Speaker A
[Music] Welcome to Tech Today. This week it's National Science and Engineering Week, so to celebrate we have Jed, our science correspondent, to give us a roundup of new inventions.
Explore innovative inventions from wing suits to deep-sea submarines and sign language gloves in this National Science and Engineering Week roundup.
Key Takeaways
- Innovations span from recreational to highly practical and life-improving technologies.
- Technology can address environmental and social challenges, such as clean water and communication barriers.
- Exploration and scientific curiosity remain vital for understanding our planet.
- Creative inventions can also enhance everyday life and artistic expression.
- Investment and support are crucial for bringing promising inventions to market.
Summary
- Introduction to National Science and Engineering Week with science correspondent Jed.
- Modern wing suits and the first World Championship held in China, with prices dropping.
- Solar water distiller by Gabrielle Diamonte for producing clean drinking water in arid regions.
- Enable Talk gloves invented by Ukrainian students to translate sign language into spoken language.
- James Cameron's solo deep-sea dive in the Challenger submarine to explore the ocean's deepest point.
- MIT students' invention to coat bottles for easy dispensing of viscous products like ketchup or mustard.
- A Dutch artist's creation of indoor clouds as a unique artistic invention.
- Call for investment to help produce the solar water distiller at scale.
- Highlight of the importance of ocean exploration and innovative communication aids.
- Closing remarks encouraging viewers to stay curious and engaged with science.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Oh yes, I've got some very interesting things to tell you about today, starting with a fun one: wing suits. Those suits that look like bats and allow people to fly or glide at least. They're the ultimate in cool, but they're not very new, are they?
Speaker A
Well, no, but the modern ones are better than ever, and last October was the first ever World Championship in China. The price is coming down too. Now you can buy one for six hundred to two thousand dollars. It's still too expensive for me, but I suppose it'll keep coming down.
Speaker A
Okay, what about useful new inventions? There are lots of those. There's a new solar water distiller created by Gabrielle Diamonte, aimed at parts of the world where it's hard to get clean drinking water. You pour in salty water
Speaker A
and let the sun do the work for a few hours. Then, hey presto, you have clean water. It's a very simple device and fairly cheap to produce. Can I hear some doubts in your voice? Well, they still need help with
Speaker A
investment to start producing the distiller properly, so if anyone out there has money to invest in a great product, absolutely get in touch with the designers. Another useful invention, which it would be good to see in production, are Enable Talk gloves.
Speaker A
These were invented by some Ukrainian students to allow people with speech and hearing impairments to communicate with people who don't understand sign language. The gloves use sensors to translate sign language into text, then into spoken language using a smartphone. A brilliant
Speaker A
invention. Yes, that could benefit thousands of people. Another useful invention comes from a surprising source: James Cameron, the film director, the Titanic director, the very same. Cameron was part of a team headed by engineer Ron Allen which designed the deep-sea
Speaker A
Challenger submarine capable of descending to the lowest parts of the sea, 10 kilometers down. Last year Cameron went down to the bottom of Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the sea in the world. He was the first person to do a solo dive there, and
Speaker A
he stayed for three hours, the longest time so far. That sounds impressive. Yes, we know so little about what's at the bottom of the ocean, and it's important to find out more. Okay, so now for something useful in a
Speaker A
different way. You know that feeling when you're trying to get tomato ketchup out of the bottle and it won't come out, but you're sure there's lots more in there?
Speaker A
Yeah, of course, it's really annoying. Well, a team of students at MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have come up with a new product that you use to coat a glass or plastic bottle, and then what's inside, hair gel or mustard or whatever, comes out really easily.
Speaker A
Oh, so it saves hours of frustration trying to get stuff out of bottles. Exactly. Right, now for my favorite invention. This is really silly, but I love it. It's a way of producing clouds indoors. Clouds? Yes, a Dutch artist has come up with a way of forming perfect small
Speaker A
white clouds inside. They're just beautiful. I don't think you can do it yourself at home yet though. I don't think I'd want to. Oh, you would if you'd seen the photos. They're amazing. Okay, Jed, thanks for that. We'll leave you
Speaker A
with your head in the clouds and see you again next week.
Topics:wing suitssolar water distillerEnable Talk glovesJames Camerondeep-sea explorationMIT inventionsindoor cloudsNational Science and Engineering Weektechnology innovationsscience inventions
