Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin is excited by the "gorgeous" folding iPhone Duo, although a little daunted by the price. He's also impressed by new features on the Apple watch. Scientists have reproduced the sound, so they believe, of a Jurassic forest using fossils. There's a way of detecting fake alcohol, which can be very dangerous. An app claims to predict the onset of flu or Covid by listening to you coughing at night. A weird hotel in Tokyo uses only robot staff, including talking velociraptors. It is somewhat further ahead than the latest robot innovations in UK hotels. 3D-printed ultrasounds will let blind parents experience their unborn children. And the crowd-funded Mezmodrop fires an aluminium collar into the air which drops back down onto the spike.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin explains how difficult it will be to flag down the new self-driving taxis on London streets. However, you can now get a mobile TV that you can summon. Which? managed to get a fake listing for 10, Downing Street on booking.com. Scientists have worked out how to use WiFi to identify people without cameras. A new robot designed for household tasks is incredibly slow. A crowd-funded solar bike has the panels inside both wheels. Nasa has developed 3D-printed biscuits made of plastic, but the scientists who've developed them aren't allowed to taste them. And the Science Museum is about to host an attempt by Star Trek fans for the largest simultaneous Vulcan salute.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin discovers that balcony solar panels, while a good idea, don't actually appear to be on sale anywhere. He explains how Meta will change its safety limitations for children worldwide after settling a lawsuit against it for $17bn. Digger drivers will soon be able to train on video simulators. There are air-conditioned jackets for dogs. A 3D-printed banjo may not tempt the likes of world-class players like Bela Fleck. The Tokyo-Osaka bullet train is to offer an overnight stop, while a sightseeing bus in Tokyo now has sushi on offer on a conveyor belt. Take care if a car park suggests you pay by QR code. And an AI doctors' receptionist in Yorkshire unfortunately can't understand a Yorkshire accent.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin is intrigued by top designer Jony Ive's portable smart speaker for OpenAI, apparently a metal doughnut with moving parts but not available until next year. Another innovative speaker claims to have "a world inside" with a 3D environment you can view. 29 US states are suing Meta. There's a weird gimbal-mounted robot phone that will ogle bystanders and answer "yes or no" questions. You can get a smartphone that you can fix yourself or a cheap camera with no proper viewfinder. A devil robot has been designed to deal with California wildfires. The Japanese have invented a human washing machine. And visitors to one London hotel can get free entry to see the Bayeux Tapestry.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin says that although Meta sold 7m pairs of their smart glasses last year, there's a massive backlash against them. The AI Claude is to have readable watermarks embedded so that you can tell if it was used or not. A human ChatGPT has had to suspend operations because he proved too popular. An undersea cable has been forced to relocate by Harry Potter fans. There are shirts with built-in fans though Steve was more impressed with a rechargeable Ali Express fan costing a fiver or less. He was not convinced by a crowdfunded, self-playing guitar, reckoning that it was taking the complexity of 3D printing too far.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin is not inclined to get Philips new high-tech toothbrush, showing the teeth you've missed. He's more impressed by a font that can be read by humans but not by AI. Google Maps introduced a new feature offering AI overlays but didn't reckon with the mischievousness of the public so it's been withdrawn. Robotaxis have a licence to operate in London but there must be a driver ready to take over, unlike Zoox robotaxis which are expanding beyond Las Vegas in the US. There's a method of hacking the digital firewalls of modern cars. Also a way of navigating a computer using your tongue. Opera lovers at the Bayreuth Festival booed the AI visuals. And if you find yourself spending too much online, try the virtual shopping experience at dopamine-shop.com where all manner of products can be delivered "to your imagination".
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin says that plans for a humanoid robot teacher in New York have been cancelled. In several US state, schools are buying drones designed to combat school shootings. If you store your bike inside, a Flatbike could be useful, with handlebars and pedals that don't stick out. The Cordalock could be the answer to all those bicycle wheels left attached to bike stands. The Chip compact electric car could be a bargain if it does all its makers say it will. There's a crowd-funded tethered drone to provide light outside when camping that might not be properly thought out but more interesting is a gadget to use old tablets to pimp up your car dashboard display. And a Canadian university has found a way of 3D printing contact lenses.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Despite the warm weather, Steve Caplin is not tempted by the Japanese human fridge in which overheated people can cool down for a mere £7,000. Nor is he inclined to shell out for the first mass-produced humanoid robot, a Chinese product, which looks either like something from a Kpop band or a sex doll. And while he is impressed by the video of an invisible drone, he wonders if they've considered how to use a camera with it. Cyborg cockroaches can now go underwater wearing a diving suit. ChatGPT has escaped from a sandbox and broken into a rival's system. There's a puzzling crowdfunded folding pry bar that goes ting and can open bottles while a podcast microphone is more impressive. Amazon Web Services has been glitchy and charging small users upwards of £5 billion. And the University of Sheffield is trying to grow salad, mustard, tomatoes and the like half a mile down an old coal mine.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin laments the passing of Long Wave radio. He can't wait while a new robot makes a bed so slowly and is nervous about a pair of robots performing live surgery. British Airways is to use bionic baggage handlers. Scientists can now produce lab-grown sperm in artificial testicles taken from skin cells. A French company is producing portable disaster-proof shelters while an American one will lower your home into the ground in the event of a catastrophe. There's a robot which will clean your barbecue. And it turns out robots are much better at proving they are human than humans are.
Guests: Steve Caplin
Published:
Original Broadcast: Gadgets and Gizmos
Steve Caplin is so amazed to discover that you can watch World Cup matches on BBC in 3D, it has almost made him keen on football. WhatsApp is soon to allow user names but you might need to get in quickly to reserve the one you want. Steve visited an Amazon fulfilment centre (a warehouse to the rest of us) and was amazed at what he saw. Delivery robots will soon be allowed throughout the UK, but it will need a change in the 1835 Highways Act forbidding "carriages" on the pavement. Commodore have made a retro flip phone. Dead lithium batteries can soon be resuscitated. Scout badges include the likes of digital comms and content creation. The BBFC are using AI to help classify films.
Guests: Steve Caplin
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