0:00:08 > 0:00:12This week, Tech versus disability with supervision, supercars and
0:00:13 > 0:00:42super leg. One of the most amazing things I
0:00:43 > 0:00:46have seen it this year is the work being done to give people with
0:00:47 > 0:00:56disabilities the power of movement, control, and independence. This
0:00:57 > 0:01:00showcased is that there is plenty more going on around the world. This
0:01:01 > 0:01:04weekend marks the International Day of Persons with disabilities. It is
0:01:05 > 0:01:11a day created by the United Nations to promote greater awareness of the
0:01:12 > 0:01:15issues faced by disabled people. Here and click, we were approached
0:01:16 > 0:01:18by a team of reporters and producers that wanted to use this opportunity
0:01:19 > 0:01:26to look at the latest advances in a system of tax. -- assistive tech.
0:01:27 > 0:01:37First, we are going for a drive with a racing driver. This is a 2016
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Corvette Z06. That is Sam Schmidt driving down the last Vegas strip.
0:01:42 > 0:01:48What is incredible is Sam is quadriplegic. Paralysed after a
0:01:49 > 0:01:53racing car accident 15 years ago but now, he is the first American to be
0:01:54 > 0:01:58given a special licence to drive a semiautonomous car on public roads.
0:01:59 > 0:02:09Really, there is no better place to drive than this. The car has been
0:02:10 > 0:02:14specially modified by Arrow that electronics. Using off-the-shelf
0:02:15 > 0:02:18technology, a team has used input techniques to allow Sam to control
0:02:19 > 0:02:23the car. This includes voice commands to activate the gears and
0:02:24 > 0:02:28indicators and a very novel approach to the steering mechanism. For
0:02:29 > 0:02:33steering, we have cameras set up that are on the dash, looking at
0:02:34 > 0:02:38you. There is reflective markers on either your sunglasses or even
0:02:39 > 0:02:42helmet. Both cameras see your movement and UI turning left and
0:02:43 > 0:02:52right and the steering wheel goes accordingly, left and right, all the
0:02:53 > 0:02:55way. Lock to lock. Of what we are doing is calibrating the cameras.
0:02:56 > 0:03:02When they are in calibration, they can measure -- measure the positions
0:03:03 > 0:03:06within a fraction. For the gas and break, there is a tube in your mouth
0:03:07 > 0:03:10and it has a pressure sensor inside. When you blow into it, it gives you
0:03:11 > 0:03:16exhilaration. When you start, it gives you a break. You have to
0:03:17 > 0:03:19unchain your mind because it is used to wandering and looking at rearview
0:03:20 > 0:03:24mirrors and behind you and blind spots. You can't do that in this car
0:03:25 > 0:03:29because if you do, the car turns. While turning Sam's head into a
0:03:30 > 0:03:33joystick is impressive, the technology alone is not enough to
0:03:34 > 0:03:40getting back onto the road. He does need to have a codriver with him at
0:03:41 > 0:03:43all times. Now, when you see him driving, it is easy to forget just
0:03:44 > 0:03:51how difficult his journey he has been. -- here. Rola 17 years ago I
0:03:52 > 0:04:01thought there was no way I would ever tried again. -- 17 years ago. I
0:04:02 > 0:04:05always wanted to race, I won the race in Vegas in 1999 with this car
0:04:06 > 0:04:13and that was the pick of everything. Then three-month later, testing for
0:04:14 > 0:04:21the 2000 season I hit the wall at Orlando, Florida and that's that
0:04:22 > 0:04:25story. -- the peak of everything will stop is racing past made it
0:04:26 > 0:04:30important for Sam to try to adapt to cars so he could actually feel like
0:04:31 > 0:04:35he was driving. Rather than driving a fully autonomous car where he
0:04:36 > 0:04:39takes a passive role. A fully autonomous car is just a bigger,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42faster wheelchair for someone like Samba that is not the same as
0:04:43 > 0:04:48driving. It doesn't represent the freedom of driving. -- someone like
0:04:49 > 0:04:56Sam. More than the sense, the real act of control. It is incredibly
0:04:57 > 0:05:02difficult to describe the feeling when 99% of what you do everyday,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07you need somebody to you with. You know, the first time I drove the
0:05:08 > 0:05:14car, everybody around me was drawn for tears and so was I because
0:05:15 > 0:05:20really, in 14 years at the time, I had not felt that level of
0:05:21 > 0:05:25independence and that level of normalcy because I'm in control. I'm
0:05:26 > 0:05:29making the decisions, I'm pushing on the gas, and pushing on the break,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and steering the car and there are very few things that had happened
0:05:34 > 0:05:44since the accident that I could say I'm in control. It was important for
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Sam to still feel in control of his car at a fully autonomous vehicles
0:05:49 > 0:05:53could be a huge thing for people who have never been able to drive. Day
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Martin has cerebral palsy and he volunteered to be a test pilot to
0:05:58 > 0:06:08find out whether soft running cars could one day help him to become
0:06:09 > 0:06:12king of the road. We are going to Leicestershire because I'm going to
0:06:13 > 0:06:16be testing a driverless or as they call autonomous car. I want to have
0:06:17 > 0:06:20a go at one of these cars because I'm never going to be able to drive.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24I have no peripheral vision basically, if you put me on the
0:06:25 > 0:06:28road, I'm going to be very dangerous and highly likely to crash into
0:06:29 > 0:06:33people. At the moment, yours lot of public transport to get around.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Mainly cabs because I find that the bosses aren't very accessible and
0:06:38 > 0:06:45the tube network, you can forget that. It's going to be interesting
0:06:46 > 0:06:51to see how it works because particularly if when I tried it all
0:06:52 > 0:06:57goes a bit wrong. -- the buses. Oh, we are off. So, we are going in a
0:06:58 > 0:07:08straight line which is always promising. Very tight on the brakes,
0:07:09 > 0:07:15obviously. Good in an emergency but not when you are not expecting it.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20This car is being driven into different ways. Either driving
0:07:21 > 0:07:28itself along a pre- grow -- preprogrammed route or by driven by
0:07:29 > 0:07:33a remote engineer in a truck. The fact that the steering wheel sounds
0:07:34 > 0:07:37like a printer that is about to run out of ink, it is not making me feel
0:07:38 > 0:07:43like this would be the safest thing to use on a main road at the moment.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47At the moment, it is doing everything itself and I'm just
0:07:48 > 0:07:54sitting here like a passenger that if you're in London or any city and
0:07:55 > 0:08:02you're doing a normal journey to work and you're in traffic, how
0:08:03 > 0:08:05would it cope with people in a non- autonomous cars? This must be what
0:08:06 > 0:08:10Jeremy Clarkson used to feel like standing next to the stick. You
0:08:11 > 0:08:15know, not in control but just sat in the car. After teething problems,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19things settled down and started to see more of the benefits. As we're
0:08:20 > 0:08:24driving more and more with the car, it settling and it is becoming
0:08:25 > 0:08:30easier to become more comfortable in. I can certainly see the scope
0:08:31 > 0:08:36for it to improve and for it to be able to give us our own independent
0:08:37 > 0:08:41lives and to give people like me the chance to be, you know, fully part
0:08:42 > 0:08:52of society and for our own sense, fully autonomous, pardon the pun.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57Now, prosthetic technology is a very impressive that it can also be very
0:08:58 > 0:09:03expensive. There is one company in Texas that is trained to solve that
0:09:04 > 0:09:07problem using 3-D printing. This technology has already proved useful
0:09:08 > 0:09:12for creating arms but what about the more heavy duty work of weight
0:09:13 > 0:09:18bearing prosthetic legs? Kathleen Hawkins lost both legs below the
0:09:19 > 0:09:22knee at age 18 after contracting meningitis. She recently had a
0:09:23 > 0:09:31fitting for a new pair of 3-D printed leg sockets with some
0:09:32 > 0:09:35interesting results. The world of prosthetics is an exciting place as
0:09:36 > 0:09:39new technology is constantly push the boundaries of what is
0:09:40 > 0:09:46achievable. This can be seen here, Otto Bock. These legs are sent --
0:09:47 > 0:09:51sold for tens of thousands of dollars and are extremely expensive.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55I got to try out some of their feet, including the new challenger. Across
0:09:56 > 0:10:00between a running blade and a walking foot. I am one of the best
0:10:01 > 0:10:04amputees to try to. Before I had my legs agitated, I was done so. I
0:10:05 > 0:10:09started dancing again and the seat feel as though they would give me so
0:10:10 > 0:10:15much movement to dance and so much from -- movement to bounce and take
0:10:16 > 0:10:21greater steps then how I have able to previously. These are top of the
0:10:22 > 0:10:30rage things with prices to match. The knee is estimated to be
0:10:31 > 0:10:36thousands of pounds. This was designed for stall just to go back
0:10:37 > 0:10:43into duty. It has sensor technology. Gyroscopes, Excel ROM letters, in
0:10:44 > 0:10:52the knee. To see what type of terrain is, what speeds. This
0:10:53 > 0:10:57technology is innovative -- accelerometres. Depending on the
0:10:58 > 0:10:59disability of each individual, summit might not have access to this
0:11:00 > 0:11:10individual. They are going to design leg sockets
0:11:11 > 0:11:14using 3-D printers. These 3-D printed sockets are new to me that
0:11:15 > 0:11:19iron dying to find out more. There have been some early moves to make a
0:11:20 > 0:11:253-D printed leg. --I am dying to find out more. The key element here
0:11:26 > 0:11:30is that it is non- weight-bearing. She doesn't have to walk very far on
0:11:31 > 0:11:33it. Try fusion is developing materials that they hope will be
0:11:34 > 0:11:37strong enough for people to walk around on all day. They are using
0:11:38 > 0:11:41microwaves to heat the new materials and welcome together. To try to
0:11:42 > 0:11:50combat the issue of leakages often seen in 3-D printing. We are using
0:11:51 > 0:11:56materials that are -- work with items. It is one 1000th of the width
0:11:57 > 0:12:00of a human hair. We couple it to the nano materials and the heat up
0:12:01 > 0:12:06rapidly and we can simultaneously dwelled hundreds of these layers
0:12:07 > 0:12:17together and that fuses the part and makes it as strong as if it had been
0:12:18 > 0:12:21injection moulded. -- welded. This factory has a leg sockets that can
0:12:22 > 0:12:25be 3-D printed from scratch under one roof. Everything from creating a
0:12:26 > 0:12:31unique filament to scanning and printing the final design. This is
0:12:32 > 0:12:35unusual, isn't it? A company to have this in-house. A company to make the
0:12:36 > 0:12:39filament in-house as well is printing their own devices, it is
0:12:40 > 0:12:45red. They are missing a crucial element. There is no cross the sets
0:12:46 > 0:12:54on a site. And it hasn't been approved. -- it is rare. I am
0:12:55 > 0:13:01beginning he. So, this is the first time you have scanned for a double
0:13:02 > 0:13:08amputee? Absolutely. --I am that guinea pig. We are proud to have you
0:13:09 > 0:13:14as our first case. Feeling confident? Yeah. I was surprised by
0:13:15 > 0:13:20how fast it was. In just 1.5 minutes, we had detailed scans. I
0:13:21 > 0:13:24remember having my first plaster of Paris cast done when I first came
0:13:25 > 0:13:28out of hospital. I still had necrotic tissue on my limbs because
0:13:29 > 0:13:33I had meningitis so septicaemia. That was really traumatic for me. It
0:13:34 > 0:13:39was a very long process and quite painful. When you have no idea of
0:13:40 > 0:13:44the process as well, it is really hard. This would be a lot simpler
0:13:45 > 0:13:46for people who are having it done for the first time, it could be a
0:13:47 > 0:13:55good entry point. The information is sent to the cloud
0:13:56 > 0:13:58where it can be shared with anyone, anywhere. The first printer
0:13:59 > 0:14:05available for the next morning. Good morning. These were printed. We did
0:14:06 > 0:14:09the scanning yesterday and they were printed overnight and now I am
0:14:10 > 0:14:15holding it. Amazing! I am feeling nervous, but excited to try them.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19But the flaw was too slippy in the factory, so we went to the office
0:14:20 > 0:14:23where it was carpeted. We realised there were problems earlier. We had
0:14:24 > 0:14:32to do a bit of a 'Boxtrolls' to keep them on. -- box job. It is comfy
0:14:33 > 0:14:37open I thought it would leave. The fit is very low to my leg. It
0:14:38 > 0:14:49usually comes right above my knees. It is impressive. Ooh... I think I
0:14:50 > 0:14:57just broke that! I think that might be snapping. I broke it! It was a
0:14:58 > 0:15:08valiant effort, at my takeaway was the importance of having a proper --
0:15:09 > 0:15:12profit person who can fit it involved. It is exciting to get new
0:15:13 > 0:15:16legs anyway, standing on something at putting your body weight into
0:15:17 > 0:15:22it's a scary process. But to see it come from nothing yesterday and
0:15:23 > 0:15:24printed overnight and then put your leg into it, seeing that behind the
0:15:25 > 0:15:36scenes is a real insight. By the age of 19, keen rock climber
0:15:37 > 0:15:41Jeff had noticed a slight shake in his hands. Slowly this condition
0:15:42 > 0:15:46became something known as essential tremor and although he is still able
0:15:47 > 0:15:51to drive and give many day-to-day activities, his fine motor control
0:15:52 > 0:16:01is severely affected. So just to give a silly example, if I wanted to
0:16:02 > 0:16:07touch my nose, it is an involuntary tremor. Or towards my ear. So I
0:16:08 > 0:16:14don't hold the phone to my ear very well without hitting myself, unless
0:16:15 > 0:16:19I use two hands. The more accurate he tries to be, the more violently
0:16:20 > 0:16:24his handshake. Without breaking his hand against his body, touchscreen
0:16:25 > 0:16:32phones, with more icons, I'd definitely not an option. You don't
0:16:33 > 0:16:36want to do that. No. Bluetooth on. I'm filming with him at Google's HQ
0:16:37 > 0:16:43in his -- in Silicon Valley, where he helped to create android voice
0:16:44 > 0:16:48access. This puts the phone into a constant listening mode and also
0:16:49 > 0:16:52allows every setting, app, icon on the screen to be selected by name or
0:16:53 > 0:17:08number, which pops up next to it. Nine. This is a message I'm writing
0:17:09 > 0:17:15to Patrick. Period. 14. That seems to be a proper life changer for you?
0:17:16 > 0:17:23That is a major big deal. The ability to use common apps like text
0:17:24 > 0:17:26messaging, e-mail, those two especially, but even calendar
0:17:27 > 0:17:32appointments, where you need to write stub since is extremely --
0:17:33 > 0:17:37substance, it is extremely helpful. Helpful, yes, but given how voice
0:17:38 > 0:17:40recognition is already on smartphones, and surprised this
0:17:41 > 0:17:46feature wasn't implemented years ago. Google, why not? It was a
0:17:47 > 0:17:51challenge to bring an application to the market that is complete, where
0:17:52 > 0:17:54we can say you will not need to use your hands any more with this
0:17:55 > 0:17:59application, rather than just supporting specific cases, which
0:18:00 > 0:18:04most of the major applications out there already do. But on a mobile
0:18:05 > 0:18:08device we are currently the only ones who can really do complete
0:18:09 > 0:18:12hands-free. Voice control has also proved really useful for those who
0:18:13 > 0:18:17are blind or partially sighted and away from touchscreen phones there
0:18:18 > 0:18:21are plenty of projects under way aiming to help people living with a
0:18:22 > 0:18:27visual impairment to navigate the world, and here are a couple.
0:18:28 > 0:18:37High, my name is Libby. I'm here with my fiance to check out some new
0:18:38 > 0:18:40goggles. Should I do my sexy walk? They are supposed to help people
0:18:41 > 0:18:49like us who have partial sight, enhancing the vision we have left. I
0:18:50 > 0:18:56-- the middle of my vision is very fuzzy. You will operate everything
0:18:57 > 0:18:59using the remote control. As Paralympians, we are both busy
0:19:00 > 0:19:04training, so I am keen to make the most of the free time we have
0:19:05 > 0:19:11together. That so weird! Darren, I am literally right on your face. --
0:19:12 > 0:19:14Dan. It made me feel really intrigued seeing his face close up,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18because obviously I am attracted to him for different reasons other than
0:19:19 > 0:19:22the way he looks. Seeing that aspect to his face was intriguing. I can
0:19:23 > 0:19:27see his eye colour properly and everything. On one level the goggles
0:19:28 > 0:19:31act as a big magnifying glass, but there's a lot more. It makes the
0:19:32 > 0:19:37edges of objects sharper and really brings out the contrast between
0:19:38 > 0:19:45light and shade. Dan was keen to have a go. He also has a form of
0:19:46 > 0:19:50muscular dystrophy. You look dead all on it! He is making me
0:19:51 > 0:20:03self-conscious. Go back to being completely blind. I can see my
0:20:04 > 0:20:06tattoos! That's mad! That's cool. Getting chocolate bars from a
0:20:07 > 0:20:12vending machine isn't something that we I usually able to do. All right,
0:20:13 > 0:20:21do you want me to have a go at telling you? Just a second. Yay! I
0:20:22 > 0:20:25would love to use the goggles because I feel like I would really
0:20:26 > 0:20:30benefit from using them, whereas at the moment they are a bit bulky and
0:20:31 > 0:20:39I don't think they would fit in with me also walking my dog around as
0:20:40 > 0:20:45well. I'm really scared! I am a make-up artist and blogger. I've
0:20:46 > 0:20:51been blind for three years because of a certain condition, which means
0:20:52 > 0:20:55I can only see blurs. I am testing a device which can help people with
0:20:56 > 0:21:02varying degrees of vision, including those have no at all. I usually rely
0:21:03 > 0:21:07on my boyfriend and my lovely guide dog to get me around, so this could
0:21:08 > 0:21:12be really helpful. This is so cool. It will seriously change my life. It
0:21:13 > 0:21:16works by taking an image that you hold up to the camera and it
0:21:17 > 0:21:20remembers it, so the next time you need to identify it it will tell you
0:21:21 > 0:21:25what it is. It can build a personalised library, so it can help
0:21:26 > 0:21:32people like me in my everyday life. It is also able to read text and do
0:21:33 > 0:21:38object recognition, like the labels on this tea packets. We have several
0:21:39 > 0:21:42options. Would we them to you. It only remembered some of the objects
0:21:43 > 0:21:50of my make-up items, but it was great on the teas. Peppermint and
0:21:51 > 0:21:56metal! And there's more. It also has facial recognition software to tell
0:21:57 > 0:22:03me who I am looking at. It works physically in two phases. The first
0:22:04 > 0:22:07is face detection. The device in the camera is trying to understand if
0:22:08 > 0:22:13there's any face or not. Then, after that, it tries to match that face
0:22:14 > 0:22:18with what it has in its own database and if the person is unknown then
0:22:19 > 0:22:22you can also learn it. I love the fact that you can personalise it.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26That's really useful. It was sometimes you have moments where you
0:22:27 > 0:22:30bump into someone and you are like a who's that? I recognise people with
0:22:31 > 0:22:33my voices. But then sometimes you have friends who sound similar. Then
0:22:34 > 0:22:40that could be really helpful. Definitely. I will take hold. One of
0:22:41 > 0:22:44the many struggles for blind people is accessing new environments.
0:22:45 > 0:22:51Another feature is to detect obstacles a few metres away. The
0:22:52 > 0:22:56closer you get to an obstacle, the louder the sound gets to tell you
0:22:57 > 0:23:05that you are getting closer to the obstacle. It only just said
0:23:06 > 0:23:10something. Really? That's too close. That experience was very scary, but
0:23:11 > 0:23:17I will get used to it. Keep on going! Now it is saying I'm really
0:23:18 > 0:23:22close. You are about one metre. Overall it was a good and useful
0:23:23 > 0:23:28multipurpose visual aid. Yes, it is quite good. It wasn't so good in
0:23:29 > 0:23:33distribution in little items from my make-up bag. -- dissing wishing.
0:23:34 > 0:23:41However, it was really good on the facial recognition. Looking at tea
0:23:42 > 0:23:52packets and labels and out on the road. Get out of the way, Olga!
0:23:53 > 0:23:56That's it for Click this week. I hope you've enjoyed all that you've
0:23:57 > 0:24:04seen. You will find us in all the usual places, but if you want more
0:24:05 > 0:24:10from Kathleen, Dane and other BBC journalists, you should really pick
0:24:11 > 0:24:12out the BBC Ouch blog, and their weekly podcasts. Thanks for watching
0:24:13 > 0:24:29and see you soon. Yesterday was a disappointingly
0:24:30 > 0:24:35cloudy day, but it was not cloudy