Original subtitles

[electronic music]

[narrator] On this episode of How Tech Works,

we'll take to the air in Germany aboard this very old plane

with incredible state of the art capabilities.

And... we'll visit the world's largest wooden structure,

the Metropol Parasol in Seville.

[intro music]

Hello, and welcome to How Tech Works,

the show that takes you behind the scenes

of some of the coolest gadgets and gear from around the world.

I'm Dr. Basil Singer,

[narrator] and this week,

we're going to travel from the ridiculous,

as in ridiculously high-speed racecars,

to the sublime tech advances

of a brain-controlled wheelchair.

But first, to Seville in Spain,

where the summertime temperatures

can reach over 40°C.

In response to this,

a team of over 100 architects and engineers

have come up with a plan to shade the city.

But with what?

A giant umbrella, of course.

Have a look.

[soft vibrant music]

[narrator] In the heart of Seville,

near buildings that date back more than 500 years,

a dramatic new structure casts its shadow

over the 21st Century.

This is the Metropol Parasol.

Towering four stories above the city space,

it's one of the largest wooden structures in the world,

let alone Spain.

It's the only one of its kind.

Anywhere.

[speaking Spanish]

[speaking Spanish]

[narrator] It's also controversial.

Some people believe that the wood can't take the heat.

That's where the experts come in.

The Metropol Parasol is the product

of more than six years effort.

The combined brain power of 16 architects,

25 engineers,

and more than 100 construction specialists.

It started with Seville's own vision.

The city wanted to transform an empty downtown square

into something lively.

They wanted to bring back the market place

that was originally there in the 70s.

They also wanted to revitalize and rejuvenate

the urban square and the public space around it.

[narrator] You can actually see the design inspiration

in the nearby trees.

[man] Large trees...

growing in many of the squares in Seville.

And of course, the main idea for producing

large shading elements is that Seville is a hot town.

[narrator] The locals have nicknamed

these giant structures 'Mushrooms',

and for practical reasons, they're made of wood.

[man] Wood is very flexible.

You can shape it in every form you want,

it's very lively.

It costs almost nothing if you compare it

with steel or concrete.

It's lightweight,

the shading elements are more self-weight,

[man] they're more a sculpture than actually a structure.

So, the self-weight is very important.

And timber is the material

with the best self-weight to strength ratio.

[narrator] It is strong.

[man] The wood is a normal wood, it's pine,

but it's coming from Finland because in Finland it's cold.

So, the wood is growing much more slowly than here in Spain.

So, the wood is harder.

[narrator] So, those are advantages,

but if you look around, there's a reason

that none of the other buildings are made of wood.

[man] From an engineering aspect,

and for the architectural solution,

timber was perfect. We're all very happy.

But of course, it's not so easy and straight forward.

Timber has certain problems that you have to solve along the way.

[narrator] All the wood is pre-dried so it won't shrink,

and it's treated for insects and mold,

but there's a much bigger threat.

[man] The temperature in Seville,

it gets very hot.

[narrator] Forty degrees Celsius or more,

how do you protect wood from that kind of heat,

especially if you want it to hold up for at least a century?

The architects we're using this and the last project...

[narrator] They've covered the entire structure

with a long-lasting polyurethane coating.

That means it won't expand or contract like exposed wood.

That's one part of the heat-proofing.

[man] The main challenge for timber structures

are the connection details, the joints.

[narrator] Three-thousand connections

under a lot of heat-stress.

If they fail, the building fails.

So, the team spent weeks at the drawing board

to come up with something that could hold up to the sun.

[man] I travelled...

at least once a month to Germany

or they came to Madrid, and we talked about...

one month, two month,

how we can find the solution for the union.

[narrator] Together, they developed

an innovative steel rod design.

Each of these fasteners is secured in the structure

with a special glue that can take the heat.

The glue is proved up to 80 degrees.

[narrator] So, the sun's taken care of,

along with anything else

that the sky can throw at the building,

including wind and lightning.

[man] There's a network of lightning protection

formed by lightning rods at the perimeter

[man] through these cables,

and then it's grounded in the basement.

[narrator] There's one final structural challenge

which was discovered years ago when the site was excavated.

[man] They found roman ruins.

[narrator] The team has built a subterranean museum

by placing all the supporting pylons around the ancient site.

Aside from providing the essential shade

in the heat of the midday sun,

the Metropol Parasol is now a lot more.

I'm thrilled, finally, to see this result.

[man] Not only have we been able to see how a 2D design on paper

and a computer has sprung them to life,

but also to see the broad

public acceptance of the project.

Downstairs, the new museum for the Roman ruins.

The market place, which has come back after 30 years.

And how generally, the square and the plaza are used.

[narrator] And it's breathed new life into the old town.

Here at How Tech Works,

we love stories about flying things

such as rockets and spaceships.

In other words,

stories about the future of flying tech.

However, our next story takes us

to an aircraft museum in Germany,

where reporter Dan Riskin checks out one very old plane

with some jaw-dropping capabilities!

[soft vibrant music]

[engine rumbling quietly]

This is one of the world's first STOL aircraft.

That's S-T-O-L.

It stands for short takeoff and landing.

In the mid '30s, the Germans needed a plane

that could takeoff and land anywhere,

and this was the result. It's called The Storch.

This thing can takeoff in less distance than a hockey rink.

[Dan] The Storch is legendary.

An observation plane and people mover on the battlefield,

the design is over 70 years old.

Even today, aircraft engineers are wowed by it.

Today, the museum's pilot is going to take it up,

and maybe me, too.

[woman] My name is Brigitte Koch.

My job is keeping the whole business here running,

[Brigitte] teacher of a flying school,

and perform with the aircraft in air shows.

[electronic music]

[Dan] Alright, well let's see this thing take off.

Here we go.

[electronic music continues]

[man] Look how slow it's hanging there!

[Brigitte] It's just, you know, a fantastic version of flying.

It's slow, you can have a good watch

from the aircraft to the outside.

And it's just, you know,

nothing to compare with other aircrafts I'm flying.

[Dan] It looks like it's totally holding still.

I mean, I could ride my bike that fast.

[Dan] The Storch famously needs only 20 meters to land.

But it's windy today,

so, Brigitte takes care on her approach.

A gust could crash the plane.

She speeds up a bit and takes a longer distance to land.

Still impressive, though, about a hockey rink's length.

So, why is this called The Storch?

First of all, because of the great wings

-with a great span. -Yeah.

And the second thing is because of its learning gear.

-[Dan] Okay. -Inside here,

-you have a shock absorber. -Uh-huh.

And when you land, it's getting depressed,

and after you take off,

the gear falls down about half a meter.

It's just, you know, hanging around.

-[Dan] Like a stork's legs? -Yeah.

Yeah! Do you want to go for a ride?

Uh, yeah. Yeah, I really do. [laughs]

-Well then, let's take her out. -[Dan] OK, Let's go.

[Dan] Good.

Alright, let's do this!

[electronic music]

[Dan] Now, despite my brave face,

I'm actually really nervous

because this is not exactly a new airplane.

[laughs]

-Everything's all right? -Yeah, I think so.

[Brigitte laughs]

All right.

[exhales deeply]

So, how old is this plane?

[Brigitte] Forty-six build.

-[Dan] It was built in 1946? -[Brigitte] Yeah.

[Dan] It's clearly a very old airplane.

So, it's that balance between

"Well, it hasn't crashed yet, so maybe it's safe,"

and "This thing's awfully old, so maybe it is going to crash."

-[Brigitte] OK, ready? -Yeah, let's do it.

[Dan] Right away, it's a very different feeling.

The windows come around you,

so you can look down out of the plane.

[Brigitte] And off we go!

[Dan] The plane turns and faces the runway,

and starts accelerating. It gets a lot louder.

It just... goes at car-speed and takes off.

It's crazy.

[engine accelerating]

[laughing] Whoa!

That's nuts!

[cheers]

[Dan] As the plane's flying around,

you're looking out the window, you're looking down,

and as it makes tight turns, you can just look straight down.

[Dan] You can see the world

in a way you don't normally see it

when you're going really fast in a normal airplane.

It gives you a very different view of the world.

[Dan] The plane's going only 60 kilometers an hour.

Wow.

[Dan] OK, we just slowed down a lot.

[laughs]

[Brigitte] Like what you see?

Yeah, we're barely moving!

[Dan] The plane's going so slowly

that when it banks into a turn,

instead of feeling yourself pushed into the floor,

you sort of feel like you're just going to fall out the side.

You're not going that fast.

It's a very different feeling from a normal airplane.

[Dan] And then, as it comes around

and you come in for that landing,

the engine dies right down, and you're going slowly!

Wow.

[Dan] When you're landing, those wheels just punch.

I mean, you see them stretch up,

you hear them, you feel them,

but it's still a gentle landing.

[Dan] It's almost like it's got knees that are catching you.

- That's ridiculous. [laughs] -[Brigitte] Did you see?

-[Brigitte] Did you see? -You just stopped like nothing.

[narrator] I'm glad to be back on the ground,

but flying a legend has been an amazing experience.

The Storch, it's a ride like no other.

[upbeat music]

Coming up on How Tech Works...

[narrator] It looks like a wheelchair, and it is,

but this wheelchair is controlled by brain power.

And...

Reporter Alan Nursall scores some great trackside seats

to measure the force and power of the Top Fuel dragster.

[electronic music]

Welcome back to How Tech Works,

I'm Basil Singer.

Now, I'm sure you all recognize and appreciate

the creative power of imagination.

The ability to dream and design is the inspiration behind

all sorts of technological advances.

But...

what if your thoughts were literally able to control

the things that your body can't?

I'm talking about extreme mind control,

and I present to you, a team of garage-gurus

who are putting that concept to good use.

[house music]

[narrator] You've seen this before.

[man] Is it easy to drive it?

Yeah, it's quite easy.

[narrator] Joystick, a skilled driver... freedom.

And then I can just turn around here.

[narrator] But what happens if your mobility is so compromised

you can't manipulate a joystick?

Able-bodied neuro-engineer Tom Carlson

is literally taxing his brain for a way around that.

[Tom] This is an EEG cap,

and we have an array of electrodes

which we will place on my head.

And these electrodes will be going over

the motor cortex region.

[narrator] He's part of a team developing

a mind-controlled wheelchair.

[Tom] We want the wheelchair to help people

that can't drive with a joystick.

So, particularly, severely motor-impaired patients.

Tetraplegics, paraplegics, ALS patients.

[narrator] Today, they're prepping for a test drive.

So, we just put the cap on...

like that.

[narrator] By making sure their system

detects his brain signals.

To be successful,

the technology has to not only interpret thoughts...

The EEG signals are very, very small,

just a matter of microdots.

[Tom] So, we need to have this super conductive gel

to increase the signal.

[narrator] ...but also to instruct

the wheelchair to seamlessly carry them out.

[Tom] I'm now going to plug the pre-amplifier

into the amplifier.

[narrator] That requires two intelligence systems.

First, this is the brain computer interface

which Tom is configuring.

It records brain activity.

[Tom] Each one of these lines represents a signal

coming from one of the electrodes.

And what we see is that they're all following

a similar kind of pattern, which is good.

If I blink my eyes now,

you can see a big change.

So, that's a muscular artifact that's being picked up.

[narrator] To move left or right,

Tom will need to stay focused

and imagine moving his corresponding hand.

[man] The main difficulty we are facing

is analyzing the brain signals,

because the brain signals we are recording

is a combination of thousands of activities

that are going on in our brain.

[Tom] I focus on the screen,

and I'm moving the cursor

just by imagining moving my hands.

[narrator] Tweezing those commands

from all of that brain activity is the team's big breakthrough.

Tom's left-right signals are coming through clearly.

Time to plug into part two of this system,

the wheelchair.

[Tom] EEG network is active there.

And over here...

I have the wheelchair network. Good.

I'm going to get nice and comfortable

in the wheelchair now. [laughs]

[narrator] In addition to being hooked up to his brain signals,

the wheelchair also has ten sonar senses

and two web cams.

And with them, it can detect and avoid obstacles.

So, now you can see I've got the feedback on my screen here

[Tom] with exactly what the wheelchair sees

as an obstacle or not.

[narrator] And finally, it's time to get rolling.

A big breath to clear distractions...

[inhales and exhales deeply]

Okay.

[narrator] And...

He's going nowhere.

Oh, dear.

I need to figure out exactly what's going on.

[narrator] Remember, in order for the wheelchair to move,

two independent systems have to each do their own job

and then work as one,

and that isn't quite happening.

[Tom] I know, I know, yep.

[narrator] Great, it's a quick fix,

a simple programming glitch,

and now, the two systems are talking.

Tom focuses...

and he's off!

Okay, so, I'll go through the doorway this time.

[narrator] Watch what happens when he directs the wheelchair

towards this cluttered doorway.

Notice those adjustments?

That's the chair sensing the obstacles

and correcting for them automatically.

Here, the chair stops to avoid hitting this guy's legs.

And when it receives a new command from Tom,

it starts moving.

They call it 'shared control',

and it's an important safety feature.

A few more tight squeezes...

and things are running as hoped.

[Tom] So, this is the shared control

stopping me in front of any obstacles.

[narrator] This wheelchair technology

is still in early days, but the team is confident

that they're moving in the right direction.

Last but not least, some describe the feeling

of standing beside the launch of a Top Fuel dragster

is a handshake from the gods.

The raw power assault on the senses is off the charts!

But that's not going to stop our reporter, Alan Nursall,

from trying to get up close and personal.

This week, Alan is trackside to feel the power firsthand.

Ladies and gentlemen,

start your ridiculously loud engines!

[loud acceleration]

[screeching]

[rock music]

Mike, what's it like driving a Top Fuel dragster?

You want to know what it feels like

to drive an 8000 plus horsepower dragster?

Eight-thousand horsepower, yeah?

Well, I'll tell you what, we'll go to the starting line...

and we'll leave, and we'll see whether you'll man up

-to the job or not. -[laughs]

[roaring acceleration]

[Mike] It's a rush, like,

the only way you can experience it is to do it.

[loud acceleration]

I want to turn this into a bit of an experience for us.

[Alan] So, I've got some instruments

that'll allow us to experience

the raw power of your Top Fuel dragster.

[Alan] So, while you drive,

Deb and I are going to enjoy some trackside special seating.

[Mike] I think you're going to be surprised

on the concussion that this 8000 horsepower makes

when it leaves the starting line.

-The worst-- -If you're not prepared,

-you will jump. -[Tom laughs]

-I would-- -[Mike] Foot off the ground.

I was thinking more terrified, actually,

-than surprised. -Well, that's my job

being terrified. [laughs]

[shouting over loud engine] Close enough to the tracks?

Yes!

[acceleration]

[shouting] I had to really use my influence

to get these great seats!

[Deb] Do you realize what's going to happen

when that car leaves?

[Alan] Well, that's what we're here to find out!

[tire screeching]

[Alan] So, we've got a sound meter,

a seismograph.

We've got a bunch of different ways of measuring the vibration

and the power we're going to get from the dragster!

I don't know if everything's going to stay up there

once he takes off.

[soft vibrant music]

[engine heavy rumbling]

[soft vibrant music continues]

[rumbling continues]

[music continues]

[roaring acceleration]

[crowd cheering]

Guys, that was off the scale. That was just amazing!

[Alan] Debbie, what did you think about our trackside date?

That was the worst date I've ever had, I think.

[laughs]

-It was probably the loudest! -The loudest, yeah.

[loud acceleration]

[Alan] We had stuff jumping all over the table.

It's like everything inside you just moves,

and the ground shakes, and you can't help but jump.

[Alan] To get some perspective, to try to give us some sense

of how loud it is and what the concussion feels like,

we had some instrumentation.

We had our seismometer that just swung like crazy

as the vibrations in the table were picked up,

and it just went off the scale.

[Alan] Mike, you also told me...

how high my sound meter will go.

"It will go to 126 decibels."

[Alan] Decibels being a standard measurement of sound.

It's a measure of the strength of the pressure wave,

[Alan] and you went well beyond that.

Apparently you need a bigger seismometer.

[laughs]

[Alan] A hundred and thirty decibels

is the threshold for pain.

A jet at about 30 meters is about 150 decibels.

[Alan] You might have come close

to the neighborhood of 140 decibels.

Certainly beyond the threshold of pain.

A jackhammer...

from one meter distance, is about 100 decibels.

[Alan] That means the actual physical pressure waves

coming off the dragster are 30-35 times more powerful

than a jackhammer at one meter.

-So, let's not sit -[Debbie laughing]

at the starting line like that, too close.

Let's move back a few meters next time, OK?

Yeah.

You've been enjoying How Tech Works.

I'm Basil Singer, and I'll see you next time!

[ending music]