Original subtitles

[upbeat music]

[narrator] On this episode of How Tech Works.

Keep your head above water

with this incredible, inflatable wetsuit.

And... watch out!

This camera takes all the hits

so the photographer doesn't have to!

[intro music]

Hello and welcome to How Tech Works.

I'm Dr. Basil Singer and you lucky, lucky viewers

are in for a Tech-filled treat for the next half hour.

[narrator] We'll visit a lab that flips and flops

like a carnival fun house, all in the name of research.

Plus, we'll climb aboard this record-breaking model train

for its final journey around the track.

But first... when it comes to big wave surfing,

it's important to keep your head above the water.

Inevitably, however, there will be times

you'll end up under water, and that can be really scary

and a dangerous prospect.

Well, the invention you're about to see

could be a life-saver.

[narrator] For big wave surfers, danger is just part of the game.

[man] "Oh, my God!"

But in 2010,

one wipe-out changed the way that game is played...

forever.

[man] I took off on the wrong wave

and had a horrible wipe-out and the wipe-out was terrible,

I got held under for two waves and I almost drowned,

and... I sort of had an idea

to incorporate an air bladder.

You know, just like the airplane one

where you go poof and it inflates immediately.

Honestly, my initial reaction was, uh, "Oh great",

like "Here we go!" [chuckles]

[narrator] Shane Dorian is a professional big wave surfer

and Hub Hubbard is a project manager

at Billabong.

Together, they're making waves in the world of Wetsuit Design

to keep disasters like Shane's from happening to others.

[inflating]

They call it... the V1.

[Shane] I wrote an email to Hub and I told him my idea

and we kind of went back and forth about it.

Thought about it for a while and made some calls...

and... you know it... became more realistic

that it was something we could do.

[narrator] Inflatable life vests already exist,

but they're designed for use at the surface,

not to inflate when you're buried beneath a 30 foot wave.

So Hub made a call to the experts of Mustang,

a company that specializes in survival wear

who went to work on a special polyurethane air bladder.

[Hub] From there we decided about... some initial dimensions

on the bladder and I started to design a pocket...

and just kind of went from there,

and I think within... you know two or three hours

we had a... working prototype.

We've added this back pocket to the suit.

It's got a little zip entry and you can see

it just holds this polyurethane bladder

on the inside.

The bladder is connected to-- well, you can kind of see

the manifold right here.

The manifold connects to the CO2 cartridge.

Also connected to the manifold is the pull cord

and it runs right out here on the left shoulder

over the shoulder and then... kind of sits and docks

right here... on your upper left chest.

What you wanna do is-- if you get into trouble...

you just find this with your thumb... and rip it.

[inflating]

[narrator] Time to take this suit for a swim!

So I get this box in the mail with all the cylinders

and all the gear and all the stuff

and I was so excited to open this box and, uh,

and I went and did the testing and I swam down

and I pulled the thing and as soon as it started inflating

I was just like, this changes the game.

This absolutely is a game changer

and then I emailed Hub back at Billabong

and just said, "Oh, my God, we got it!"

This is absolutely way better

than I was ever hoping it was gonna be!

When I got a call from Shane... you know,

I was really excited, I couldn't believe it.

[narrator] After a few small tweaks

the V1 is ready for its final test.

160 kilometers off the California coast

at Cortez Bank, the first big swells of the season

are rolling in and Shane is ready.

[Shane] I paddled in a really big wave

and I had a super bad wipe-out, I got pushed under super far

and... I thought this is the perfect time

to test this thing and... I pulled my cord

and I went from panicking as soon as it started inflating

I realized how much power this thing had...

I totally relaxed... and I stopped stressing out

and I didn't swim, I just let the thing bring me up.

There was two more pretty solid waves...

right afterwards, that... the whitewater rolled over me

and popped me right up, instead of like pushing me,

it rolled over me and took me to the surface.

Once we figured out we had something...

eh... Shane was like,

"We need to get this to everyone, as soon as possible!"

[narrator] Although the V1 is still considered a prototype

about 100 suits are already in use

by some of the world's biggest wave riders.

For Hub and Shane this is turning

into the ride of a lifetime.

It's more of an honor, uh, than anything.

You know, I get to... number one,

possibly help in saving someone's life

and also work alongside with some of my personal heroes.

We have a core group of guys that I'm really close to

and everybody wants to be out there,

everybody wants to charge huge waves and push the envelope

but I want all my friends to be safe and I want them all

to come home to their families every night,

and... I think we've achieved that and I'm excited about it.

[soft piano music]

And now we move from wild waves to wildlife.

Have you ever flipped through the pages of a wildlife magazine

and looked through the photos that made you wonder,

how on earth did they get that shot?

How did they get so close?

Well, our next story features a photographer from the UK

who created an inventive way to get up close and very personal.

I present to you, the BeetleCam.

[crickets]

[narrator] In the African plains a very stealthy beast is lurking

and it's on the hunt to take your picture!

[Will Burrard-Lucas] The BeetleCam is

a small remote controlled buggy,

which I mounted my camera on-top of and I used it

to get close-up wide angle photographs of African wildlife.

These animals are pretty dangerous, pretty powerful.

So if you got out of the vehicle you'd probably get mauled,

trampled, or...

some other form of a nasty death, so... [chuckles]

So I prefer to send my camera out, eh,

and me not be actually holding it at the time.

[clanking]

[narrator] Will Burrard-Lucas has traveled

to the ends of the earth looking for that perfect shot,

but it was here in his small workshop, back in 2009,

that his most innovative photo expedition began,

So this is BeetleCam Mark 1 and it's basically

a small remote controlled buggy, with four wheels,

powered by four motors, with two big batteries,

and all I do is, I clip my DSLR camera on top,

like this, and then I've got a remote control here

which is used usually for modern airplanes.

I use this to steer the buggy and fire the camera.

The initial BeetleCam I built a couple of years ago

and I had no idea weather it would work or not,

so I just built it and took it to Tanzania

and I used it, first on elephants.

[camera clicking]

And it actually worked very well

and got some very promising results.

Elephants were quite cautious but if I left it still

they'd sometimes be curious and come right up to it.

[narrator] Will was getting closer to his photographic prey

than ever before... but one animal was still out of reach.

What happened next was quite predictable.

The lions came straight up and destroyed one of my cameras.

[narrator] So back in London Will goes to work on a new

and improved BeetleCam 2.0.

A custom-made mount lets him tilt the camera up and down

remotely and a live video feed

shows him what the BeetleCam is seeing.

That allowed me to increase my hit rate

and get more usable photos from it.

[narrator] Now, for the crowning jewel.

It's a fiberglass carapace with an aluminum frame,

which bolts on top to give the camera some protection.

[narrator] New tricks, and a thick armored shell.

But is this cute little robot ready to face a lion?

[robot]

[clanking]

OK, we're trying lions... for the first time since

our old BeetleCam was mauled and our camera destroyed.

It's very nerve racking.

I'm just hoping the armor works.

[Will] These cats are so curious, playful.

I knew I'd be able to get some really good close-up photographs

if I could just lion-proof the BeetleCam.

[narrator] As the new BeetleCam flirts with danger

Will snaps one incredible photo after another.

Even when one large male decides he's hungry.

[crushing]

The BeetleCam still gets the shot!

Fiberglass shell 1 - Lions 0.

But eventually Will does meet his match.

I had these seven quite old lion cubs

and they were very boisterous

and I was getting some great shots of them

but then... after about five minutes or so

things went wrong and they managed

to flip it over... and from that point they were able

to pick it up by the wheel and as soon as they’d done that

they ran off into the bush with it, all seven of them

and at that point I thought that was the end.

I didn't think we'd get it back, but luckily

they dropped it where we were able

to get into it, between the trees, with the vehicle,

pick it up again and that was pretty much the end of the trip.

[narrator] Out here there may be few places to hide

but for this tiny paparazzi... a little danger goes a long way.

[camera clicks]

There's nothing quite as exciting as coming across,

you know, these really good photos

that you'd always dreamed of getting really.

[narrator] For this wildlife photographer,

that perfect shot has never been closer.

Coming up on How Tech Works.

We'll take a final ride on a spectacular model train

with tracks almost a mile long!

And this state-of-the-art lab studies slips, falls

and other everyday mishaps. Mind your step!

[upbeat music]

Welcome back to How Tech Works.

I'm Basil Singer.

It's time to put your researcher caps on for just a minute.

Imagine, motion-tracking devices,

3D streetscapes, climate wizardry

and state-of-the-art simulators,

all under one roof, pretty cool toys, right?

Well, for the research facility in our next story,

those kind of things are just the regular tools of the trade.

-Hold my battery pack. -Sure.

And these are... [buckles]

[narrator] An early Monday morning.

Researcher Alison Novak, is in full prep mode.

So I'm just gonna stick the markers on you here.

What we're doing is tracking his upper body.

[narrator] This guy is about to be put

through his paces.

She plans to track his every move.

OK, and then these ones are gonna go on your feet.

[narrator] And, he will move!

[soft bang]

First up... then off-kilter 20 degrees.

So, you can take a seat right there.

[narrator] For the next few hours

this six meter cube will be her laboratory.

[loud bang] And with every shift and shake,

her subject's fun house.

[Susan] OK, we're ready to go.

OK, moving the bridge up.

So, bridge is up.

OK, Susan, can you bring us to incline?

[Susan] Yup, bringing you to incline now.

[futuristic music]

There might be a slight shake, OK?

[beep] [Alison] OK.

[Susan] OK, we're starting to tilt now.

[music continues]

[narrator] In here... floors will tilt.

[Alison] So what I'm gonna do is secure you

into the harness, that's first and foremost.

OK, so Dan, I want you to just walk up and down

a couple of times.

[narrator] A flight of stairs will feel

like it's booby-trapped!

And this unsuspecting young man, will receive more

than a few metal-testing jolts,

[jolt] all in the name

of scientific research, of course.

We're interested in foot trajectories,

toe clearances, balance control, so we're looking at

where your center of mass of your balance is in space.

Yep, so go on up, just walk normally.

[narrator] So, what's your guess?

A study of gravitational forces? [beep]

[rumble] Earthquake shake test?

[beep]

Or is it stress management investigation?

[beep]

The answer is more obvious than you think!

This is "Stair lab", the world's most sophisticated study

of stair climbing.

So as you walk up and down the stairs the markers

that are attached to you are getting tracked

by... uh, the cameras that we have placed

in all the corners of the room.

[narrator] Today's trial was a simple warm-up

for the groundbreaking research soon to be underway

now that Toronto's rehab's new Ceal facility

is open for business.

Ceal is the challenging

environment assessment laboratory.

It's the... funnest of the laboratories that we have.

[narrator] Fun, because each of Ceal's labs can be mounted

on their top-of-the line motion base

and then manipulated.

The hope is that this work will bring about important changes.

[Dr. Geoff] Three times as many people are killed

or seriously hurt because of falls on stairs

as in motor vehicle accidents.

It's a huge problem... so we have a stair lab

and there we can take people up and down stairs

in a very safe way and we can cause them

to fall off the stairs in a sadistic way

and study what should be done about stair design.

Come on in, so this is winter lab.

[narrator] Dr. Geoff Fernie is also passionately

concerned with the pitfalls of winter.

Now I'm just gonna hook you up to this...

[narrator] So he created winter lab.

[Dr. Geoff] Accidents in the winter

are a terrible scourge so we do a lot of work there.

We have real ice floor, we have cold winds, eh,

we can generate snow and not only can we do that

but we can pick up the whole lab and we can place it

on a motion base and tip it as a hill or something.

[narrator] If you wonder what boots might best

keep you from slip-sliding away, Jennifer Hsu aims to find out.

We have motion capture cameras all around the room

that can precisely tell exactly where the markers

that are on their body are so we can look at

her foot positioning, positions of her torso.

She can also walk on top of that platform which is embedded

with force plates and that tells us

what kinds of ground reaction forces

she's imparting... as she's walking.

[narrator] And this is Ceal's third

challenging environment.

[Dr. Geoff] Street lab is actually

a virtual reality system on steroids.

It's this part of Toronto, we've recreated it in 3D

with very, very high precision and for the first time

we've mapped a perfect sound landscape.

We can study all the elements of whether or not she's walking

in balance or off balance and how that's affected by

different elements of sound and we can manipulate

systematically to see what that relationship is.

[narrator] Despite their sophisticated technology

Ceal researchers place a high value

on simple solutions.

That's what's driving people here.

It's applying the highest technology

but applying it to practical big problems

to come up with solutions that very often

are low technology actually.

Certainly we want them to be affordable and easy to get.

[soft vibrant music]

Now we're off to Quebec to check out

Canada's largest fully operational model train.

If the level of hand-crafted detail doesn't impress you,

and it will, get a load of the sheer size and scope

of the railway, it's almost a mile long,

One lap of the track lasts 40 minutes.

[blowing steam]

[soft uplifting music]

It's a labor of love that started

more than half a century ago.

It's been here for 50 years.

Many people have put their heart and soul in it.

[whistle blows]

A fully operational 3D world of miniature trains

made with eye-popping detail.

I'm proud of certain things that I did,

like the St. Patricks' Cathedral, the military cemetery

with the civilian there.

[narrator] It covers six train yards, 527 switches,

18 bridges and tunnels and hundreds of tiny buildings

in tiny towns.

More power.

The layout is one of the biggest in Canada.

[narrator] And it's all handmade from plaster, steel,

glass and cardboard.

This is the first volume... of... model railroader,

and as you see... it cost ten cents... in 1934.

[narrator] Spanning two centuries

volunteers from the Montreal Model Train Club

built a wee helicopter airport, a mini abattoir,

scaled-down mountains and tunnels

and dozens of everyday slices of life.

Incredible Canadian scenery from the heyday

of steam and diesel trains.

That's my town there, that's my... working place,

not working because I had fun doing it,

so I'm not working but it's my place, you know.

I could put my name on it, you know, it's good.

[drill whirring]

[narrator] But today isn't about building.

We're basically taking the place apart.

We have to move.

[narrator] They're relocating.

[soft jazzy music]

And they're here to start the process of dismantling.

We're ready for the next... thing to do.

Take off some more people there.

[narrator] Some of it is a piece of cake.

Tiny trees are easily uprooted.

The rest is trickier.

Removing figures as small as a paper clip

without destroying them, takes the right tools

and the right pressure.

Come in, come in.

Eh, eh!

[narrator] Every little light and some buildings

are electrified.

Val Tessier's job is to carefully disconnect the power,

which over the years has become pretty tangled.

Wiring done by dozens volunteers over nearly 40 years.

Look at them... it's unbelievable,

this thing worked.

[narrator] Is full of surprises.

What we're doing here, we're cutting wires

that... give the illumination to our... lamps,

to the Molson Brewery e.g. to all the buildings upstairs.

Before we can take a building off the layout

we have to make sure all wires are cut.

[narrator] The miniature train tracks,

which gave a 40 minute train ride, won't be saved.

Because these plaster mountains can't be moved.

Tunnels and rivers and even the table

are all headed for the dumpster.

It will take these guys months

to finish their large salvage job.

But before the lights go out... there's just enough power

for one last train ride on their beloved track.

[whistle blows]

We'll do it again somewhere else.

It is going to be better.

[chuckling]

[narrator] Their next model train set up

won't be an ode to the 1950's.

Club members want to get younger people

excited about trains, so steam and diesel

will give way to electric and high speed.

You've been watching How Tech Works.

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

[ending music]