate a frog?!
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Everything around you humans, including frogs,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10is made from tiny particles called atoms.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13When atoms are put in a magnetic field,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16some of the electrons inside them change the way they move around,
0:06:16 > 0:06:21and means the frog is essentially made up of lots of tiny magnets.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24And it's this that can help small objects and animals,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26like frogs, to levitate.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28We're getting closer! Ribbit.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32In Japan, Techsperts have recently developed a levitating train,
0:06:32 > 0:06:37which set a world speed record of 374mph.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41It's all down to magnets too. A special magnetised coil runs along
0:06:41 > 0:06:44the track, and this repels big magnets
0:06:44 > 0:06:47on the train's undercarriage, making the train levitate
0:06:47 > 0:06:5010cm above the track.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53And there we have it, a way you humans can levitate.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Those trains sure do go above and beyond!
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Well, we've reached the end of the virtual line for this episode.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Bye-ee!