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00:00MUSIC PLAYS
00:12Have a great one, Chris. Yeah, cheers, mate.
00:15Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, Chris McCausland!
00:20I suppose people will know me as a stand-up comedian.
00:25And, of course, Strictly Come Dancing,
00:28where I was all right, weren't I?
00:36What people mightn't know about me is, before getting into comedy,
00:40going back well over 20 years, my background's in computers
00:43and I've got a degree in software engineering, and I am a geek.
00:48Since losing my sight, technology has been a game-changer
00:52in opening up the world to me,
00:54helping me to navigate the everyday.
00:57Can you tell me which T-shirt this is, please?
01:00But there is amazing technology out there that I am yet to experience.
01:04So I'm heading to America, land of the tech giant,
01:08to get my hands on some of the latest technology
01:10that will be changing things for everyone.
01:13From trying out a self-driving car...
01:15Oh, this is bananas.
01:16To finding out how AI can bring me a whole new level of independence.
01:21What album's this one?
01:23This is David Bowie's album.
01:26The possibilities of the future are exciting.
01:30This was considered, like, impossible technology.
01:33Wow, I mean, so this is the future really, isn't it?
01:36But can I really put my full trust in tech?
01:39Proceeding on San Francisco Bicycle Road 86.
01:42Oh, we're on a bicycle route.
01:44And am I ready to put more dependence on technology?
01:47The problem with these is the last thing you need
01:49as a blind man who can walk faster.
01:52We are about to find out.
02:00Well, I could do with a coffee.
02:02I'll tell you there.
02:02Let's grab a coffee.
02:04I have a degenerative eye condition.
02:06I wasn't born blind.
02:08I used to be able to see.
02:09But over the first 25 years of my life, my sight deteriorated.
02:14People say, when did you go blind?
02:15And it's difficult to say because you stop being able
02:17to do different things at different times.
02:19I'm 48 now, so I've, you know...
02:21It's hard to put a date on it,
02:23but I've been blind since about 25.
02:26For a while, I had a guide dog.
02:28And I also used to use a white stick,
02:30but I wasn't very good at that.
02:32I always have to trust somebody to navigate me around
02:34if I'm walking somewhere.
02:35Hello.
02:37I always have to trust that somebody
02:39has given me the correct information
02:40if I ask them to read me something.
02:42What do you fancy?
02:44Sandwiches, rolls, shepherd's pie?
02:45What sort of things you fancy?
02:47See, I love an omelette and I love a shepherd's pie.
02:49But I'm not sure I want to be eating one on camera.
02:53It just becomes part of life, doesn't it?
02:55And I suppose really what I'm doing
02:58is I'm shifting some of that dependence
02:59and trust over to technology.
03:01Going back 20, 30 years,
03:03somebody like myself would have had to use specialist technology
03:07specifically designed to provide accessibility.
03:09And then the iPhone came out with a feature of the operating system
03:14that reads the things out to you.
03:17Speech on. Shut off. Just press record.
03:19I mean, this is the newest iPhone.
03:21It's still on us today. It's still called VoiceOver.
03:23You would touch an icon to activate it.
03:25Yeah.
03:25Yeah.
03:26I would swipe through them.
03:29Oh.
03:30These are all the apps I've got.
03:33ChatGPT voice.
03:34ChatGPT.
03:34Reflexity.
03:35One new item.
03:35CapEx.
03:35These are all AI apps.
03:37Instagram.
03:39Very rarely go on that.
03:40Utilities folder.
03:41It speaks very fast.
03:43It does.
03:43So I've spread that up.
03:44When you buy it, this is the speed it comes out in the box.
03:47Seeing AI.
03:49Pyro Explorer.
03:50CapEx.
03:50Instagram.
03:51Four new items.
03:53Instagram.
03:54Four new items.
03:55And you very quickly get used to that and it starts to drive you mad.
03:58Headings.
03:58Words.
03:59Carat.
04:00Action.
04:00Voices.
04:01Speech volume.
04:01So you speed it up.
04:03Yeah.
04:04Some people have it really fast.
04:06Yeah.
04:08Let's dial it down a bit.
04:09A phone with a glass screen and no buttons.
04:11It seems so fundamentally exclusionary to someone who's blind,
04:16but it is, it became the most accessible tool I've ever used.
04:21It allows you to do your texts, your emails, read the news,
04:24access the train times, buy your train tickets, buy things online.
04:28Everything that everybody else can do conveniently through the phone
04:31is accessible to me.
04:32A lot of the things that people identify with blindness,
04:35so like having a white stick, technology has replaced a lot of them
04:39for me in that I don't have to go to the shop to get a pint of milk
04:44and a loaf of bread because I can, I can have one brought to the house in 30 minutes.
04:49Apple made those first steps, but Google soon released its own version called TalkBack.
04:54Now it's not just smartphones that have accessibility features built in,
04:58but loads of consumer tech like TVs and even games consoles.
05:02It's a leveller and that's the biggest game changer.
05:06The fact that I do everything now the same as everybody else is what is exciting about it.
05:13Because before things like the smartphone, just like everybody else was not possible.
05:18Mainstream technology is for everybody in a lot of cases.
05:22And that's what's exciting.
05:24It feels like we are invited into the club.
05:28You know, the doors have been opened.
05:31The smartphone really started something forming
05:34and now technology is only getting better and better,
05:37offering greater levels of access and autonomy.
05:41Since then we have seen a boom in technology,
05:44from development of new software and apps,
05:47to the rise of gadgets like smartwatches.
05:49Artificial intelligence is now driving another push in technological advancements.
05:55Which for some is frightening, but for me is very exciting.
06:04There are technological innovations happening all over the world.
06:08But we are heading to America,
06:11home to many of the world's biggest tech companies
06:14and some of the most exciting gadgets on the planet.
06:17We are going to San Francisco.
06:20We are going to go check out the latest
06:22in what is on the horizon in terms of AI.
06:27And self-driving cars, they've actually got them.
06:29I'm excited about the trip.
06:31I'll be more excited when I'm at the other end of this flight.
06:35I don't like the turbulence.
06:37I can't relax, I can't sleep,
06:39because I can't see how normal the stewards look in the cabin.
06:42You know, how much they're not bothered by it.
06:45In my head, everybody's panicking.
06:50The Bay Area of San Francisco is an area that's long been associated with cutting-edge technology.
06:57From the humble computer mouse to the very latest in artificial intelligence.
07:01Primitive forms of AI have been around since the 1950s.
07:05But in the last few years, it's exploded.
07:11Hey mate.
07:12Hello, how you doing?
07:13Yeah, coming.
07:14Like millions of users around the world, AI assistance has become part of my daily life.
07:20What's the weather like?
07:21It looks pretty nice out there.
07:23The sky seems clear and it looks bright and sunny.
07:26Seems like a lovely day.
07:28Not raining?
07:29No, no rain in sight from what I can tell.
07:32It looks like a beautiful dry day out of it.
07:38It's certainly becoming the thing I'm using more and more, you know, each day.
07:43The amazing thing is this is as bad as it's going to be.
07:46It's already incredible.
07:49So for a lot of things I would, you know, I would ask my wife and my daughter, what does
07:53this look like?
07:54Can you describe it to me?
07:56Whereas now I can use AI and I can get a lot of that information.
08:01So for example, if you can't see, you know, unless you can feel that something is a specific
08:06item of clothing, often you have to ask people or you have to mark them in some way, you know.
08:10I've spent a lifetime cutting labels on things so that I know the one with the cutoff label
08:16on an angle is the blue one.
08:18But they are.
08:19You can just, you can just have it open and just show.
08:22Is this the blue one?
08:23No, it's green.
08:24Can you tell me which T-shirt this is, please?
08:27Just describe it for me.
08:30Absolutely.
08:31This T-shirt is a grey one with a graphic of a cassette tape on it.
08:35And it says Deftones on the tape.
08:37Good band.
08:38Good band.
08:39It's pretty nostalgic in fact.
08:40Love it.
08:44It's remarkable how much it's like talking to a real person.
08:48And my wife never compliments my T-shirts.
08:51AI assistance like this is built on large language models.
08:55A form of AI that is trained on a vast amount of data, from written articles to online images.
09:01The first one looks like it's shampoo.
09:03In order to recognise the information we need and help it build realistic sentences in response to questions that we
09:11ask.
09:12Can you tell me what this is here, please?
09:15Sure, that looks like a packet of decaffeinated coffee.
09:19Which one are we wearing?
09:23Can you look at my shirt here and just tell me which colour it is that I've got?
09:28And is it clean?
09:30And does it need ironing?
09:32Sure.
09:32So the shirt you're holding up looks like a dark navy colour.
09:36It looks pretty clean and there are just a few wrinkles.
09:39So if you want it super smooth, you might want to iron it quickly.
09:43But overall, it looks great.
09:45Clean, but wrinkly.
09:48Whether browsing your social media feed or asking your smart speaker for a recipe, most people will have used AI,
09:55even if they don't know it.
09:57I'm a convert to the assistance that artificial intelligence offers.
10:01There are many that have concerns though.
10:04Trust, energy use and overdependence are common arguments aimed at the rapid growth of AI.
10:10There have already been issues of AI learning from biased or prejudiced data.
10:15And there are fears that with AI starting to create content, the accuracy of information will begin to decline.
10:21Like it all over though, AI is now an integral part of technology.
10:25There is now a real race to develop improvements in artificial intelligence.
10:30But it's the advances within hardware, the physical products we use to access AI, where it gets really exciting.
10:37None more so than wearable tech.
10:39And we've been given unique access to one of the giants of the tech world to find out.
10:44We are heading to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to have a little go of their new smart glasses
10:53and live video interpretation, which sounds pretty groovy.
10:59I think this is the start of what is going to be a massive game changer.
11:04You know, for anybody that can't see really, is using AI to describe your surroundings and what's going on and
11:11what you're interacting with in real time.
11:13You know, it really is the start of mainstream technology bridging that gap and becoming access technology, you know, as
11:24well as something that everybody wants.
11:29Unless you've been living under a rock, you will know the name Meta.
11:33The company that started in 2004 as The Facebook was rebranded as Meta in 2021 and now runs a whole
11:42host of social media platforms.
11:44They are a company often criticized over privacy violations and data management, but their role in the development of technology
11:52is huge.
11:53Meta is one of the biggest spenders on research and development in the tech world.
11:58And in recent times, they have moved into hardware.
12:00Most exciting for me are their AI powered smart glasses.
12:04So now, Chris, I want to take you into our Meta world.
12:08Are you ready?
12:10I'm looking forward to this, yes.
12:12Your life will never be the same.
12:14Maxine Williams has been with the company for 12 years and is now Meta's head of accessibility.
12:20I want to show you these glasses.
12:21I'm going to give you a pair.
12:25Right.
12:26And there we go.
12:29These are special limited edition only for the coolest people.
12:34Well, I'm afraid I'm lowering your standards here.
12:37But it's incredible how much these have taken off, isn't it?
12:40Yeah.
12:41I think what has really appealed to people is this form factor, to be able to have your hands free
12:46and navigate the world.
12:47You're right. I mean, the one thing that blind people never have is two hands free.
12:51Right.
12:52You know, you're holding on to the stick, the dog, another person, you know.
12:55That's right.
12:56It's the AI. That's what's exciting inside these things.
12:59Absolutely.
12:59I can't wait to have a go.
13:01All right.
13:02Evolving from a social media tool and AI assistant, these glasses are now part of an accessibility push into mainstream
13:09technology.
13:10Using microphones, speakers, a camera and AI to provide information about the visual world.
13:15Okay, so I'll hold this.
13:17Usually the information the glasses give me would be for my ears only, through discrete speakers in the frames.
13:23But to help you understand what's happening, we've mic'd them up.
13:27Alongside the ability to listen to music, take photos of friends or ask AI about the weather, these glasses have
13:34two key visual AI features.
13:37The first of these is describing photos, just like with a phone, but much more practical.
13:43Hey Meta, what am I looking at?
13:46The glasses take a photo and the AI analyzes it against a vast amount of data to provide a description.
13:53You are looking at a tree in a building. The building is a large modern structure with a sleek glass
14:00exterior.
14:01It has a rectangular shape and appears to be several stories tall.
14:05The stills mode is available in the UK, but what is not available at home, at the point of filming
14:10this, is the second feature, Live AI.
14:14Start Live AI.
14:17Live AI session with video starting now.
14:21What am I looking at now?
14:26You are looking at a group of people, some of whom are holding cameras.
14:31Hi, they're filming me. Do they look like they know what they're doing?
14:37Yes, the people holding cameras appear to be professionals, as they are using high quality equipment and seem to be
14:42focused on their work.
14:45Well, there you go. He says you look professional.
14:50Maybe this meta-AI doesn't know what it's done about after all.
14:53In this mode, the camera and the microphones are constantly taking in information,
14:58which means that the AI can provide real-time descriptions in the moment and answer any of my queries about
15:05the world around me.
15:07It's pretty mind-blowing, really.
15:10There's a body of water in the distance.
15:13Any idea what that is?
15:16It's a serene waterfront area with a grassy field, trees and a body of water in the distance, possibly a
15:23lake or a bay.
15:25There we go.
15:36I can hear a plane.
15:39Yes, there's a plane flying overhead.
15:43You can see that?
15:47Yes, the plane is visible in the distance, flying across the clear blue sky.
15:56When you have a disability, you have to become dependent on other people.
15:59And dependency can be exhausting.
16:03Sometimes you feel like a bit of a burden and you don't want to ask people too many questions.
16:09You feel like you're using the time or you're relying on people too much.
16:12Whereas AI doesn't feel bothered and it's got as much time as it needs, doesn't it?
16:17This is the first application of AI in a piece of hardware, really, that is available for everyone to go
16:24and buy now.
16:25There isn't a phone or a computer or a tablet.
16:29Just by their very nature, they have a usage to people like myself that goes beyond what the general population
16:36would get out of them is incredible, really.
16:40Because I think 15 years ago, that wouldn't have been a consideration from a company, you know?
16:49Well, look, as exciting as this has been to get to try out the tech, and I love trying out
16:53tech, I couldn't give a hoot about flowers and bodies of water.
16:59I want to go vinyl shopping and have a cheeseburger.
17:04So let's go and do that.
17:06Perfect, let's go.
17:08I can't believe I said hoot. Who says hoot?
17:14Music is a passion of mine and has been since I was a kid.
17:17Flicking through vinyls just isn't something I can do.
17:20But with the hands-free form factor of these glasses and the built-in AI, it could be.
17:27I have no idea if this will even work, but it's worth a try.
17:31Now where's the rock section?
17:33Hey Meta, start live AI.
17:36Live AI session with video starting now.
17:39What album's this?
17:42This is the album The Wall by Pink Floyd, a classic rock album released in 1979.
17:48What album's this?
17:50This is the album The Wall by Pink Floyd, a classic rock album released in 1979.
17:55What about this one?
17:56This is the album The Wall by Pink Floyd, a classic rock album.
18:00It's got a little bit stuck on the thing.
18:03You gotta look down.
18:05Huh?
18:07Ah!
18:09Something's not working here. My money's on me.
18:12It seems I'm not quite getting the angles right.
18:15And what's this one?
18:17This is the album Paranoid by Black Sabbath.
18:20Everyone owns that.
18:23What's this one?
18:25This is the album Master of Reality by Black Sabbath.
18:28There we go.
18:30Alright, they aren't perfect, but I'm still learning and so is the AI.
18:34But the independence they could offer is definitely worth any teething problems.
18:40So far, I've been asking direct questions.
18:43But key to the glasses is their ability to understand context, like with dinner menus.
18:48Which could help me be less dependent on those around me, like the crew.
18:52Who for tonight are gonna be dependent on me and the glasses?
18:57Okay guys, listen, you've been reading everything to me, so I'm gonna order everybody's food.
19:03This is not an offer to pay for any of you.
19:06Okay?
19:07You'll pay for yourselves.
19:11Alright, let's get going.
19:14Hey Meta, what's on the menu in front of me?
19:18The categories on the menu appear to be starters, salads, soup, and clam house specialties.
19:25What salads are there?
19:28The salads listed on the menu are angry shrimp salad, clam house salad, mixed green salad.
19:35Okay, who wanted a salad?
19:36I'd like a salad, please.
19:37I'd like a salad too.
19:38Well, there's an arugula salad, a clam house salad, a mixed green salad, or a Caesar salad.
19:44I'm gonna go Caesar, please.
19:46One Caesar salad.
19:47Anybody else want a salad?
19:48No?
19:49No, I'll go for a burger.
19:50Meta, can you look at the menu and tell me if there are any burgers on here?
19:57Okay, there's a clam house burger with all the usual bits on it.
20:02You want that?
20:03I'll go for that, yeah.
20:04A cheese?
20:05Yes, please.
20:05So one of them, two salads, Caesar salads.
20:09You're having a burger?
20:10Yeah.
20:10I'm having a burger.
20:12And there you go.
20:15Mr. Chris.
20:16Thank you very much.
20:18Please, enjoy.
20:19The potential for these glasses in terms of accessibility is clear.
20:24But that is balanced around the accuracy of the information that AI gives.
20:28The experience I've had with them though makes me excited for what AI might be able to offer me in
20:33the future.
20:39One of the draws of coming to America is to try out something I've been dreaming of for years.
20:44A self-driving car.
20:47San Francisco was one of the first cities in the world to roll out autonomous vehicles for public rides and
20:53they are now available across the city.
20:55That's right.
20:57There are cars on the street here with no one behind the wheel.
21:01Which means you can be in a car totally alone.
21:04Something I've never been able to do.
21:11This morning I'm heading to a cafe to meet my guide to the driverless revolution.
21:16Today you're going to come with me to take a ride in a fully autonomous vehicle.
21:20You ready babe?
21:22Let's go.
21:22Jesse Walensky is a partially sighted influencer and an early adopter of autonomous cars who has collaborated with Waymo, a
21:30Google spin-off company who operate public rides in San Francisco.
21:36So your eyesight, you can still see something. You're not completely blind but it's on its way out.
21:41Yeah, yeah. It's degenerative. So right now I have like a very small amount of vision like kind of like
21:46I'm looking through a toilet paper roll.
21:48Yeah.
21:48And that amount of vision is fairly functional.
21:52Technology is such an enabler for us, isn't it?
21:55Oh yeah. No, I mean, I feel like there's so much technology that we rely on.
21:59How many times have you taken a self-driving car at the moment then?
22:02I've probably taken at least 200, 300 rides, maybe more.
22:08With yourself being able to see a little bit.
22:12Yes, yeah.
22:12You can find the car and you can, you know, you know where you are when you get out of
22:16the car.
22:16But for someone who's completely blind.
22:19Luckily, the app does tell you 700 feet to the right, 600 feet, 500 feet.
22:24So it starts like counting that down and letting you know.
22:26And also, of course, like we can use our screen readers and that can audio obviously give you that information.
22:32But also finding the car, there is a melody that you can play on the app and it'll start playing
22:39this light tone and you'll be able to hear it.
22:42And if you can't hear that because it's too loud, you can also honk the horn.
22:45We do not have anything like this in London.
22:47Just driverless cars.
22:49It feels futuristic to me.
22:52It's the present here.
22:53I mean, it is the future.
22:54It does feel very futuristic.
22:56It kind of feels unreal.
22:57Well, I'm going to find out today.
22:59I've got my phone here.
23:00I've downloaded the app.
23:01It's just like any other ride handling app, isn't it?
23:04Yep, yeah.
23:05Just like any other ride share app, you just type in your destination and then you're good to go.
23:08Up to 100.
23:09Your car can arrive in eight minutes.
23:10Okay.
23:11All right.
23:11Well, it says we can have one in eight minutes, Jessie.
23:14So, I'll order that now.
23:16All righty.
23:16Let's do it.
23:17And off we go.
23:19These cars are on the street for everyone to experience, but they have been designed with
23:23accessibility for blind and partially sighted people in mind.
23:27If you're happy to trust an AI robot driver, that is.
23:30All righty.
23:31It's coming up on our left.
23:32And you can see that, yeah?
23:33Yeah, yeah.
23:34I can see a little bit of the door.
23:36Should I slide across?
23:36Yes, you can slide across.
23:38All right.
23:39Press the start ride button and you're off.
23:41Well, let's do it.
23:43When it's driving, is the steering wheel turning like the invisible man's in the front?
23:48Exactly, yeah.
23:48The steering wheel is moving normally.
23:50It looks kind of crazy because, like, for me, I can see a little bit of the steering wheel.
23:54And so, yeah, it turns all over the place.
23:56So, I mean, listen, I know this is meant to drive like a normal car, but it feels like
24:00it's going, like, at a proper speed.
24:01Oh, yeah, yeah.
24:02No, it totally drives like a normal car.
24:05It feels normal.
24:06Again, they're speaking to you.
24:07And they'll tell you again, like, oh, we're turning onto this street.
24:10Yeah.
24:10Or we're going through a school zone.
24:12And that's why we're slowing down.
24:13So, that does make me feel very comfortable because it just talks to me.
24:16Yeah.
24:16No, I like that.
24:18I like to know what's happening.
24:20See?
24:20There you go.
24:23It's bizarre.
24:24I mean, I wish I could see this steering wheel turning.
24:26I think that I find the most, like, independence here.
24:29And I was never able to get a driver's license or anything like that.
24:33Yeah.
24:33That night when I hail the Waymos, I'm night blind, so I can't see anything.
24:38Yeah.
24:38I have to use the audio cues.
24:40So, I'm very, very confident that I'm able to use it even as I lose more and more vision.
24:45Oh.
24:46Yeah, this is me.
24:47Yes.
24:47I'm heading out.
24:49You're on your own now, bud.
24:50Ha, ha, ha, ha.
24:51Ha, ha, ha.
24:52This is what I've been waiting for.
24:59Ha, ha, ha, ha.
25:07Ha, ha, ha, ha.
25:07Ha, ha, ha, ha.
25:07Well, this is bananas.
25:13First time I've ever been in a car on my own.
25:16This is moving.
25:20Ha, ha, ha, ha.
25:21Ha, ha, ha, ha.
25:24Mm-hmm.
25:30Yes.
25:30Yes.
25:30Well, that's, well, this is not as bad as the other side of my own.
25:51yeah
25:54the novelty of it is
25:56a lot
26:04I don't know what I expected
26:06of course it feels like
26:07any regular journey but
26:10it's still insane
26:23you're here please make sure
26:25it's clear before exiting
26:29well thank you invisible robot
26:31driver I'll be off
26:35well there we go
26:38here you go Chris
26:39how's that
26:40it's frizzy magical really isn't it
26:45these cars are stacked
26:47with the latest technology
26:48and for a geek like me
26:50I'm curious to find out how it all works
26:52on the outskirts of the city
26:54just under the freeway
26:55lies the largest of Waymo's depots
26:57where the cars return themselves
26:59we're not zipping humans about
27:01from A to B
27:03David Marginis is one of the company's
27:05top product directors
27:06and he is going to help me understand
27:08what makes this car so special
27:11it's a fairly standard mid-sized SUV
27:15quite a stylish vehicle
27:16we've made some changes to the vehicle
27:18to enable its functionality
27:20across the entire vehicle
27:22there are 29 cameras
27:24and those can do things like
27:26reading text on signs
27:28or understanding which lights
27:29on say a traffic signal are on
27:31red or yellow or green
27:32along the top we have our main
27:35long distance lidar
27:36it says for light detection and ranging
27:38and we have this lidar down here
27:41which can cover this whole area
27:44down near the wheels
27:45so now I told you that you wouldn't be able to touch
27:47the spinning thing right here
27:49that must be really disappointing
27:51since you can't see it
27:51so I brought one
27:52I want to touch everything David
27:53yeah absolutely
27:54well we want to make sure that you can
27:57so I'm going to hand it to you
27:58okay
27:59right so now this part at the top
28:00in your left hand
28:01that's the part that's mounted to the car
28:03and then you're able to spin
28:04ah this part
28:05is it doing like a second revolution
28:08oh it does several times a second
28:09several times a second
28:10oh so it's going fast
28:10yeah oh yeah it's going quite fast
28:12it's literally getting updates
28:13yeah because we want
28:14yeah we want a high refresh rate
28:16so that we can see things like motion
28:17yeah
28:17and that's kind of the active piece
28:19right so that's sending out laser beams
28:21and then it's measuring how long it takes
28:24until it sees the reflection off of an object
28:26then it uses the speed of light
28:28to figure out how far away
28:29that thing is
28:31and by doing that
28:32it's able to build this 3D structure
28:34of the environment around it
28:36yeah
28:36and that's where the AI comes in
28:37to take those
28:38those
28:38the data it's reading back
28:41that's exactly right
28:42the AI model is taking the lidar points
28:44and the pixels from the camera
28:45and the radar returns
28:47and it's using all of those together
28:49to predict the behavior
28:50of all of the objects
28:52then we can figure out
28:53how to safely go
28:54and traverse
28:55you know the roads near
28:56near all of those
28:57not only carrying passengers
28:59but traveling alongside
29:00human driven cars
29:01the issue of how safe they are
29:03is a big one
29:04there have already been incidents
29:06of malfunctions
29:07and collisions
29:08involving autonomous vehicles
29:09which concern many about their use
29:11for me though
29:12trusting a computer in a car
29:14is not massively different
29:15from trusting a driver
29:16I don't know
29:17and I'm certainly excited
29:18by the freedom of being in a car
29:20on my own
29:21it won't be long
29:22till we have autonomous vehicles
29:23on the streets in Britain
29:25after the UK government
29:26changed rules
29:27to accelerate their rollout
29:28with trials scheduled
29:30for spring
29:302026
29:35my time in San Francisco
29:37is over
29:38and I'm off to the east coast
29:40specifically
29:41Boston
29:42I'm here because
29:43I've been invited
29:44to the world-renowned
29:45Massachusetts Institute
29:47of Technology
29:48to meet a tech inventor
29:49who is developing
29:50wearable robotics
29:52MIT has long been associated
29:54with developments
29:55in science and technology
29:56that have been integrated
29:58into everyday life
29:59computer passwords
30:00electronic spreadsheets
30:02GPS
30:02MIT
30:03played a part
30:04in all of them
30:08here we are
30:09second floor
30:10this is the floor
30:11in my lab
30:14Hugh Herr is a biophysicist
30:17who is a leading figure
30:18in the development
30:19of bionic limb technology
30:21here's my lab
30:22this is called
30:23the biomechatronics group
30:25the large volume
30:26really high ceilings
30:28it's a mess
30:29to be honest
30:31and there's students
30:32working in just robots
30:33and 3D printers
30:34and cameras
30:35all over the place
30:36so the focus
30:37of this lab
30:38is we develop robots
30:40that attach to humans
30:41so we're obsessed
30:42with limbs
30:43we're obsessed
30:44with arms and legs
30:45so arms
30:46we want to enhance
30:47people's abilities
30:48to manipulate objects
30:49with legs
30:50we want to enhance
30:50people's ability
30:51to run, jump, walk
30:53and so on
30:54and we not only focus
30:56on persons
30:56with some type
30:57of limb condition
30:58but also persons
30:59with completely
31:00quote unquote
31:00normal limbs
31:01and obviously
31:02when you're talking
31:03about you know
31:03people with problems
31:05with limbs
31:05you've lost your legs
31:06but I gained 8
31:07my closet has lots
31:09of artificial limbs
31:11so I'm like
31:12I've moved up
31:12in the world
31:13I was in a mountain
31:14climbing accident
31:15suffered frostbite
31:16to my lower legs
31:17right
31:17my biological limbs
31:19were amputated
31:20just below the knee
31:21right
31:21and I was fitted
31:22with artificial limbs
31:23and really not happy
31:25at the time
31:26at how low tech
31:27they were
31:27wooden blocks
31:28with some foam
31:29like I'm not exaggerating
31:31yeah
31:32and I said to myself
31:33you've got to be kidding me
31:34this is what exists
31:36in the age
31:37of space flight
31:38and the internet
31:39are you kidding me
31:39yeah yeah yeah
31:40so I really
31:41at that time
31:41I dedicated my life
31:43to advancing technologies
31:46half the lab
31:47we're trying
31:48to mitigate disability
31:49so persons
31:51that have
31:51a limb amputation
31:53we do bionic
31:54reconstructions
31:55or a person
31:56that suffered
31:56a spinal cord injury
31:57and has paralysis
31:58we build these
31:59smart motorized
32:01exoskeletons
32:02or we stimulate
32:03the muscles
32:03to restore movement
32:04and then
32:05the other half
32:06of the lab
32:06is augmentation
32:07extending human capability
32:09beyond innate
32:09physiological levels
32:10from the early
32:11development
32:12of his own
32:13prosthetic limbs
32:13and his work
32:14with disability
32:15Hugh's lab
32:16has now moved
32:16into the mainstream
32:17with robotic systems
32:19that everyone
32:19can wear
32:20to improve mobility
32:21including me
32:23in front of you
32:24here is a
32:25mysterious black box
32:27with an exoskeleton
32:28we're actually
32:29the first group
32:30in the world
32:31to show that
32:32we can augment
32:33human movement
32:34with a leg exoskeleton
32:35so today you're
32:36going to try
32:37this really cool
32:38hardware
32:38I'm going to try it
32:39yep
32:39that will put energy
32:41in your step
32:42it's super fun
32:42we describe these
32:43as an e-bike
32:45for legs
32:45you see
32:46okay
32:46let's have a go
32:47cool
32:47absolutely
32:49I'm excited
32:50by this
32:50yeah
32:51I think you'll
32:52love it
32:52the future
32:54right
32:56these exo boots
32:57are designed
32:58to make walking
32:59and running
32:59easier for everybody
33:00meaning there are
33:02use cases
33:02in daily activities
33:03and rehabilitation
33:07just walk normally
33:09so they're in a
33:10transparent mode
33:12so these are learning
33:13from the way I walk
33:14exactly
33:16collecting data
33:16developing a model
33:17for you
33:18and is it using
33:19AI for that
33:20some yeah
33:21and how do I know
33:22when it's turned itself on
33:23it feels like it's
33:24doing something
33:25different now
33:25well maybe
33:26you feeling energy
33:28you're walking faster
33:33oh my goodness
33:34okay now we're
33:36cooking on gas
33:38I can barely
33:40keep up with you
33:44it feels like
33:45there's something
33:45under me foot
33:46but it's
33:47it's the thing
33:47on the side
33:48yeah
33:49almost contracting
33:50and pulling me foot up
33:51which is a motor
33:52and a transmission
33:53system
33:53that's applying
33:54a torque
33:55a lot of mechanical
33:56power
33:56about your ankle joint
33:57yeah
33:58so it's an equivalent
33:59mechanical action
34:01as your calf muscle
34:02so it's a robotic
34:03calf muscle
34:03and can we clear a space
34:05and we just do a walk
34:05down there
34:06and back on my arm
34:06with these
34:07let's go this way
34:08we'll turn you around
34:09yeah yeah
34:09you shout stop
34:10if there's a balcony
34:11or an open window
34:12okay
34:14okay to your right
34:15go to your right
34:16good
34:16you're good
34:23beautiful
34:24give us a shout
34:25come to me
34:26I'm coming
34:28you
34:31that's great
34:31I mean
34:32what a bizarre sensation
34:34it's quite remarkable
34:35the sensation
34:37you look like you're
34:39starting to dance
34:40huh
34:40are you starting to dance
34:41I spent four months
34:42dancing at the end of last year
34:44I find myself just doing little pirouettes
34:47at home these days
34:48but this is
34:49this is
34:50this is the future
34:51this is what you see
34:52the future of human mobility
34:53it's exciting
34:54it's exciting that this is
34:55this is where the future's going
34:59for me
35:00I would love this to be matched up
35:02with something that allowed me to
35:05navigate myself as well
35:06and solve a problem that I have
35:08which is getting around
35:10independence
35:10I think there's always something to be said
35:13for matching technologies together
35:16to solve problems that maybe people
35:18people hadn't considered when they developed them
35:19it's exciting
35:21and this is just the start of it
35:24pioneering tech that can help outside the body
35:26is one thing
35:27but there is a large field of work
35:29looking at using tech inside the body
35:31there have already been trials of chips
35:33that can be implanted
35:34to treat specific conditions
35:35including sight loss
35:37where they have enabled people
35:38to regain a small amount of sight
35:39which is something that I wouldn't consider yet
35:43there is a world where technology
35:45could restore eyesight
35:46but I think it's one of those things
35:48that it would have to be
35:50it would have to be good enough
35:52to be life changing
35:54it would have to be
35:56enough to provide true independence
36:00make a real difference
36:03when you're in the last dregs of your eyesight
36:06you know you're always trying to cope with something
36:08that isn't good enough anymore
36:09if you were to say
36:10do you want enough sight back that I had when I was 20
36:13no not really no
36:14because you know
36:16having to depend on a small amount of eyesight
36:20can be more problematic than it's worth
36:23here at MIT they have made a breakthrough
36:26that could change healthcare for all of us
36:28led by Professor Dablina Sarkar
36:30a transdisciplinary innovator
36:32they are bridging the gap between nanotechnology and synthetic biology
36:37at the nano cybernetic biotrek lab
36:40what a name
36:41Dablina and her team are using the very latest in nanotechnology
36:45to do something only previously conceived of in science fiction movies
36:49here they are developing minuscule devices
36:53that are smaller than a human cell
36:55and invisible to the naked eye
36:57the aim is to inject them into the body
36:59to treat various conditions
37:00without the need for surgery
37:02it's the coolest name for a lab first of all
37:05oh thank you so much
37:06nano means small
37:07cybernetic means chips that work with the human body
37:10and biotrek I'm guessing means they travel inside the body
37:14am I close?
37:15oh you are very very close
37:18so you are probably one of the first person to you know get the name like right
37:24I've been practicing it outside for three hours
37:29so yeah nano means small
37:31specifically it means nanometre
37:34so if we take a strand of hair and divide the thickness 10,000 times
37:39a 10,000th of a hair
37:41very very tiny things which you cannot see with naked eye
37:44wow I mean so this is the future really isn't it
37:47yeah actually the goal of my lab is to fuse this nano electronics with biology for healthcare
37:56specifically for to reduce human suffering and treat diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's
38:05the hope is that the devices the bleeder is creating can be targeted to specific parts of the body
38:11traveling through the bloodstream and implanting themselves where needed
38:15then tuning the body's electrical signals to restore the function of damaged cells
38:19and potentially slow the spread of disease
38:22so far it's only been tested in animals
38:25but the possibilities of this tech are revolutionary
38:29our first thing that we are doing is treat diseases related to the brain
38:35brain cancer for example what we have shown in our animal work is that by precisely modulating
38:42bioelectricity in the tumor environment you can actually completely hold the growth of tumor
38:48i want to scale this technology and get it to clinic i know as soon as possible but you are
38:53also
38:54being doing it like very responsibly as well we really want to make sure that you know when you
39:00go to clinical trials you know if you're if it's something that can really work right yeah now it's
39:07time really to scale it up yeah do the implementation uh like get the fd approval so that we can
39:14start the
39:14clinical trials we believe in the next three years three years yeah this is this is a a documentary in
39:21itself isn't it while her early work has related to cancers another area that dablina is researching
39:27is using these nanodevices to treat sight loss i've got an eye condition a disease so the the retinal cells
39:35die off slowly over time so these nano chips that you're creating would they almost be something
39:45that would replace photo cells in the eye or you're talking about my condition yeah absolutely because
39:55these devices um can harness this light that falls on the eye they can convert it into electrical signals
40:05which can be sent to the brain so though those specific cells are destroyed we can actually send
40:11the information a person would otherwise see to the brain so it totally bypass those degraded cells
40:18it's possible that a person can still get uh the vision back even when those cells have been destroyed
40:27each of these devices or chips would almost individually replace
40:32photoreceptor cells so a lot of them would be sent in to attach to a retina yeah so the resolution
40:41we
40:41can get is in fact even better than what a person with eyesight can uh you know resolve so you're
40:49saying
40:49not only you reckon at some point in the future you could restore my vision but you could make my
40:55sight
40:56better than everybody else exactly it can augment humans beyond what biology provides and you can do
41:02other things like you can add night vision for example
41:07it does sound like crazy science fiction though it's like to say we've got devices 10 000 the size of
41:14the
41:15width of a human hair you can put in the body it knows where it's going it knows what it's
41:20doing when it
41:21gets there yeah and it can fix problems make you see make you think better cure diseases
41:28Dublina and her team are yet to undertake human trials but if they can show the same encouraging
41:33results they did in their animal work then this could be game changing not just for me but for all
41:39of us and that is something i did not expect to find when i set out i've always been of
41:44the opinion
41:44that if you're going to restore sight you need to do it biologically because you're restricted by
41:50technology you know you you you don't want something that's going to be obsolete um but i'd never
41:55really considered that technology could be used on a cellular level um so it's it's it's something i'd never
42:04considered in that regard before i i came into this thing it was the far future and it's not as
42:10far as
42:10we thought is it it's kind of just around the corner we've looked at everything that's there at
42:19the minute and and what we are on the cusp of and the thing about all of this technology it's
42:24an enabler
42:25isn't it it gives you independence and autonomy for me it makes the differences of disabilities so much
42:32smaller and if you can achieve things and do things on your own and when i say on your own
42:37the extension
42:38of ai and computers counters on your own then that's a good thing isn't it you excited about
42:46the possibilities of the future i mean yeah let's do another documentary and we'll come here and um
42:51we'll let her inject me high resolution night vision and then i'll kick your ass at laser quest
42:59if you still thought that your smartphone was just for taking photographs or sending texts then you
43:03haven't been paying attention explore more with the open university by scanning the qr code that is on
43:09your screen now or by visiting connect.open.ac.uk forward slash seeing into the future where you can
43:17learn about how existing smartphone features designed for greater accessibility can benefit everybody
43:35so
43:43you
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