All language subtitles for How.Tech.Works.S02E11.WEBRip.x264-ION10

[narrator] On this episode
of How Tech Works,

this big yellow ball
could very well

be the best way to
survive a tsunami.

We'll meet its inventor,
and check out his escape plans.

And... could this robot explorer

unlock the mysteries
of the deep dark sea?

[intro music]

Hello! My name is Basil Singer,

and you are in for one
phenomenal episode

of How Tech Works.

Today we're going
to see what happens

when you put an entire
skate park in a box

that you can take home with you.

We're also going to take flight

from the top of the
Rocky Mountains

using nothing but the wind

and a little parasail
technology to get us safely back

on solid ground.

But first,

when it comes to being
a wave worrier,

sometimes you really need
to think outside the box,

and opt for a sphere instead.

If you're not quiet
catching my drift,

take a look at what one
Japanese inventor came up with

as the ultimate survival
capsule for a tsunami.

[futuristic music]

[narrator] Today Yuichiashizawa
is taking one for the team.

[together] One, two, three, go!

[narrator] He's demonstrating
the Noah capsule,

a direct reference
to Noah's ark.

It may look funny,

but the idea behind
it is dead serious.

It's a miniature habitat
to help people survive

an earthquake or the
watery grip of a tsunami.

We don't have a shell
like a turtle has.

Human beings are very
fragile and easily injured.

So the Noah capsule
can be like the turtle's shell.

[narrator] Shoji Tanaka was
already working on it

when the massive earthquake
and tsunami hit Japan.

He lost friends in the disaster.

We lost 20,000 people
in that earthquake.

I wanted to save
even one more life.

That's why I'm hoping Noah

can be used to help
the Japanese people.

[narrator] The tragedy motivated
him to continue with his idea,

even though people
were skeptical.

If you think about a shelter,
it's normally underground.

It's difficult to imagine
this sphere as a shelter but...

people have seen the result,

so they're starting to
understand how it can be used.

[narrator]
Tanaka got the concept

from spherical pressure tanks
that hold water and fuel.

And of course the egg,

and I knew sphere theory,
it's physics.

The sphere is the
strongest shape

for any amount of pressure.

[narrator] Turning his idea
into a reality wasn't easy.

You can't just call up a
natural disaster to test it

because you can't
test like that.

That's why it's been
very difficult.

[narrator] The team
at Cosmo Power

has done the next best thing.

They've subjected the capsule
to all sorts of punishment.

We've dropped three-ton
stones onto it,

dropped iron onto it

and we've even hit it
with a big hammer,

and finally we tested it
at 20 tons of pressure.

[electronic music]

[narrator] Dropped into water,
even with a slap,

it immediately
floats to the surface.

And they've tested it for leaks
of course.

The first prototype leaked,

but now it's waterproof.

[narrator] At 70 kilograms,

two people can lift and move it.

To increase the odds of survival

the capsule is yellow,

so it's easy for
rescuers to spot.

A hook on the top
allows the rescuers

to throw a rope to it,
and it's got two air-holes.

We tested it repeatedly
to know it would be safe

and we found two air
vents is enough

for four people to breathe.

[narrator] Caps on the
air-holes prevent water

from coming in
during bad weather.

And there's a small window

that can be opened
for extra air.

Believe it or not,

the standard capsule is
designed for four people.

And even though it's round,

the capsule stays upright
when people are inside.

And thanks to storage
beneath the floor,

the space holds water,
food and possessions.

That extra weight holds
the sphere right side up.

And a bar provides stability.

We have a steel
bar in the center

and if you get into the
capsule and grab it,

you'll be in balance,
it's like a natural gravity.

[narrator] Of course,
seeing is believing.

Let's check in with Yuichi,

who's floating in the
capsule on his own.

How you doing up there?

[Yuichi] I'm just leaning
against the wall,

relaxing, just like I can sleep.

So doing good huh?

Do you get any water
there leaking?

[Yuichi] Two or three drops
from the window.

Just dripping, ah.

Can you see us?

[Yuichi] I can see
somebody's hand!

[man] He's doing good.

He says that it's really
comfy there.

[narrator] Surviving
the sea is one thing.

But surviving the
return to dry land,

that may be another.

[plastic scraping]

[upbeat music]

People can survive
for a week in the capsule.

Customers are already lining up.

Shoji Tanaka has a
thousand orders now

and four hundred capsules
are already delivered.

He plans to work
with the local governments

to provide the capsules
to entire communities.

And he's also working
on bigger and better designs.

I am thinking about designing
a much bigger capsule

that would help 30 people
survive for a month.

[narrator] For a man content
with saving one life,

Shoji Tanaka may end
up saving many.

We continue now with another
water-based story.

But we're no longer surviving
the dangers of the sea,

instead we're about to
unlock its many mysteries.

And this is possible
thanks to an incredible

robot explorer called
the Wave Glider.

Now the Wave Glider
is about to begin

its record-breaking journey

across the Pacific
Ocean autonomously.

[futuristic music]

[narrator] They might not look
like hardy ocean adventurers

but these robotic explorers,

roughly the size of a surfboard,
have ocean scientists drooling.

It's the first vehicle

that's been able to
operate in the ocean

for indeterminate
amounts of time

not constrained by
having to get back

for its crew
to have to eat food,

see their families

or for the vehicle itself
to need refueling.

And it allows a new
type of ocean research

that's really never been
possible before.

[narrator] Today they going
to be put into the ocean

just outside of San
Francisco bay,

and steered through
sometimes perilous waters

headed towards Hawaii

and ultimately,
Japan and Australia.

We have four vehicles
crossing the Pacific ocean,

which you're hitting
every possible

ocean environment
on the way across.

Every sea state,
every wind state,

currents of every force
that we have,

the Pacific Ocean has it.

And with these vehicles
crossing you going to hit

every one of those and
all that data gathered,

is data we can analyze
to use in our systems.

[narrator] What's also
cool is the secret

to the Wave Glider's success,
something called persistence.

And by that we mean not
that it keeps on trying,

although it does, but
that it can stay out

in the ocean for long
periods of time.

[narrator] Because it
uses wave power to move forwards

and solar power to
operate its electronics.

[man]
So the way the Wave Glider works

is purely mechanical
conversion of wave motion

into forward motion
for the vehicle.

Just like flippers,

a whale moving his
fluke up and down,

the Wave Glider moves its
fins up and down and swims.

So now the only
thing that's left

for the electronics
to do is steer it.

[narrator] The vehicles
will send data,

such as salinity, temperature
and wave data and oxygen levels.

They'll also monitor
algae blooms

and maybe even hurricanes
as they develop off shore.

It's really about sort
of opening a window

into a part of the world

that's difficult for
humans to observe.

We get most of the
information about the ocean

on a regular basis
from satellites

hundreds of miles
away looking down,

making amazing inferences about
what's happening on the ocean,

but they're not really there.

They can't actually
measure what's happening.

Wave Gliders can.

[narrator] Four hours
from San Francisco,

the odyssey is about to begin.

-Y'all good?
-I'm ready.

This is an incredible
experience.

It's new technology
that's really

just becoming its own entity

and we're working with major
oceanographic institutes,

large commercial clients

and the technology is green,

it's wave-powered technology.

It's just a very, very
exciting time

for us to be able to monitor
the world's oceans.

[man] The future is in
unmanned systems,

and the Wave Glider allows
a unique opportunity

to analyze an unmanned system
that has a persistence at sea

that we haven't seen before.

And that is something we
would love to leverage

into a military environment.

[narrator] All four
successfully set sail.

We know the vehicle
is going to make it.

What people do with the data
is really the exciting part.

If it turns out that
this set of instruments

actually suggests a
scientific discovery

that would be pretty amazing,

you know, we're doing this as
an equipment demonstration

to bring awareness
of this new device,

but if actually turned out
that through the data,

we were able to, or scientists,
it wouldn't be me,

were able to learn something,

or see something that requires
further investigation,

that will really be exciting.

[narrator] Now,
hundreds of scientists

will wait to see what these
robotic explorers will discover.

Coming up on How Tech Works.

Why go to the skate park when
the skate park can come to you?

And extreme athlete
and inventor Will Gadd

has been granted his wish
and it's called Speed-flying.

[electronic music]

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

Over the last ten years or so,

skateboarding has exploded

from a counter-culture
mode of transport

into something
fairly mainstream.

Now you won't have to
travel to the skatepark

to get your kicks and
do your tricks anymore

because you can take
the skatepark with you.

[electronic music]

[narrator] There's
something changing

about going to the
skatepark these days

because now the skatepark
can come to you!

It's called Freshpark.

[Roger] Well you build a
fresh park every day.

These ramps are portable.

They're foldable,

they're linkable,

and everything folds up and goes
away so no-one runs over it.

It's a park in a box.

I don't know how I came
up with that name,

but it's a whole skatepark,
and we put it in a box.

[electronic music]

[narrator] In his first life,

Roger Hickey was a world
downhill skateboarding champion.

Probably the thing I like
most about skateboarding

is its being an individual
sport, if I win or lose,

it's all up to me.

From 1980 on,

I went and won 20 world
championships in a row.

[narrator] In his second life,

he was a master builder
of trade show booths.

You become an expert
at folding stuff up,

and being able to ship it,
and being able to store it.

[narrator] And that's when
the brainstorm hit.

[Roger] And with the trade
show booths,

it was something I
knew very well.

The skateboarding was
something that I loved,

I just kinda morphed
skateboarding

into trade show booths,

and created a trade
show booth version

of a skatepark.

I was just very lucky

that I could take two
things that I lived

and did my whole life, and
just smash 'em together

and somehow I'm just blessed
to have this company.

[narrator] But there were a few
obstacles along the way.

And we're not just talking
quarter-pipes and grind-rails.

He had lots of critics,

even guys he'd skateboarded
with his whole life.

They said nobody's ever going
to ride a plastic fold up ramp,

and so not only did I not get
any support from anybody else,

I didn't get any support
from any of my friends

which might have just fueled
me to prove them wrong.

[narrator] And prove
them wrong he did.

Out of the Freshpark
headquarters

in Huntington beach,

they're now making 28
different products

and selling them world-wide.

Hi guys, welcome to Freshpark.

Come on in,
we'll show you around.

[narrator] The first thing
that hits you is the boxes ,

lots and lots of boxes.

I went through 31 prototypes,

literally got it done to where
it was strong and it was nice,

and it was a done product,
and I all of a sudden realized

that it cost so
much money to ship,

that I couldn't sell any
so I had to re-invent

the whole thing to fit a box
that could actually ship.

[narrator] The parts are
made of cold-rolled steel,

and to say they're durable,
according to Roger,

is an understatement.

They're designed to spread

the load stresses
throughout the structure.

Here we can do our stress test,

we can see if everything
folds correctly,

and we can get a general idea

of how everything's gonna
work and fit together.

[Roger] The engineering
on these ramps

is built almost like
an airplane wing.

Where from the outside it
doesn't look that strong,

but I always tell people:

if I told you an
eighth-inch sheet

of aluminum can
lift 80000 pounds

you'd never believe it

but that's what
an airplane wing is,

it's just engineering.

And so the engineering in these
is made to crush on itself,

you literally would have
to crush the steel,

and we've parked cars
on it that are 7000 lbs.

[narrator] Little
did Roger know,

that Freshpark would soon morph

into a game-changing
outlet for youngsters.

Today, Freshpark is moving into
a very special neighborhood.

The Miramar marine corp
base in San Diego.

And it's a welcome site
for the teens here.

[woman] It caters to what
the teens and youth want

their park to look like,
it's not set in stone.

They have the input and feedback
to develop it the way they want.

And for military
youth and teens,

that sometimes is a
rare occasion for them,

because they have no control
over where they're PCS'ing next.

So for them to have a piece
and a say

in what they want to do
is a pinnacle for them.

When I first started this,

I thought it'd be cool
to have some of these

and bring 'em out
of our garages.

I never in my wildest dreams

could have wrote a business plan

where we have Freshpark
in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Alright, skate time!

[electronic music]

This being an individual
type sport,

they get individual pride
and individual confidence,

and it just helps them grow.

And it's nice to be
able to provide a tool

that would help kids like that,

to stay entertained
and stay out of trouble.

[narrator] With
programs like this,

Roger has seen his fresh idea
soar to unexpected heights.

I don't even know how
to put it into words,

but it's the craziest
ride I could ever be on.

[narrator] And for this guy
who used to skateboard

downhill at nearly
65 miles an hour,

that is quite a kick-flip.

[electronic music]

For our last story today,

we'll meet someone
who gets his thrills

from attempting the impossible

and the dangerous

and also the slightly crazy.

Will Gadd is his name,

and extreme sport has been
his game for many years.

Now, Will wants to know what
it feels like to fly like a bird

and he's invented a
gadget small enough

to fold inside a rucksack
that just might do the trick.

[narrator] In the Rocky
Mountains,

there's a new creature
hitting the skies.

Whoohoo!

[narrator] It's athlete
Will Gadd defying gravity

in a new extreme sport
called Speedflying.

[Will] So Speedflying
is using a paraglider-like wing

to fly down mountains or hills

quite close to it,
kind of like a snowboarder

going down and using
the features of the hill,

and the wind to fly down
in an interesting way.

[narrator] It's interesting
because flying

close to the ground can be,

well unpredictable.

Whenever you're close
to the ground in aviation

it's generally
considered dangerous.

It's a lot easier
to hit the ground

when you're close to it.

[narrator] Will is no
stranger to danger.

As one of Canada's
top ice climbers,

he's scaled glaciers,
giant waterfalls,

and even in remote caves.

The big problem
with ice climbing

is that there's this thing
called summer.

[narrator] And when
the ice melts,

he takes to the skies.

[Will] I set world distance
records for paragliding

and one of those flights
I was in the air ten hours.

[narrator] But today he's
learning how to Speedfly,

so he can fly like the birds.

[Will] I took up Speedflying
because in a way it's what

I always want to do
with paragliding

which is fly off peaks.

And I used to have
these dreams when I was a kid

of flying along like a bird
right over the ground,

and Speedflying
is just like that.

It's the closest to sort
of bird-like flying

of anything I do.

[narrator] For today's flight,

they need the
perfect conditions.

The wrong gust of wind
could lead to disaster.

[Will] She's a little windy.

It's a little bit windy.

Thinking there
might be a good chance

for turbulence at the
bottom when we're landing.

Possibly lots of lift
and crashing into the ground.

-I like checking my anemometer.
-What are we at, buddy?

-Twenty nine.
-It'll build.

-Yeah.
-Thirty.

Now you look down in the
trees it's totally dead, eh?

Here comes the next cycle,
it's like waves,

you've got to figure out
whether the frequency

and intensity of the waves

is something you'll
enjoy dealing with,

or you'll just be like,
this is no fun.

[narrator] Even though the
wind's a bit on the rough side,

Will takes a leap of faith.

[upbeat music]

[groans]

A little bit of a bounce there.
[laughs]

[narrator] That looks painful

but at least they didn't
land in the river.

And that was just
a practice hill.

Now it's time
to hit the Rockies.

[upbeat music]

Going flying!

[Will] Speedflying wings
generally don't glide as well

but they go a lot faster.

And they're a lot more stable,
so you can fly them closer

to the ground with better odds
of not hitting the ground.

A paraglider is less stable
in general than a speed wing.

Wing in a bag, eh?

Get down.

You're done! Like that.

Climb up a mountain with that,
how great is that?

This is your business class
executive seat here.

A pretty nice flight,

hang out in that,

go off the top.

[narrator] They start
the long hike up

to the top of the mountain.

So how high are we going?

What 800 meters give or take?

That sounds good.

[narrator] Finally they hit
their launch pad.

[Will] I'm not going to be
wanging it super hard low,

you guys want to do that

but that's not my skill
level and I know that.

OK, you guys ready? Have fun!

[upbeat music]

[Will] The best moment
in almost any form of flying

is when you take off.

And all that junk
stays on the ground

and you're just flying.

[Will] Too late to change
anything now, going in.

[upbeat music]

Yee ha!

[Will] Landing for me
is always bittersweet

because it's the
end of the flight.

But when you come back and land,
it's always this great moment.

Ye ho!

Flare hard!

Yeah boy!

Return to earth,
that feels good too.

Great to get a flight with you.

Likewise, finally! We've
been trying for a while.

Awesome!

You've been watching
How Tech Works.

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

[ending music]