Technology News Click

evening. Now it is time for click

weather programmes look back at the

highlights of 2017. Thank you for

joining us.

Hello.

It is time to look back

on the year in tech.

As 2017 fades away, we could tell

you about all the technology

news that has happened,

the hacking, the launching,

the automatic driving,

but that would be just like last

year and, come to think of it,

the year before that.

So we prefer to share with you some

unforgettable memories from our year

on Click as we travelled far

and wide to bring you some

extraordinary moments.

And we start with a personal

highlight for me.

Back in October we travelled

to Japan and we got rare access

to see how robots are helping

with the dangerous task of cleaning

up the Fukushima nuclear power plant

after its meltdown in 2011.

Scary?

No.

I have worn plenty of

protective suits in my time,

but they have always been to protect

the environment from my body.

This time it is different.

We're going inside unit

five, which is identical

to the units which were wrecked

by the explosions.

As you can imagine, it is really

hot inside this suit.

It is a confusing jumble

of walkways and machinery,

it is difficult to appreciate that

somewhere in here is a seven story

high tank of water called

the primary containment

vessel, the PCV.

And now it's time to go right

underneath the reactor.

Oh wow.

They think what happens

after the meltdowns

is that the molten fuel just burned

through the bottom of the PCV

and came through here to what's

known as the pedestal.

That's where they think

the fuel is now.

It's difficult enough getting

through this place on foot,

now imagine trying to remote control

a robot through this

after the whole place has been

mangled by an explosion.

Oh yes, and do it in the dark.

This is Scorpion, its mission

was to hunt for fuel in unit two.

Time is of the essence

for any Fukushima robot.

The radiation will eventually damage

and disable its cameras,

rendering it useless.

But the entire mission can also be

upset by something far more basic.

This is service hatch X6,

and in unit two they were hoping

to send a scorpion robot down this

ramp to film the molten

fuel at the bottom.

But it never made it.

They did not get any footage

or evidence of where the fuel was.

In unit three the water's much

higher, so they had to think

of another way to get a robot in.

That is where the mini

sunfish came in.

Well, actually, that's

where the mini sunfish came in.

Built to fit through this 15

centimetre pipe, mini sunfish

is a tiny underwater robot with five

propellers, two cameras,

and four human operators.

300 kilometres away from Fukushima,

in Yokohama's R&D centre,

I came face to face with the star

of the investigation.

In July this year, mini sunfish

was successful in finding material

that could be fuel debris

in the pedestal in unit three.

Decommissioning the site

could take 40 years and it may

cost 8 trillion yen.

Those little robots have a lot

riding on their tiny backs.

Ever wondered what cats get up

to when no-one's there?

Meet Roxie and Zara,

who seemed agreeable in taking part

in some gadget testing.

Oh, sorry.

If you have ever wanted to watch,

talk to, or even play with your cats

when you are not with them,

then this could help.

Once the device is connected

to your home Wi-Fi you can log

in via the app anywhere you can

get your phone online.

There's a laser game to play,

snacks at the tap of an icon,

and a function to proudly make

and share videos and cat snaps.

This rather unusual looking setup

works in quite a similar way.

There's a camera so you can

see the cats remotely,

also the ability to give them food

wherever you are.

Plus this toy, which is apparently

something that cats

might like to play with.

Zara and Roxie were possibly

slightly intimidated by the jolting

of the feathery thing and the app

was extremely temperamental, making

set up a rather tedious experience.

The PetPace Smart Collar has been

around for a little while now

and is available for cats and dogs.

Meanwhile, there seems to be a game

of cat and mouse going on.

The latter played by

a remote-controlled rodent.

Although it actually consists

of the mouse chasing the cat,

which probably says it

all about my day's filming.

That was Lara with some pretty

disinterested interviewees.

You can't win them all.

You know us, we will report

from wherever we find a good story.

There have been so many great ones.

So many successful ones

in Africa this year.

Back in June, Dan Simmons went

to Tanzania to see the first stages

of what could be a global

revolution in education.

We are travelling a long way

from any town or city to visit some

of the 200 children in Tata village

in northern Tanzania.

We are booting up the

tablet, the first one.

The whole programme

is in Swahili so the local

children can understand.

I think they're going

to need more tablets.

This is one of about 150 villages

in Tanzania chosen as the testbed

for the Global Learning XPRIZ.

Within a few months 4,000

tablets will be given out,

the challenge to teach 7-

to 11-year-olds to read, write,

and do maths over the next year.

The most effective app

will win $10 million.

The prize here will be

much more valuable.

Older children can walk up to four

hours to get to and from school,

for younger ones like this

seven-year-old Amina

that is too far.

She has been lucky, she is one

of those who has been chosen to take

part in the challenge.

At the start she has not seen

a tablet before so she is not used

to touching screens.

When it comes to reading,

she does not know more than one

or two words in a sentence.

But John, who is with the project,

thinks the tablet will

eventually help her

to read fluently.

The problem is that there

are about 60 to 100 million kids

who have no access to school

because it is too far.

Then you have 250 million more

who go to school and to leave

without ever having learnt to read

or write a word.

They are in Botswana, Boston,

Brighton, it does not matter.

Kids go to school all over the world

and they go and do not learn.

Why is that?

That's the question

we're trying to address.

In our greatest desire,

every single child on planet Earth

has access to a world class

education in the palm of her hand.

We are hoping to be back next

you to see how the teams get along.

For now it is time to say goodbye.

We have brought some

biscuits to say thank you.

And suddenly the difficulties

the team will face when they

arrive became clear.

We just 20 or so tablets

per village, there simply won't be

enough for everyone to take part.

To reduce potential jealousy,

the tablets will be locked to only

run the educational software,

but everyone wants one.

A village mamma has been chosen

to settle any dispute.

And the scheme's partners, UNESCO,

will be asking some other important

questions about tablets too.

We are doing assessments

of the social and emotional

impact of such learning,

because we expect some

criticism from that side.

We are engaging with

the psychologists, anthropologists,

educationalists, to try

to understand what does

it do to the child?

Is it an option that is ethical

because children go to school,

they are socialised also,

it is not only the cognitive

learning, it is learning

to be part of the group.

It's just like back at home.

Now they've all got tablets.

They're not really

talking to anybody.

And after all that globetrotting,

I have to say there

is no place like home.

There's no place like home.

There's no place like home...

There's no place like...

Guards!

Yes, banks, voting systems

and the NHS were not the only ones

to have been under attack in 2017.

to have been under attack in 2017.

Even in my own castle

I had my hands full with this lot.