Original subtitles

[narrator] On this episode of How Tech Works...

This massive model is being built by flying robots!

And its success is giving city planners some very big,

very real-life ideas.

And we'll check out a car that's not only a speed demon

it's also devilishly good on fuel!

[futuristic music]

Hi there, and welcome to How Tech Works ,

the show that is jam-packed with the latest gear and gadgets

from the world of science and technology.

My name is Dr. Basil Singer.

On this episode...

we'll meet a man who creates, and drives, a speed machine

without ever leaving the comfort

of his living room recliner chair.

Plus...

an incredible brick-laying device in the Netherlands

that's putting big smiles on the faces of road crews

and some of the locals, too.

But first...

here at How Tech Works, we love stories about flying machines.

So let's head off to France to meet a group of designers

who are building a model city

using tiny flying robots to do it!

Take a look.

[futuristic music]

[Narrator] At an Arts Centre in Orléans,

hundreds of people turn out to watch machines,

called quad copters,

raise robotic construction to new heights...

piece by piece. [applause]

Robotic construction is the future of architecture.

[D'Andrea] The objective is to build

a six-meter- tall structure, something never done before,

with fully autonomous vehicles.

[narrator] The structure is an architectural model

made from 1500 pieces, called modules.

Each module must be positioned precisely

or else the structure could collapse.

The only part humans play is putting glue on the modules

and placing them in a dispenser.

The quadcopters do the rest.

The project, called Flight Assembled Architecture,

was created in Switzerland.

A team at ETH Zurich designed the robotic system.

Its leader is Canadian researcher, Raffaello D'Andrea.

[D'Andrea] We're trying to push the boundary

of what autonomous systems can do,

in particular flying vehicles.

[narrator] The structure was designed by the Swiss architects

Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler.

It's called The Vertical village.

By building with the quad copters

you can actually place each module

at the specific point in space.

And those modules don't have to be in a repetitive manner,

but they can actually create more diverse shapes and forms,

as you see in the undulation of the structure.

Furthermore, I think,

one advantages is you don't need any scaffolding

to build up really high constructions.

[narrator] Each module would be 30 meters long

and 10 meters high.

[Kohler] So each of those modules can actually be,

for example, a large-scale cinema space,

like a movie theatre,

or it could also be 6 apartments within such a module.

[narrator] When the village reaches 60 storeys,

it could house up to 30,000 people.

For the model,

the modules are represented by polystyrene bricks.

The quad copters pick them up by pushing pins into them.

The quad copters have limited intelligence.

They have an on-board computer.

They have sensors. They have actuators.

Just think of them as little athletes,

but they are not very intelligent.

The intelligence for our flying vehicles is off-board.

[narrator] On the ceiling: motion capture cameras.

They map the locations of marker balls on the robots

so the computers know precisely where they are in 3D space.

The software runs itself like a real construction team

following a blueprint

with a master program acting as foreman,

controlling every crew member.

[D'Andrea] The system is inherently robust.

It can imagine doing something this complicated

as putting these bricks down with changing conditions,

the brick height was changing, lighting was changing.

[narrator] If a module is positioned off center,

sensors detect it and the system corrects itself

and re-positions the module.

In Orléans, the build starts

two days before the crowd appears.

The quad copters get power at wall-mounted charging stations,

then begin delivering modules

at a rate of about 80 an hour.

The foreman assigns no-fly zones around each robot

so there are no mid-air collisions.

Before the audience arrives,

the quad copters successfully position over 700 modules.

The structure reaches about three meters

almost halfway there.

[electronic music]

When the crowd appears the robots resume their work.

[D'Andrea] It really was a wonderful, magical experience.

There was all this tension leading up to the people seeing

for the first time, an autonomous flying vehicle,

carrying a module in space and put it on the structure.

And they were flying above the heads of the people,

in the audience.

You felt the thrust of the wind.

Everyone in the crowd was going "0o! Ah!"

[narrator] The quad copters lay down another 125 bricks

before the audience goes home.

And the next day, in front of a smaller crowd

they work to finish the job.

They reach the final storey, number 60. Six meters high,

and crown it... with the final module.

[applause]

An architecture made by flying robots

reaches a whole new level.

Wow flying robots!

Definitely a case of what will they think of next.

Well, the machine in our next story is more conventional...

somewhat. A petro-fueled sports car

that gets more than 100 miles to the gallon?

You've got to see it to believe it!

[vibrant music]

[narrator] Joe Justice has got a lot of volunteers.

[Joe] Forty four volunteer team members in four countries

and that was completely unexpected

I didn't mean to be growing a volunteer team.

[narrator] That's what happens

when you come up with a great idea

for a super fuel efficient car.

I did simulations of lightweight safe designed chassis

that I was working on and they were returning

right around 70 miles per gallon in simulation.

And I blogged everything that I discovered

and everything that didn't go well

and folks started visiting the shop

to see how this was unfolding.

And they ended up staying and volunteering.

[narrator] Joe's named his car wikispeed.

Wikispeed is based on the Hawaiian word for speed...

Wikiwiki. [car engine roars]

[narrator] It's a seriously fast car.

Zero to sixty comes in right about five seconds

[narrator] It can reach a top speed of 143 miles an hour.

But that's not why Joe named it wikispeed.

The body of the car is carbon fiber

and we are able to detach that from the car

to make changes to it quickly without redeveloping the car.

[narrator] The car is a little bit like lego.

You have the main frame

and everything else can be swapped out quickly.

We are able to make changes quickly

because our vehicle is modular.

[upbeat music]

[Joe] The engine, the entire drivetrain is a module,

the transmission, the cooling system,

the fuel system, the emissions system.

It all rolls out together and we can test another one

in about the time it takes to change a tire.

[narrator] Joe's team is working on

all sorts of body types for wikispeed, but today

they are getting the sportier version ready for a test run

We care about aesthetics as much as we can

but the governing factor is efficiency.

Efficient shapes happen to be what people think is sporty

and beautiful right now, so it's really lucky for us.

But the shape of the car is dictated by aerodynamics

and by safety, and lucky for us

it ends up looking like a Le Mans style race car.

[narrator] With looks like this

you'd think Joe's driving a gas guzzler.

A hundred miles worth of awesome is how it is running.

[engine roars]

[Joe] Right now we're probably getting

about 125 miles per gallon

around town cruising at this speed is pretty high.

[narrator] It runs on petrol. This is not a hybrid car.

Joe's maximized fuel efficiency by making wikispeed

aerodynamic and light.

The chassis is extruded aluminum,

a similar tech to what Lotus, Jaguar, and Aston Martin use.

We use an extremely light set of aluminum extrusions

and then provide an aerodynamic shape outside them,

made of all carbon fiber.

It was making more...

noise vibration and harshness than I would have liked.

I think our next step for this body is going to be

upgrading some bushings and sound deadening

so that it's a more comfy, cozy ride.

I am going to drill two bolt holes on each side

and put bolts through the body into the body mount frame.

and that is going to help calm down

some of the noise vibration and harshness

that we're experiencing today.

Should give it a little quieter ride.

[narrator] Bryan Ford has a lot of experience working on cars.

He found out about the wikispeed project online

and immediately got involved.

In fact, his wife and three sons are also helping out today.

You're alright. You're alright. There you go.

You gotta push your butt through.

[woman] Now see that bolt right there that Colton has through?

-[kid] Uh-huh. -Can you screw that on please?

Tomorrow if somebody invented an engine

that we could pour tap water in the gas tank

and drive our car,

we don't have a 10 year production cycle

to put that technology in our vehicle.

All we have to do is retool our engine module.

And that engine module plugs directly into our main frame.

[narrator] Things move fast around here

but Joe is not compromising on safety.

This simulation shows how the entire frame

shares the stress of impact.

[Joe] The car gets a five star crash equivalency.

It's, to our knowledge, the lightest chassis in the world

to achieve a five star crash rating equivalency.

[narrator] A fast, sexy, super fuel efficient car

that can be upgraded quickly.

No wonder everyone is flocking to help Joe build wikispeed.

[Joe] Wikispeed is exceeding all of my expectations.

I originally thought this was going to be a small project

that I would take on by myself,

and the collaborative team that I never counted on

and I never anticipated,

has enabled us to do 10,000 times more

and much faster than I ever could have tried to do on my own

and I never anticipated that.

[narrator] And the best thing of all,

you can order your own wikispeed online for about £15,000.

[tires screech] [upbeat music]

Do not move!

We've got more ridiculously cool stories coming your way

After the break...

This amazing machine lays bricks

to make a brand new road...

All with the press of a button!

And... Yup this is a living room recliner

zipping along at speeds of up to 35 km per hour.

And we're going to meet its creator.

[upbeat music]

Hi there! And welcome back to How Tech Works.

I'm Dr. Basil Singer.

Now, we all know that laying bricks

can be a really, really tough job.

But, a recent Dutch innovation

may just about change all of that.

About an hour's drive south of Amsterdam,

we discovered some new technology called tiger-stone.

Have a look for yourself.

[vibrant music]

This is Wega Straat in Veldhoven, Netherlands.

And today, it's getting a makeover.

These guys work fast. But it's a back-breaking job.

That's why they're getting a hand from tiger-stone.

[Alexander] Tiger-stone is a paving machine

that comes in a four or five or six meter width.

And what it does, it paves the road.

[narrator] Alexander Hardebol has the unenviable task

of maneuvering the monster machine

into the tiny European street,

under the curious, watchful eyes of workers and neighbors alike.

He manages to squeak it into place with inches to spare.

[Alexander] My first impression was a very big machine

and I heard it, I thought, no it cannot be true.

The stones come out of the machine as a carpet.

And I saw it the first time and I thought wow this is great.

[narrator] That's right, this machine rolls out roads.

[Alexander] When they start,

the machine is like two meters backwards

and they start making the pattern.

And they work up into the machine.

[narrator] As the road workers build up the pattern,

one enthusiastic resident can't resist pitching in

much to their amusement.

Now I can tell my grandchildren,

grandma helped build this street!

[narrator] Once the patterns built up, guys climb on board

and fill the chute to the top.

Then, with a push of a button, they roll the machine backwards.

[Alexander] It's like Tetris.

The stone seeks its own way

and then fits on the other stones

so you don't have to put, when you are on your knees,

you need to hammer the stones with your hands

at the right place.

But with this machine, you can let the stones glide down

and they find their way.

[narrator] Guided by a curb-side sensor,

it unfurls a perfect patch of road.

When the machine is working at 6m wide,

it's 1500 kilos that pushes the stones down.

And that's all gravity.

And that's why it gets, it tightens

and it locks the stones, and it pushes them to the side.

[narrator] Tiger-stone takes a lot of pressure off the pavers.

[Alexander] Normally they sit on their knees all day long,

and they got sore knees.

Their hip is wearing.

Their back is hurting them.

And they need to work a lot of years.

What we did, we brought the road up

so they can stand.

And the first time, they all, especially the older pavers,

they say, "no, I don't want to stand on that machine, bla, bla"

but, when they work a week with it,

they are so excited, they really love it.

[narrator] It's not only easier, it's faster too.

Normally they make, let's say 100 square meters one person

and with this machine, 150 square meters a day.

[narrator] Tiger-stone is remarkably quiet

because it's electric.

You don't have the noise all day from a big diesel motor.

[narrator] And guys no longer have to sit out a job

because of weather.

We also have machines with a cover on top of it

so they can work when it's raining or when the sun is very,

it's burning, they are out of the... they work in the shade.

And then when it rains, they are dry.

[narrator] Alexander is a big fan of the machine.

but he's not the inventor.

[upbeat music]

Oh yeah, that's a special job. That's my job.

I'm the engineer of the machine.

[narrator] Henk Van Kuijk got the idea

when his own street was repaved.

The project took almost a year.

It was rainy... It takes too long!

So I said, "Okay it's marvelous, the people on their knees..."

and I said maybe I can better!

[narrator] He made it easy to use for one very simple reason.

We don't have enough young bricklayers here in Holland.

How do you say that? It's not so popular.

[narrator] And yet, roads in Europe

and other parts of the world

are still being paved with stone.

[Alexander] The benefit instead of asphalt

is when you need to work in the sewers or cables,

or whatever, you can open up the road,

you can fix it, and you can put the road back.

It's very common in the Netherlands

that we use these kinds of stone.

And you see now in countries where it's very hot,

there's the asphalt melting

and you see now that they are also

going to these brick stones.

[narrator] So it seems there's a long and bright

road ahead for the tiger-stone.

Ok, so you've got a need for speed.

maybe there's a new sports car

or new motorcycle on your wishlist?

But, you're having trouble putting the financing together.

Well, you're gonna love our latest story.

Let me introduce you to Chris Mackintosh,

a fellow who makes fast vehicles,

which in itself is not very unusual, I know.

It's just that the vehicles Chris makes are a little...

How shall I put it? ... Weird.

Ladies and gentlemen, gearheads and techno-lads, I bring you...

recliner guy.

[upbeat music]

[narrator] 125 cc motorcycle engine

nine horsepower,

four strokes.

Top speed?

Well, Chris Macintosh is no La-Z-Boy.

So, way too fast for his mother's living room.

For Chris, kicking back

means break-necking it on the open road.

I guess I kind of have a need for speed.

And... You know, just going fast in your car doesn't quite do it.

[narrator] So he turned a Craigslist recliner

into a modern man's road warrior.

[Chris] The ergonomics are comfortable, really.

There's a foot panel up front

so you have a firm place to put your feet when you're,

you know, holding on for dear life.

And the racing harness

just makes it feel that much more exciting.

When you are driving it, it's a white-knuckle ride I guess.

It's really meant for smooth surfaces,

that's when it handles best.

Side-to-side it is very stable.

It's got a lot of weight keeping you on the ground.

There's a wheelie bar to prevent backwards tipping

which does happen on acceleration

if I want to do a wheelie.

[narrator] And Chris wants to do wheelies. Wouldn't you?

Crafting cool creations from found objects

isn't new for this engineering student.

He's already built a hovercraft,

an air-powered potato gun,

and a moped.

But nothing brings out his inner gear-head

quite like this motorized recliner.

It's controlled by basic go-kart steering,

kinda the go-kart steering linkage.

There's a steering wheel.

The shifting is electro pneumatic.

So there is compressed air that powers a pneumatic cylinder

and that pneumatic cylinder has valves on it

that are triggered by a switch on the steering wheel.

[narrator] And because Chris dropped more than

just loose change under these cushions.

Well over $1,000 for sure, maybe, probably close to 2,000.

[narrator] He needs to see his investment pay off in speed.

In terms of the race,

I... just hope nobody gets hurt.

[narrator] He's pitting his motorized recliner

against his makeshift moped.

I had this old BMX bike lying around

and I had this leaf blower engine

that was part of my hovercraft.

And... I'd been thinking for a while

it'd be really cool to use this engine to do something else,

you know, especially something that would just go fast.

[narrator] The recliner is Chris' favorite.

[Chris] In addition to speed, it is very comfortable.

It's definitely a luxury vehicle I would say.

[narrator] So his buddy, Julian, gets the bike.

Julian is pumped. That thing also flies.

But Chris is oozing confidence.

The recliner has been performing like a monster all morning.

He's eyeing a win.

Until the monster loses its roar.

[woman] So what's going on?

Some electrical issues with the shifting.

[narrator] Chris is stumped.

When I turn it on... there is a buzzing.

[narrator] It's not a good sign.

[Chris] There's something going on in this box.

I want to take the box lid off.

We need a Philips.

[narrator] After a lot of prodding and probing,

he still can't get the compressor to fire.

Eventually, he comes up with a workaround.

We'll have to manually turn the compressor on and off.

[narrator] Shifting manually will slow the recliner down,

but the race is a go.

They take their marks.

You ain't got nothing.

[narrator] And it seems Julian is the one sitting pretty now.

You're going down, buddy. You ain't got nothing.

[man] Set... go!

[narrator] Just seconds after they are off

one thing becomes very clear.

Never bet against the house,

especially when it's going 40 miles an hour.

Well, that's all the time we've got,

Thanks for watching How Tech Works.

Until the next time...

I'm Basil Singer.

[ending music]