All language subtitles for How.Tech.Works.S01E03.WEBRip.x264-ION10

[futuristic music]

[narrator] On this
episode of How Tech Works

Take a ride down
an Olympic-sized set of rapids

that are entirely artificial

designed with cutting-edge
skate-park technology.

And...

Try this new suit on for size.

You're going to need it
for your next big trip

to Mars.

[futuristic music]

[show intro]

Hi there, I'm Basil Singer

and you are in for a thrill ride

on this week's episode
of How Tech Works.

We're gonna take a spin
on a vehicle of the future.

Here's a hint:
it's got two wheels.

And, we're going to explore

the underground
tunnels of Barcelona

without disturbing
the peace above ground.

But, first...

when you think of
white-water rapids

what comes to mind?

Rafting in Colorado?

The rivers of Zambia, maybe?

Now what if I said,
the English countryside?

It's probably not
top on your list.

But there's a brand-new
artificial white-water river

in north London

and How Tech Works

is gonna be there, to witness

the wild-water course
get whipped into shape.

Wow!

[upbeat music]

[narrator] Two years ago,
this site was a car park.

But thanks to
the London Olympics

this stretch of white-water
takes center stage.

It can create an Alpine river

in the middle of Hertfordshire.

[narrator] With
the heavy lifting complete

it's now up to these two

to turn messy whitecaps
into world-class rapids.

[Simon] So what're
we looking at then?

[narrator] Simon Ricketts
and Julian Gaspard

know this stretch of
riverbed better than anyone.

...over here, pour over-

[narrator] They've
spent months building

testing and tweaking
every rapid along its length.

Today, they've
got their eyes set

on one area in particular.

[upbeat music]

This is the first
big bend on the course.

Block walls have
already been added

to constrict the flow

but the water
moving through is still flat.

It needs bigger drops, faster
water, and cleaner eddies.

[Simon] So we're looking to
add some blocks into the middle

to create a feature both on this

groin here

and on this one here.

[narrator] The trick?
Fix one problem

without causing ten more.

A change can be made
at one point in the course

and that affects both
downstream of that change

and upstream of the change.

And then

everything that
you've worked on so far

becomes null and void

because the level
changes so much

that the features
change completely.

[narrator] To start, Simon heads
to the center's control room.

Here, massive banks
of computer equipment

keep the entire
system running smoothly

or stop it entirely.

At the touch of a
button, the pump stops

and the entire river drains out.

Now, the work crew go in.

The artificial course here

uses a special system
called rapid blocks.

Hollow plastic blocks
that can be stacked

like giant pieces of Lego

and bolted into
special rails in the riverbed.

The blocks can be
moved and angled

in any way the guys see fit.

The trial and error has been

is it a single height

a double height

a triple height

how far we constrict it
coming in at the sides.

So, what we're doing today

is quite a subtle change, with
just a single block going in

and it'll be interesting
to see how that changes

from this morning.

[narrator] They've
got their fingers crossed

that this simple fix
will give the river

the makeover it needs.

Here we go. Let's see how
our changes have worked.

[upbeat electronic music]

[narrator] With
the pumps turned on

the riverbed starts
to fill back up.

[music continues]

In a matter of minutes

the work area is
buried beneath the waves.

So as you can see

the depth in the pool
here behind me

is much deeper.

It's probably another
70 centimeters deeper.

That's because these blocks
here have backed the water up.

The water's coming
over those blocks

and it's creating a bit
of a V-stopper here.

And then the five
that we've put across here

has created a
full drop, river-wide

and now we've got a big hole

with a stopper
at the back of it.

[upbeat music]

[narrator] Comparing the
before and after at full flow

the change is obvious

but the guys have one more test.

Upriver, Julian is
preparing for action.

[Simon] We always
need to make sure

the changes are safe

and it actually works
as we think it will

when you're in a boat.

[narrator] It's a big moment

but when you're
testing two rapids at a time

it's also a very short one.

In a few seconds, it's all over.

So how was that?

It was great, excellent.

[narrator] This time,
it gets the thumbs up.

Of course we are happy when it

when it works

but when it doesn't
work, you learn.

[narrator]
Working with white water

may be an art
as much as a science

but the more
these guys learn today

the closer they'll get
to rapid perfection.

[upbeat music]

From the north of London

we travel south

all the way to the
south of Spain, in fact

to catch up with the
European Space Agency's

team of researchers.

You see, the terrain at
Spain's Rio Tinto region

resembles our
planetary neighbor, Mars.

In other words,
it's a perfect place

to test the latest
in Martian clothing.

I'm a 38 regular, should
anyone care to know.

[mechanical bumps]

[car engine]

[narrator] Human
exploration on the red planet

may be questionable

but that's not slowing
down these researchers.

[Gernot] I honestly believe

that the first human to
walk on Mars is already born

and is maybe right now
watching Discovery Channel.

[narrator] Getting to
Mars requires at least

a 34 million mile space ride

not a human-friendly feat yet.

But, scientists here
say the terrain

at Rio Tinto, Spain,
is as close as it gets.

[Gernot] This spot
here has kind of magic

because it's got
so much potential

to tell us about the
way how things work

on a totally different
world called Mars.

[narrator] Gernot Groemer
is admittedly space-obsessed.

As the president of
the Austrian Space Forum

he's spent the past two years

piecing together
three thousand parts

to create this one-of-a-kind
Martian space suit.

It's also augmenting the
capabilities of the astronaut.

And that's a big difference
with current space suits

because they don't need that.

[narrator] Urlich Luger
is a "quasi-astronaut."

For now, a suit tester

but Urlich still needs to meet
all of the medical specs

that the real guns do.

Every time I'm into the suit,
I'm very excited

because there's
always something new

and something unexpectable.

And that's something which
makes it really really great

something no one
has done before.

[narrator] It takes
four hours and three people

to fit Urlich for
his tasks today.

The 45 kilogram suit makes
simply wearing it, a workout.

This suit is totally different
than anything we've seen before.

If you would take a
regular Apollo-type space suit

like they used on
the Moon and put it on Mars

it would be dead and
gone after a few days.

And our suit is supposed to
work for at least a year on Mars

because the next
Radio Shack or a Home Depot

that's 380 million
kilometers away.

[narrator] With Superman
qualities, the suit is designed

to keep the astronaut alive
in the harshest of conditions.

The surface temperature
on Mars is frigid

minus 113 degrees
Celsius in winter

and the warm-up in summer
isn't exactly sweltering.

The hottest it gets is zero.

So, the outer layer
of the suit is made

with stronger-than-steel Kevlar

and an aluminum coating
to keep it light-weight.

Underneath, a wearable
life support system.

[Urlich] At the moment

I'm very happy with
the head-up display

which is working
absolutely great.

And I'm also receiving
telemetry data so I can

I can have a look at my
own status inside the suit.

[narrator] This suit even
has speech recognition

and sensors to measure
the physical performance

of the astronaut.

I'm pretty excited
for the first experiment.

[narrator] One of today's tasks
is maneuvering in the suit

with a prototype
rover, the "Eurobot."

Then, Urlich has the finite
task of taking soil samples

so Gernot and his
team can analyze

contamination on the suit.

They underestimate the dust.

[Gernot] The dust
is the natural enemy

of the astronaut, so to say.

It's blocking mechanisms

it's covering the spacesuit.

But the fine granular
sizes of the sand here, it's

everywhere on the equipment.

[narrator] Just one of
many discoveries made here.

This suit simulator
has wowed this crowd.

But there's more work to be
done to make it Mars-ready.

[Gernot] And I'm sure
people will be walking on Mars

make no mistake.
This is a fact that will happen.

I want to tell my grandchildren

you know, this little screw,
that's the one I designed.

[futuristic music]

Coming up on How Tech Works

How does it feel to be driving
the vehicle of the future?

And tunneling under history.

How do you dig a
high-speed train tunnel

directly underneath Barcelona's
most cherished buildings?

The answer? Very carefully.

[upbeat electronic music]

[futuristic music]

Welcome back to How Tech Works.
I'm Basil Singer.

We head now
to Barcelona, in Spain

where they're building
a high-speed train line

underground.

This big dig poses many
challenges for the engineers

starting with

how the heck
do you build a tunnel

right underneath
some of the city's

most cherished historical sights

without doing damage
to the delicate buildings.

The answer

is right here.

[upbeat music]

[narrator] Barcelona
is bursting at the seams

with culture and street life.

One of the big
draws is architecture

like Gaudi's
Sagrada Familia church.

And this building, La Pedrera.

A city this attractive

means there are
a lot of tourists

and transportation needs.

That's why they're building
a high-speed train tunnel

right through Barcelona,
linking Spain to France.

And we're taking you underground

into the heart of things

where engineers are
doing everything they can

to protect the city above.

Jose Gomez is
responsible for risk control.

We're now at Sardenya Street

where the Sagrada Familia
is located.

[narrator] A short
distance away, another icon.

We're situated below
El Passeig de Gracia

one of the most
famous streets in Barcelona.

And to our left is La Pedrera

the second monument designed
by Gaudi that our tunnel passes.

As with La Sagrada Familia,
our tunnel passes very close by.

[upbeat music]

[narrator] The
tunnel is 12 meters wide

running directly
beside these buildings.

That means the team
is under intense scrutiny

from media, government

even UNESCO, which protects
the World Heritage sites.

Construction has been
an exercise in extreme caution.

There's no room
for human error here

no possibility for
anything that could cause

problems on the surface.

[narrator] So far, they've
carved five kilometers

through the earth.

They've got
200 meters more to go

on this section of the line.

This is how they're
chewing through the earth

with a Tunnel-Boring
Machine, or TBM.

We're inside a
tunnel-boring machine

designed to withstand
ground pressure.

These are some of the 18 motors.

Between the cutting wheel
and this chamber is where

the excavated
material is collected.

[narrator] The machine
is breaking new ground

not just under city streets

but under existing
subway and rail lines.

This particular
Tunnel Boring Machine

is for pressure-sensitive earth

more specifically
for soil, not hard rock.

[narrator] As the machine
bores through the earth

there's a pressure difference
between the leading edge

the cutting wheel

and this chamber

where the machine's course
is set and monitored.

This is a dynamic project
running 24 hours a day.

Actions need to be immediate.

[narrator] Pressure
is highest at the front.

That's why they
hire diving experts

to do maintenance
on the cutting head.

These men are
trained, quite literally

in high-pressure situations.

Today, the divers are changing
bits on the cutting head.

Here, you can see the difference
between a new cutting tool

and a tool worn out by
very abrasive terrain.

[narrator] Pressure
sensors at the front

of the cutting head
monitor how much weight

pressure and volume
is being applied there.

Jose and his team

can track progress
in real time on monitors

not just in the tunnel,
but directly from their desks.

We see what the pilot is seeing.

We have a multidisciplinary team

with geologists, people who
have expertise in risk control.

[narrator] Engineers test
for vibrations at ground level.

Sensors at street level
can detect shifts in the earth.

So far, so good.

The ground has
subsided just two millimeters.

There's never before
been a machine this

big in Barcelona

which has had so little
impact on the surface.

The street level changes
are not only minimal

they guarantee to the
people of Barcelona that

there has been no
damage to the structure

of La Sagrada Familia.

[narrator] The
Tunnel-Boring Machine

cuts through the last 200 meters

and achieves breakthrough.

[Jose] It's safe to say
that the results have been

even better than we'd hoped

and we aimed to do it

very well.

[narrator] It looks
like the buildings are safe

and the tunnel
project is on track

to bring more
visitors to Barcelona.

[futuristic music]

And finally, I thought
I'd introduce to you

something built for all
you speed demons, but

also for you back seat drivers.

It might sound
unusual, and it is

but this is a machine
of the very near future

that marries high-speed
thrills on two wheels

with extreme
safety. Have a look.

[upbeat music]

[narrator] Sleekly designed
with game-changing technology

this two-wheeled

fully-enclosed

electric vehicle

is called the C1.

Take a good look.

If innovator
Danny Kim has his way

the C1 will be
just the revelation

that up-ends the
way we get around.

[Danny] If you look at
the real behavior patterns of

commuters, you will realize that
70% or most people drive alone.

The average commute is 48 miles

and most people
don't take more than just

a briefcase or maybe
a couple of bags of groceries.

[narrator] Kim is founder
and CEO of Lit Motors

a gutsy start-up with
a two-wheeled mandate.

So Lit Motors is a sustainable
transportation company.

We basically see
that two-wheeled vehicles

are the future of

transportation
for sustainability.

Yeah, I like that.

[narrator] His goals?

Give two-wheelers a make-over.

[Danny] No one's really
innovating in the architecture

of scooters or motorcycles.

We can bring a lot of
value and a lot of fun

to sustainable transportation.

[narrator] His small
design and engineering team

cut their teeth on this

a scooter, that's
cargo-friendly.

[upbeat music]

[Danny] The
cargo scooter is magic.

It's the pickup truck

for developing countries.

You can put a 22
by 22 inch box inside.

[narrator] This
ride is fully electric

and can hit 35 miles an hour.

[Danny] Riding
the scooter's great.

It's like riding
an electric stallion.

That's probably the
best way to describe it.

Or unicorn, if you prefer.

[narrator] But don't
try this with your unicorn.

Unicorns can't do this.

[Danny] The folding's great,
it loses 15% of its footprint.

[upbeat music]

50% of the scooter
actually just kind of

disappears into thin air.

[narrator] Kim got even more
ambitious with his next redesign

which is currently
in development.

The C1 basically takes
the efficiency and the

romance of a motorcycle
and combines it with

the safety and comfort
of a traditional car.

It's going to be wicked fast.

It's 120 miles per hour.

This really handles like a car.

You sit in it like a car.

You drive it like a car.

[narrator] But what makes this
two-wheeler truly exceptional

is that it will also
be self-balancing.

No need to put your feet down

and un-tippable

thanks to Lit Motors' patented
gyroscopic-based technology.

[Danny] The gyroscope

dictates the tilt and lean
of the vehicle at all times.

So this vehicle can drift

which is really unprecedented

for most motorcycles.

In the case of an
accident, the vehicle

would skid,
rather than flip over

so it's exponentially safer.

[man] Here's an off-the-shelf
electric scooter thing for kids

that we retrofitted

steering on

and then we're just
taking advantage of the

the stock motor for driving
it forwards and backwards.

Sorry, it's classified.

So inside the box is

our core technology.

It's inside a box because it's

proprietary and we want to

keep a hold on our secrets, but

the basic concept is, there is a

a gyro spinning
a flywheel, and a number of

sensors to determine

kind of what direction it's
oriented and we use that

with a laptop to

to work on prototyping the

balancing software

and algorithms

for...

keeping this thing upright.

[narrator] Testing
their technology under

different conditions

is crucial to perfecting it.

[man] I would
like to get up to seven.

We'll have to play with it.

[narrator] Today,
they hit the ice.

[man] Right now, we're gonna
see how it responds to

to side-impact collisions,
from a safety standpoint, so

we're out on the ice rink

to simulate,
like if you are in an icy

in winter environment if you

get hit by something.

[narrator] Time to
see if these conditions

will impact
their stability system.

They start by testing
its self-balancing feature.

I'm looking at a number
of different things.

I'm looking at the…
what condition the battery is in

so we can see how
it's reacting over time

at how much power
the flywheel's drawing

and then general
information about the flywheel.

[narrator] Despite the slippery
surface, it performs well.

Time to step things up.

Whew.

Will the scooter tip
or glide on impact?

Here I go.

[upbeat music]

It's holding up really well.

It's exactly what
we expected it to do

we expected it to be able
to hit and slide sideways

as opposed to just falling over.

[narrator] It glides

reinforcing what
they already know.

They are on to
something pretty big.

[Danny] For me it's

it's incredibly exciting.
I've been working on this for

dreaming about this
for the last seven years

so being this close
is pretty exciting.

[upbeat music]

[futuristic music]

I was just thinking
about taking that

non-tipping technology

to the next level.
No more training wheels

on kids' bicycles,
no more crashes

at the racetrack, the
possibilities are endless.

Anyway, that's all
the time we've got.

Thank you very much for
watching How Tech Works.

Until the next one,
I'm Basil Singer.

[upbeat ending music]