1 00:00:01,533 --> 00:00:03,933 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:05,666 --> 00:00:10,000 NARRATOR: We live in a built world; 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:11,833 engineering and technology, 4 00:00:11,833 --> 00:00:15,100 built upon innovations and inventions, 5 00:00:15,100 --> 00:00:17,433 stretching back thousands of years. 6 00:00:17,433 --> 00:00:20,133 Some of our creations, like machines, 7 00:00:20,133 --> 00:00:22,033 boost our bodies' abilities. 8 00:00:22,033 --> 00:00:25,566 Others help us reach outside our comfort zones. 9 00:00:25,566 --> 00:00:29,200 We have left an indelible mark on the planet 10 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:31,700 and now the time has come 11 00:00:31,700 --> 00:00:35,400 to use our skills to make a better world. 12 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,266 Like turbo-charging the ancient sling. 13 00:00:38,266 --> 00:00:41,600 JONATHAN YANEY: The idea is 50,000 years old. 14 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:43,766 NARRATOR: To launch satellites in a way 15 00:00:43,766 --> 00:00:46,200 we've never done before. 16 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:48,700 A device that boosts our sense of touch 17 00:00:48,700 --> 00:00:50,533 to share a dance. 18 00:00:50,533 --> 00:00:52,600 PAUL GALANDO: I felt I was moving along with you. 19 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:53,933 PATRICK PARISEAU: Begin. 20 00:00:53,933 --> 00:00:56,133 NARRATOR: Or aid in movement. 21 00:00:56,133 --> 00:01:00,433 A machine to boost a human experience 22 00:01:00,433 --> 00:01:03,033 and inspire a new generation. 23 00:01:03,033 --> 00:01:04,866 Oh my gosh, so good. 24 00:01:04,866 --> 00:01:07,433 NARRATOR: Or even recreating a sense... 25 00:01:07,433 --> 00:01:09,666 Good to go. 26 00:01:09,666 --> 00:01:10,933 NARRATOR: ...to replace something that was lost. 27 00:01:10,933 --> 00:01:12,066 BRIAN BUSSARD: That was the first time in years 28 00:01:12,066 --> 00:01:13,533 that I had a sensation of vision. 29 00:01:13,533 --> 00:01:16,200 (whirring) 30 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:19,600 NARRATOR: "Building Stuff! Boost It!," 31 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,333 right now on "NOVA." 32 00:01:22,633 --> 00:01:27,666 ♪ ♪ 33 00:01:31,933 --> 00:01:35,966 ANNOUNCER: Major funding for "NOVA" is provided by the following: 34 00:01:53,966 --> 00:01:55,600 ♪ ♪ 35 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:58,900 NARRATOR: Earth is home to more than eight billion people, 36 00:01:58,900 --> 00:02:02,133 living in a world full of human invention. 37 00:02:02,133 --> 00:02:04,100 ADAM STELTZNER: Certainly in our modern world, 38 00:02:04,100 --> 00:02:06,433 we don't really appreciate 39 00:02:06,433 --> 00:02:09,566 how saturated with engineering it is. 40 00:02:09,566 --> 00:02:12,600 Every pen you pick up to write something with 41 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:13,600 has been engineered. 42 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:15,333 The paper on which you write 43 00:02:15,333 --> 00:02:16,833 has been engineered. 44 00:02:16,833 --> 00:02:18,466 ♪ ♪ 45 00:02:18,466 --> 00:02:22,033 FRANCISCO VALERO-CUEVAS: Humans are engineers at heart. 46 00:02:22,033 --> 00:02:26,400 You see a problem and then you identify a solution. 47 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,266 And we've been doing that forever. 48 00:02:28,266 --> 00:02:30,233 NARRATOR: This thing we call engineering... 49 00:02:30,233 --> 00:02:31,966 what is it? 50 00:02:31,966 --> 00:02:34,766 Where does this impulse to make things come from? 51 00:02:34,766 --> 00:02:36,866 ♪ ♪ 52 00:02:36,866 --> 00:02:40,566 Anthropologists tell us that the roots of invention 53 00:02:40,566 --> 00:02:43,700 reach deeper into our past than we ever imagined. 54 00:02:45,500 --> 00:02:47,300 According to our best records, 55 00:02:47,300 --> 00:02:50,500 some 3.3 million years ago 56 00:02:50,500 --> 00:02:51,700 our ancestors figured out 57 00:02:51,700 --> 00:02:54,700 how to sharpen a certain kind of rock. 58 00:02:54,700 --> 00:02:57,200 Creating a tool for cutting, 59 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,000 much better than our teeth. 60 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,633 Boosting the chances for survival. 61 00:03:02,633 --> 00:03:03,800 KENNETH HARRIS II: Humans dating 62 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:05,733 way, way back in time 63 00:03:05,733 --> 00:03:09,166 have been inventing things that help efficiency. 64 00:03:09,166 --> 00:03:11,733 They help their survival, that help drive them forward 65 00:03:11,733 --> 00:03:14,000 based on the needs of that time. 66 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:15,133 MARIA YANG: It's an innate 67 00:03:15,133 --> 00:03:17,266 desire to make things better 68 00:03:17,266 --> 00:03:18,466 through making tools. 69 00:03:18,466 --> 00:03:23,133 ♪ ♪ 70 00:03:25,700 --> 00:03:27,333 NARRATOR: And ever since, 71 00:03:27,333 --> 00:03:30,733 one idea has led to another. 72 00:03:30,733 --> 00:03:34,200 ♪ ♪ 73 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,200 And every invention around us today 74 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,800 can be traced back to those first tools... 75 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:45,200 ♪ ♪ 76 00:03:48,633 --> 00:03:50,766 MAN: We have a cutoff off at T-minus 30 seconds. 77 00:03:52,733 --> 00:03:54,166 NARRATOR: Since the 1950s, 78 00:03:54,166 --> 00:03:57,500 rockets have been our go-to workhorse 79 00:03:57,500 --> 00:03:59,733 for sending people and payloads into orbit. 80 00:03:59,733 --> 00:04:03,933 (rocket engines roaring) 81 00:04:03,933 --> 00:04:06,633 They are some of the most complex machines ever built; 82 00:04:06,633 --> 00:04:10,666 the ultimate boost into the sky. 83 00:04:10,666 --> 00:04:12,900 But they aren't exactly new. 84 00:04:13,900 --> 00:04:16,400 Even modern rockets have historic roots, 85 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:18,466 going back in time. 86 00:04:18,466 --> 00:04:19,900 Some ancient projectiles 87 00:04:19,900 --> 00:04:22,266 were powered by chemical explosives 88 00:04:22,266 --> 00:04:23,866 like gunpowder. 89 00:04:23,866 --> 00:04:28,100 In 1232, Chinese soldiers repelled a Mongol army 90 00:04:28,100 --> 00:04:29,800 using flaming arrows-- 91 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:33,500 likely propelled by simple rockets. 92 00:04:33,500 --> 00:04:36,366 ♪ ♪ 93 00:04:36,366 --> 00:04:39,366 Today, rockets are far more powerful. 94 00:04:39,366 --> 00:04:42,066 Able to send humans to the moon 95 00:04:42,066 --> 00:04:43,533 and the International Space Station. 96 00:04:43,533 --> 00:04:44,800 MAN: Solid rocket ignition. 97 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:48,000 NARRATOR: But rockets have limitations... 98 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:49,600 STELTZNER: Putting things in orbit is hard. 99 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:52,100 It takes a lot of energy. 100 00:04:52,100 --> 00:04:54,400 Rockets are hard. 101 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:55,966 They take a lot of energy. 102 00:04:55,966 --> 00:04:57,966 Basically the amount of fuel required 103 00:04:58,700 --> 00:05:00,600 for rockets to reach, 104 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:02,800 you know, the outer reach of our atmosphere 105 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,733 is the limiting factor. 106 00:05:05,733 --> 00:05:09,266 YANEY: Something like 92, 93% of the mass 107 00:05:09,266 --> 00:05:12,800 of any rocket is, is fuel; 108 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,766 leaving about 5% or 6% for the actual structure 109 00:05:15,766 --> 00:05:17,600 and only 2% for the payload. 110 00:05:19,766 --> 00:05:20,766 HARRIS II: There is a 111 00:05:20,766 --> 00:05:22,700 high demand... (chuckles) 112 00:05:22,700 --> 00:05:24,066 ...to put things into space, 113 00:05:24,066 --> 00:05:26,466 but there are limited means 114 00:05:26,466 --> 00:05:27,466 of getting it there. 115 00:05:27,466 --> 00:05:28,766 ♪ ♪ 116 00:05:28,766 --> 00:05:30,466 NARRATOR: But that may soon change. 117 00:05:30,466 --> 00:05:33,700 If engineers at a company called SpinLaunch 118 00:05:34,666 --> 00:05:35,933 can make the dream imagined 119 00:05:35,933 --> 00:05:38,666 in this promotional video a reality. 120 00:05:38,666 --> 00:05:42,200 YANEY: SpinLaunch is a highly unique way to get to space. 121 00:05:44,133 --> 00:05:45,233 The idea itself 122 00:05:45,233 --> 00:05:48,066 goes back to caveman times. 123 00:05:48,066 --> 00:05:49,800 It's a sling. 124 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,566 NARRATOR: A sling is an ancient hunter's weapon. 125 00:05:52,566 --> 00:05:55,333 It's an improvement on the arm and shoulder's ability 126 00:05:55,333 --> 00:05:57,000 to throw a stone. 127 00:05:58,966 --> 00:06:02,400 Archeologists have found ancient evidence of slings; 128 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,566 some at least 12,000 years old. 129 00:06:06,933 --> 00:06:11,433 For Jonathan Yaney, the sling is an inspiration. 130 00:06:11,433 --> 00:06:12,766 YANEY: It rotates. 131 00:06:12,766 --> 00:06:13,966 And at the end of a rotational element, 132 00:06:13,966 --> 00:06:16,266 you have really, really high speed. 133 00:06:17,266 --> 00:06:21,166 NARRATOR: So Jonathan embraced a radical idea: 134 00:06:21,166 --> 00:06:24,766 use that speed to launch a spacecraft into orbit. 135 00:06:24,766 --> 00:06:25,766 MABRY: A sling is something 136 00:06:25,766 --> 00:06:27,133 you spin around, 137 00:06:27,133 --> 00:06:29,600 and basically the more you can spin it, 138 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:30,766 the more force you can 139 00:06:30,766 --> 00:06:32,333 basically put on the release 140 00:06:32,333 --> 00:06:33,333 of whatever you're slinging out. 141 00:06:33,333 --> 00:06:36,200 But if you scale this up, 142 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:38,866 that same principle has the ability 143 00:06:38,866 --> 00:06:41,700 to launch a rocket into orbit. 144 00:06:41,700 --> 00:06:42,733 That's incredible. 145 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,233 NARRATOR: That idea has been met with skepticism, 146 00:06:47,233 --> 00:06:50,300 so the SpinLaunch team has much to prove. 147 00:06:50,300 --> 00:06:51,966 DAVID WRENN: It is one of those ideas 148 00:06:51,966 --> 00:06:53,866 that just sounds too crazy. 149 00:06:53,866 --> 00:06:55,800 I think it's good to look at things, 150 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,366 from a place of skepticism, at the outset. 151 00:06:58,366 --> 00:06:59,933 But then you have to be objective 152 00:06:59,933 --> 00:07:01,700 about looking at, well, 153 00:07:01,700 --> 00:07:03,033 what are the underlying physics 154 00:07:03,033 --> 00:07:04,666   and what might really be possible? 155 00:07:06,666 --> 00:07:08,766 NARRATOR: The SpinLaunch team is using electricity 156 00:07:08,766 --> 00:07:11,500 to generate rotational speed, 157 00:07:11,500 --> 00:07:13,533 faster than the speed of sound. 158 00:07:13,533 --> 00:07:15,466 The proposed payload-- 159 00:07:15,466 --> 00:07:18,933 a satellite encased in a bullet-shaped shell-- 160 00:07:18,933 --> 00:07:22,733 must withstand up to 10,000 Gs, or 10,000 times 161 00:07:22,733 --> 00:07:24,466 the force of Earth's gravity, 162 00:07:24,466 --> 00:07:26,033 until it is released... 163 00:07:27,933 --> 00:07:29,666 ...at just the right moment. 164 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,000 Once the aeroshell gets around 40 miles up, 165 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:35,866 the casing would separate 166 00:07:35,866 --> 00:07:38,000 to allow two small rocket engines 167 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:39,533 to propel the payload 168 00:07:39,533 --> 00:07:43,100 the rest of the way to low Earth orbit. 169 00:07:43,100 --> 00:07:45,633 MABRY: The arm itself that's actually spinning around 170 00:07:45,633 --> 00:07:46,766 needs to be able to withstand it 171 00:07:46,766 --> 00:07:48,400 to a certain degree as well. 172 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:49,833 So you have a need 173 00:07:49,833 --> 00:07:52,100 to not only make sure that it is structurally sound, 174 00:07:52,100 --> 00:07:54,733 but there needs to be precision in the timing 175 00:07:54,733 --> 00:07:57,700 in the programming of that actual release point. 176 00:07:58,700 --> 00:08:01,733 YANEY: I don't have any classical training as an engineer. 177 00:08:01,733 --> 00:08:03,366 I self-educate. 178 00:08:03,366 --> 00:08:05,500 I, I read a lot of books... (chuckles) 179 00:08:05,500 --> 00:08:07,366 ...lots of books, and then I read them again 180 00:08:07,366 --> 00:08:09,166 because I didn't really understand them the first time. 181 00:08:09,166 --> 00:08:10,966 I became an engineer along the way. 182 00:08:12,633 --> 00:08:14,100 NARRATOR: The team's first goal 183 00:08:14,100 --> 00:08:16,500 was to build a proof of concept 184 00:08:16,500 --> 00:08:20,033 mass accelerator at one-eighth scale, 185 00:08:20,033 --> 00:08:23,533 to validate the key technologies and use it as a test bed 186 00:08:23,533 --> 00:08:27,000 to spin potential space-bound components 187 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,700 at many times the force of Earth's gravity. 188 00:08:31,766 --> 00:08:34,400 Also known as, as g-forces. 189 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:38,566 And "g" represents one unit of Earth gravity. 190 00:08:38,566 --> 00:08:40,933 When a pilot pulls up 191 00:08:40,933 --> 00:08:43,733 on the yoke of their jet and they make a hard turn, 192 00:08:43,733 --> 00:08:47,900 they'll feel the equivalent of multiple times' Earth gravity, 193 00:08:47,900 --> 00:08:50,266 upwards of eight Gs, for example. 194 00:08:50,266 --> 00:08:52,066 NARRATOR: But SpinLaunch payloads 195 00:08:52,066 --> 00:08:54,500 will have to withstand forces 196 00:08:54,500 --> 00:08:56,033 orders of magnitude stronger, 197 00:08:56,033 --> 00:08:59,166 as many as 10,000 Gs. 198 00:08:59,166 --> 00:09:02,633 So the team is working on building and testing components 199 00:09:02,633 --> 00:09:05,966 that can survive such extreme acceleration. 200 00:09:05,966 --> 00:09:08,500 STELTZNER: You know, in some ways, we humans are sort of timid. 201 00:09:08,500 --> 00:09:10,700 We feel most comfortable with things 202 00:09:10,700 --> 00:09:12,766 that look like things we're used to. 203 00:09:12,766 --> 00:09:14,666 So you can't really tell at the outset 204 00:09:14,666 --> 00:09:16,766 whether the thing that you're doing that's outlandish 205 00:09:16,766 --> 00:09:18,200 is really going to work. 206 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:20,800 NARRATOR: Today, the SpinLaunch team 207 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,733 is asking a critical question: 208 00:09:23,733 --> 00:09:28,433 Can a payload like a CubeSat survive 10,000 Gs? 209 00:09:28,433 --> 00:09:31,466 So a CubeSat is this 210 00:09:31,466 --> 00:09:33,233 miniaturization of satellites, 211 00:09:33,233 --> 00:09:34,433 literally making them 212 00:09:34,433 --> 00:09:35,633 into these little cube components. 213 00:09:35,633 --> 00:09:38,333 So this ten centimeter by ten centimeter 214 00:09:38,333 --> 00:09:39,866 by ten centimeter unit, 215 00:09:39,866 --> 00:09:42,933 is one piece that can be 216 00:09:42,933 --> 00:09:47,366 added on top of each other like LEGO blocks. 217 00:09:47,366 --> 00:09:49,600 So we have some of the most critical subsystems 218 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:51,000 that you would see on any satellite. 219 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,000 We have a solar cell here. 220 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:55,900 it generates a current that charges this battery up. 221 00:09:55,900 --> 00:09:56,900 And then the battery 222 00:09:56,900 --> 00:09:58,433 stores that energy, right. 223 00:09:58,433 --> 00:10:01,600 And distributes it to all of the critical subsystems 224 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:03,300 that require electricity. 225 00:10:03,300 --> 00:10:07,100 So the OBC, or the onboard computer, is one of them. 226 00:10:07,100 --> 00:10:09,533 This is the, the brains of the satellite. 227 00:10:10,666 --> 00:10:14,200 NARRATOR: The team is confident the CubeSat as a whole will survive, 228 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,400 but so far they've only tested individual components, 229 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:19,533 and never the whole system. 230 00:10:19,533 --> 00:10:20,900 CHACHRA: You know, it's a very, 231 00:10:20,900 --> 00:10:22,766 very common strategy in engineering 232 00:10:22,766 --> 00:10:24,533 to say we're going to break this problem 233 00:10:24,533 --> 00:10:25,733 into small parts. 234 00:10:25,733 --> 00:10:26,733 We're going to solve 235 00:10:26,733 --> 00:10:28,133 each of the original parts, 236 00:10:28,133 --> 00:10:29,400 and then we're going to put it back together again. 237 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:31,566 NARRATOR: The team aims to test 238 00:10:31,566 --> 00:10:32,833 some of the components 239 00:10:32,833 --> 00:10:34,166 that are typically found on CubeSats, 240 00:10:35,433 --> 00:10:37,166 starting with the computer. 241 00:10:37,166 --> 00:10:38,766 JUSTIN WILLIAMS: So this is saying effectively 242 00:10:38,766 --> 00:10:41,300 its power rails are all working correctly. 243 00:10:41,300 --> 00:10:44,133 It looks to be talking to the world just fine. 244 00:10:44,133 --> 00:10:46,400 NARRATOR: So far, they know that the battery pack 245 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:48,400 is particularly vulnerable. 246 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:50,200 (machine whirring) 247 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:51,966 A pretest of the battery pack system 248 00:10:51,966 --> 00:10:54,533 didn't make it out of the accelerator 249 00:10:54,533 --> 00:10:55,833 in one piece. 250 00:10:55,833 --> 00:10:57,133 (crunches) 251 00:10:57,133 --> 00:10:59,266 SANDOMIRSKY: This gave us a great benchmark 252 00:10:59,266 --> 00:11:01,066 when it hit 7,650 Gs, 253 00:11:01,066 --> 00:11:02,466 that it was pretty darn close. 254 00:11:02,466 --> 00:11:03,533 (machine whirring) 255 00:11:03,533 --> 00:11:05,066 (crunches) 256 00:11:05,066 --> 00:11:06,466 And we didn't have to do all that much 257 00:11:06,466 --> 00:11:09,266 to make it compatible with our launch environment. 258 00:11:09,266 --> 00:11:12,033 The batteries aren't designed for 10,000 Gs natively... 259 00:11:12,033 --> 00:11:14,600 NARRATOR: The SpinLaunch engineering team had to figure out 260 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,400 how to make the batteries more resistant 261 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:18,433 to the high g forces. 262 00:11:18,433 --> 00:11:19,700 WRENN: So this is the original. 263 00:11:19,700 --> 00:11:20,900 SANDOMIRSKY: We saw these batteries 264 00:11:20,900 --> 00:11:22,200 laying on top of each other. 265 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:23,833 The concern there is that 266 00:11:23,833 --> 00:11:25,366 when you're on the bottom of the stack, 267 00:11:25,366 --> 00:11:27,800 you're getting three batteries worth of mass squished on to 268 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:29,400 plus your own mass. Yup. 269 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:31,533 NARRATOR: This orientation of the battery cells 270 00:11:31,533 --> 00:11:33,433 didn't work out so well in the spinner. 271 00:11:33,433 --> 00:11:34,900 The g forces are going this way. 272 00:11:34,900 --> 00:11:36,233 WRENN: And you can even see the bolts 273 00:11:36,233 --> 00:11:38,466 are embedded and bent into the base here. 274 00:11:38,466 --> 00:11:40,700 One of the things that we did was 275 00:11:40,700 --> 00:11:41,700 turned it sideways. Yep. 276 00:11:41,700 --> 00:11:42,900 Let each battery support itself 277 00:11:42,900 --> 00:11:44,500 and itself only. Yeah. 278 00:11:44,500 --> 00:11:47,100 SANDOMIRSKY: So we're going to fully populate this satellite 279 00:11:47,100 --> 00:11:50,666 with all of the key subsystems that we're testing out here. 280 00:11:50,666 --> 00:11:55,366 This is the pre-spin test of the solar cell 1.2 volts. 281 00:11:55,366 --> 00:11:57,100 And then after we're done with the test, 282 00:11:57,100 --> 00:11:58,333 we will check it out again 283 00:11:58,333 --> 00:11:59,733 and make sure that it's still getting 284 00:11:59,733 --> 00:12:01,600 a similar voltage reading. 285 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:03,466 This is going to be the first time 286 00:12:03,466 --> 00:12:05,466 that this unit with everything in it-- 287 00:12:05,466 --> 00:12:07,066 the battery pack, the computer-- 288 00:12:07,066 --> 00:12:09,166 is spinning up to 10,000 Gs. 289 00:12:09,166 --> 00:12:11,866 ♪ ♪ 290 00:12:14,733 --> 00:12:16,333 NARRATOR: Reaching the acceleration 291 00:12:16,333 --> 00:12:18,400 required for launch is itself 292 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:20,800 a difficult engineering problem. There we go. 293 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:22,833 NARRATOR: At those speeds, 294 00:12:22,833 --> 00:12:25,500 friction just from the air would be intense. 295 00:12:25,500 --> 00:12:27,866 So the inside of the accelerator 296 00:12:27,866 --> 00:12:30,866 is actually a giant vacuum chamber. 297 00:12:30,866 --> 00:12:33,066 YANEY: If you can pull all of the air out of it, 298 00:12:33,066 --> 00:12:34,666 then there's no more air resistance 299 00:12:34,666 --> 00:12:37,033 and consequently heat on the rotational structure. 300 00:12:37,033 --> 00:12:38,233 (lock clicks) SANDOMIRSKY: There we go. 301 00:12:38,233 --> 00:12:39,733 (lock clicks) Now we're going to go 302 00:12:39,733 --> 00:12:42,233 let the, the vacuum chamber draw down the pressure. 303 00:12:42,233 --> 00:12:44,233 And then we can spin up. 304 00:12:50,066 --> 00:12:52,533 MARK SIPPERLEY: Accelerating system... 305 00:12:52,533 --> 00:12:57,533 ♪ ♪ 306 00:12:57,533 --> 00:12:59,033 (machine whirring) 307 00:12:59,033 --> 00:13:01,466 (numbers clicking) 308 00:13:01,466 --> 00:13:02,866 (whirring continues) 309 00:13:02,866 --> 00:13:05,666 ♪ ♪ 310 00:13:05,666 --> 00:13:06,666 (numbers clicking) 311 00:13:06,666 --> 00:13:07,866 ...9,000, 312 00:13:07,866 --> 00:13:10,333 1.1..., 313 00:13:10,333 --> 00:13:12,066 ...95, 96, 314 00:13:12,066 --> 00:13:13,633 97, 98. 315 00:13:13,633 --> 00:13:15,833 10,000. 10,000 Gs. Coming down. 316 00:13:15,833 --> 00:13:17,000 Time. 317 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:18,033 SANDOMIRSKY: Yeah! (laughs) 318 00:13:18,033 --> 00:13:20,066 (applause) 319 00:13:20,066 --> 00:13:22,500 ♪ Come on, baby ♪ 320 00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:25,533 ♪ ♪ 321 00:13:25,533 --> 00:13:26,933 ♪ Let's go ♪ 322 00:13:26,933 --> 00:13:28,966 (tool clatters) 323 00:13:33,500 --> 00:13:34,633 (echoing): Well, look at that. 324 00:13:34,633 --> 00:13:37,766 I don't hear any rattles. 325 00:13:37,766 --> 00:13:40,800 Looks like it's intact. 326 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:42,400 STELTZNER: The pressure one feels 327 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:44,566 when you're hoping for success 328 00:13:44,566 --> 00:13:46,900 is mostly about 329 00:13:46,900 --> 00:13:48,666 the incredible personal human 330 00:13:48,666 --> 00:13:50,200 investment that's gone in 331 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:51,466 and not wanting to let down 332 00:13:51,466 --> 00:13:53,200 all of your colleagues 333 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,233 when the moment of truth comes. 334 00:13:55,233 --> 00:13:56,433 SANDOMIRSKY: Let's crack it open. 335 00:13:59,133 --> 00:14:02,433 I'm going to test voltage on the solar cell. 336 00:14:02,433 --> 00:14:03,466 Yeah. So 0.8. 337 00:14:03,466 --> 00:14:05,200 That's in a reasonable range. 338 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:09,533 Okay, so now we will take out the computer. 339 00:14:09,533 --> 00:14:11,233 Looks like it is intact. 340 00:14:11,233 --> 00:14:12,400 It's still responding 341 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:13,733 when we send it messages, 342 00:14:13,733 --> 00:14:15,500 so it looks pretty good. 343 00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:17,733 I would say that that was a successful test. 344 00:14:17,733 --> 00:14:18,733 Pretty cool. 345 00:14:18,733 --> 00:14:19,733 Whoo! 346 00:14:19,733 --> 00:14:21,733 (clapping) (laughs) 347 00:14:21,733 --> 00:14:24,300 NARRATOR: SpinLaunch has done what engineers do-- 348 00:14:24,300 --> 00:14:25,600 ♪ ♪ 349 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:29,233 methodically design, test, evaluate-- 350 00:14:29,233 --> 00:14:30,433 (computer beeping) and repeat-- 351 00:14:30,433 --> 00:14:31,966 as they step their way up 352 00:14:31,966 --> 00:14:33,200 to a system big enough 353 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:36,533 to send payloads into low Earth orbit. 354 00:14:36,533 --> 00:14:38,833 ♪ ♪ 355 00:14:38,833 --> 00:14:40,933 YANEY: We went to the desert of New Mexico 356 00:14:40,933 --> 00:14:45,000 to build a flight test system, you know, at a large scale 357 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,233 that would allow us to essentially prove 358 00:14:47,233 --> 00:14:49,566 that we had not only the technology validated, 359 00:14:49,566 --> 00:14:51,266 we could test our own ability 360 00:14:51,266 --> 00:14:53,300 to construct and to execute 361 00:14:53,300 --> 00:14:54,833 on a system of this magnitude and scale. 362 00:14:54,833 --> 00:14:56,366 (machine whirring) 363 00:14:56,366 --> 00:14:58,900 NARRATOR: Launching at one-third scale 364 00:14:58,900 --> 00:15:00,600 was a powerful milestone, 365 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:02,266 spinning the payload 366 00:15:02,266 --> 00:15:04,933 to more than 1,000 miles per hour. 367 00:15:09,433 --> 00:15:11,700 ♪ ♪ 368 00:15:11,700 --> 00:15:14,133 YANEY: It was an emotional moment for the team. 369 00:15:14,133 --> 00:15:15,733 (people cheering) 370 00:15:15,733 --> 00:15:17,900 You have to have a little bit of faith 371 00:15:17,900 --> 00:15:19,966 to bring something like this 372 00:15:19,966 --> 00:15:21,966 to that level and to that, that scale. 373 00:15:21,966 --> 00:15:24,033 (rockets bursting) 374 00:15:24,033 --> 00:15:27,266 We've conducted ten successful back-to-back flight tests. 375 00:15:27,266 --> 00:15:29,000 We haven't had a single failure, 376 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:30,233 and I think that's a testament 377 00:15:30,233 --> 00:15:32,900 to the practicality of the technology. 378 00:15:34,266 --> 00:15:35,933 SANDOMIRSKY: This will be, for the first time 379 00:15:35,933 --> 00:15:37,333 since we've gone to space 380 00:15:37,333 --> 00:15:41,266 as a species, that we'll be doing it differently. 381 00:15:41,266 --> 00:15:43,533 NARRATOR: It's common for engineers 382 00:15:43,533 --> 00:15:46,433 to build on an old technology, 383 00:15:46,433 --> 00:15:49,166 transforming it with new materials, 384 00:15:49,166 --> 00:15:53,166 to scale their way to innovation. 385 00:15:53,166 --> 00:15:54,600 It's with a spinning arm 386 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:56,700 that's throwing satellites into space. 387 00:15:56,700 --> 00:15:58,300 That's totally new. 388 00:15:58,300 --> 00:15:59,900 How could that not be exciting? 389 00:15:59,900 --> 00:16:03,666 ♪ ♪ 390 00:16:03,666 --> 00:16:05,433 When you look at cutting edge technology today, 391 00:16:05,433 --> 00:16:07,233 you can see that it's just being built upon 392 00:16:07,233 --> 00:16:09,233 the things that we've already seen from the past. 393 00:16:09,233 --> 00:16:10,966 ♪ ♪ 394 00:16:10,966 --> 00:16:13,166 NARRATOR: Sometimes we boost technology 395 00:16:13,166 --> 00:16:15,233 from the more recent past. 396 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:18,933 Consider something we take for granted 397 00:16:18,933 --> 00:16:20,800 in everything from cell phones 398 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:22,600 to cars to video games. 399 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:23,833 (video game beeping, controller clicking)) 400 00:16:23,833 --> 00:16:25,233 It's called "haptics". 401 00:16:25,233 --> 00:16:28,533 Vibrations and other physical sensations 402 00:16:28,533 --> 00:16:31,533 that enable our technology to talk back to us 403 00:16:31,533 --> 00:16:33,233 through our sense of touch. 404 00:16:33,233 --> 00:16:35,566 (cymbals clinking) 405 00:16:35,566 --> 00:16:39,366 NARRATOR: At Harvard, scientist and engineer Shriya Srinivasan 406 00:16:39,366 --> 00:16:42,166 is thinking about those physical feedback loops 407 00:16:42,166 --> 00:16:46,300 every time she performs an ancient dance. 408 00:16:46,300 --> 00:16:48,000 SHRIYA SRINIVASAN: I've been dancing since I was very young. 409 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,433 The ideas around movement and sensory feedback 410 00:16:51,433 --> 00:16:52,500 have been percolating in my brain 411 00:16:52,500 --> 00:16:53,866 in for a long time. 412 00:16:53,866 --> 00:16:55,500 (cymbals tapping) 413 00:16:55,500 --> 00:16:56,900 When I dance, of course, 414 00:16:56,900 --> 00:17:00,366 I'm intimately aware of my body and its movements. 415 00:17:00,366 --> 00:17:02,066 What the audience feels, however, 416 00:17:02,066 --> 00:17:04,066 may be limited by their conditioning 417 00:17:04,066 --> 00:17:06,100 or what they can perceive visually. 418 00:17:06,100 --> 00:17:08,966 ♪ ♪ 419 00:17:08,966 --> 00:17:11,400 (voiceover): I am a biomedical engineer by training 420 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:14,200 and at some point I started to wonder, 421 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:17,000 can we use the receptors in our skin to communicate 422 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,300 the complexity of the rhythms 423 00:17:18,300 --> 00:17:19,866 that are embedded within the choreography? 424 00:17:19,866 --> 00:17:22,100 And would that enable the audience 425 00:17:22,100 --> 00:17:25,100 to experience then the dance to a higher dimension? 426 00:17:25,100 --> 00:17:29,633 NARRATOR: Shriya turned her curiosity into an engineering problem: 427 00:17:29,633 --> 00:17:34,066 Could she share the rhythmic complexity of the choreography-- 428 00:17:34,066 --> 00:17:37,000 as she feels it in her body with the audience? 429 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:38,366 To find out, 430 00:17:38,366 --> 00:17:42,133 she and her dance company co-founder, Joshua George, 431 00:17:42,133 --> 00:17:44,900 are conducting trials at Harvard's Motion Capture Lab. 432 00:17:44,900 --> 00:17:47,133 ♪ ♪ 433 00:17:47,133 --> 00:17:49,933 KRITHIKA SWAMINATHAN: So we're going to grab this metatarsal point. 434 00:17:49,933 --> 00:17:52,600 NARRATOR: The motion capture system reads and records 435 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,033 the position of the dots placed on Joshua, 436 00:17:56,033 --> 00:17:58,966 in order to create a digital version of his movements 437 00:17:58,966 --> 00:18:03,766 and understand the biomechanics of the dance. Great. 438 00:18:03,766 --> 00:18:07,233 SRINIVASAN (voiceover): But more importantly, we're interested in capturing 439 00:18:07,233 --> 00:18:08,866 what's not readily visible to the eye. 440 00:18:08,866 --> 00:18:10,866 So muscle activation, for example, 441 00:18:10,866 --> 00:18:12,766 or forces to the ground. 442 00:18:12,766 --> 00:18:14,200 MAN: Now, can you flex your biceps? 443 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:16,766 NARRATOR: Audience members can see the movements, 444 00:18:16,766 --> 00:18:20,533 but they can't feel the force of a step or a jump. 445 00:18:20,533 --> 00:18:23,333 VALERO-CUEVAS: If you think about how humans interact, 446 00:18:23,333 --> 00:18:24,966 we like shaking hands. 447 00:18:24,966 --> 00:18:26,033 We like hugging. 448 00:18:26,033 --> 00:18:27,966 So being able to tap into 449 00:18:27,966 --> 00:18:30,166 that sense of touch, 450 00:18:30,166 --> 00:18:32,833 or as it's sometimes called embodiment, 451 00:18:32,833 --> 00:18:37,866 is a gateway into allowing you to be... 452 00:18:37,866 --> 00:18:40,133 and experience something 453 00:18:40,133 --> 00:18:42,233 that you're not immediately doing, 454 00:18:42,233 --> 00:18:46,933 for example, it'd be great to feel how a dancer moves. 455 00:18:48,566 --> 00:18:51,366 SRINIVASAN: So as you flex the bicep, you can see in yellow 456 00:18:51,366 --> 00:18:53,166 the activation of that muscle. 457 00:18:53,166 --> 00:18:55,866 SWAMINATHAN: We have these reflective markers that we put on someone. 458 00:18:55,866 --> 00:18:58,033 We have them do a certain movement. 459 00:18:58,033 --> 00:18:59,800 We take that information 460 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:01,400 and kind of convert that into 461 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:03,200 body movement quantitative data. 462 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:05,000 ♪ ♪ 463 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:09,433 NARRATOR: What we think of as haptics embedded in technology 464 00:19:09,433 --> 00:19:12,200 has roots in aviation. 465 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:14,133 As planes advanced, 466 00:19:14,133 --> 00:19:17,033 pilots no longer felt mechanical vibrations in the controls 467 00:19:17,033 --> 00:19:19,333 when the plane was about to stall. 468 00:19:19,333 --> 00:19:22,300 So haptics were used to replace these vibrations 469 00:19:22,300 --> 00:19:24,500 artificially, preserving the warning. 470 00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:26,233 SETOR ZILEVU: Haptics is super critical 471 00:19:26,233 --> 00:19:28,166 and very innovative in the design process 472 00:19:28,166 --> 00:19:30,533 because it has the ability to really blend 473 00:19:30,533 --> 00:19:32,433 the physical world with the digital world. 474 00:19:34,233 --> 00:19:36,266   STELTZNER: In our analog world, 475 00:19:36,266 --> 00:19:37,733 haptics were everywhere. 476 00:19:37,733 --> 00:19:39,600 Things felt. 477 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,200 You pushed a button on your radio 478 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:45,100 and the button went sha-clank and you could feel it. 479 00:19:45,100 --> 00:19:47,866 My brain is evolved 480 00:19:47,866 --> 00:19:50,033 to sense whether that action 481 00:19:50,033 --> 00:19:51,566 that I've taken with my finger 482 00:19:51,566 --> 00:19:53,933 has resulted in a, 483 00:19:53,933 --> 00:19:56,566 um, an actual an effect. 484 00:19:56,566 --> 00:19:58,200 (computer beeping) 485 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:02,800 NARRATOR: Shriya's team is applying this concept to dance. 486 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:05,600 SRINIVASAN: Take a feel and see what you think. 487 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:09,833 NARRATOR: And the team is using modern technology to develop it. 488 00:20:09,833 --> 00:20:11,633 ISABELLA GOMEZ-HJERTHEN: At the moment we're using 489 00:20:11,633 --> 00:20:13,800 two different types of haptics on the phone. 490 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:16,800 (phone vibrating) 491 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:18,066 So we can set them at different intensities, 492 00:20:18,066 --> 00:20:19,200 different sharpness. 493 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,166 We can also vary how long they are. 494 00:20:21,166 --> 00:20:23,733 We're able to then assign 495 00:20:23,733 --> 00:20:25,966 a haptic pattern or a vibration pattern 496 00:20:25,966 --> 00:20:28,933 to that move and have it happen at that time, 497 00:20:28,933 --> 00:20:31,000 during the song or during the performance. 498 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,133 NARRATOR: They are under pressure to work out the kinks-- 499 00:20:34,133 --> 00:20:36,366 they're giving a performance the next day 500 00:20:36,366 --> 00:20:39,500 and they hope to work with the audience to test the system. 501 00:20:39,500 --> 00:20:41,933 SWAMINATHAN: Okay. Yeah, I think we're set for Friday. 502 00:20:42,933 --> 00:20:46,366 NARRATOR: Besides enhanced dance performances, 503 00:20:46,366 --> 00:20:49,466 Shriya's lab is also using haptics to do research 504 00:20:49,466 --> 00:20:52,100 to help medical patients with muscle spasticity 505 00:20:52,100 --> 00:20:53,933 move more smoothly. 506 00:20:53,933 --> 00:20:56,000 They're asking if vibration feedback 507 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,833 can reduce the symptoms of spasticity; 508 00:20:58,833 --> 00:21:01,733 a condition that causes muscles to stiffen, 509 00:21:01,733 --> 00:21:03,166 making them difficult to move-- 510 00:21:03,166 --> 00:21:05,700 often as result of spinal cord injury 511 00:21:05,700 --> 00:21:07,833 or traumatic brain injury, 512 00:21:07,833 --> 00:21:11,200 A.L.S., multiple sclerosis, or cerebral palsy. 513 00:21:12,300 --> 00:21:13,300 Patrick Pariseau, 514 00:21:13,300 --> 00:21:15,066 a PhD candidate, 515 00:21:15,066 --> 00:21:16,933 is one of Shriya's students. 516 00:21:16,933 --> 00:21:18,000 PARISEAU: With spasticity, 517 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,600 it feels like someone 518 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:21,400 is holding your limb in place. 519 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:22,566 Any time you want to move, 520 00:21:22,566 --> 00:21:23,800 you have to struggle against yourself. 521 00:21:25,300 --> 00:21:27,666   NARRATOR: In the Motion Capture Lab, 522 00:21:27,666 --> 00:21:30,533 Shriya is working on a potential solution. 523 00:21:30,533 --> 00:21:33,833 SRINIVASAN (voiceover): The nervous system is kind of like an orchestra. 524 00:21:33,833 --> 00:21:35,300 And conducting it is the brain, 525 00:21:35,300 --> 00:21:37,766 sending signals but also receiving feedback 526 00:21:37,766 --> 00:21:40,733 about which parts are playing what. 527 00:21:40,733 --> 00:21:42,733 And having them work together 528 00:21:42,733 --> 00:21:45,366 is the key to executing movement 529 00:21:45,366 --> 00:21:46,466 and moving seamlessly in the world. 530 00:21:46,466 --> 00:21:48,766 ♪ ♪ 531 00:21:48,766 --> 00:21:50,666 NARRATOR: In typical arm motion, 532 00:21:50,666 --> 00:21:54,200 the bicep contracts to bend the arm at the elbow 533 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,133 while the tricep relaxes, 534 00:21:56,133 --> 00:21:59,200 and the tricep contracts to straighten the arm 535 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,300 while the bicep relaxes. 536 00:22:01,300 --> 00:22:02,533 (electronic buzzing) 537 00:22:02,533 --> 00:22:03,800 The device that they're building 538 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,866 is designed to pick up activation of one muscle 539 00:22:06,866 --> 00:22:10,966 and then mechanically tell the opposite muscle to relax. 540 00:22:10,966 --> 00:22:13,666 ♪ ♪ 541 00:22:13,666 --> 00:22:16,200 SRINIVASAN: In a patient with spasticity, for example, 542 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:18,700 there's co-contraction, so as your bicep contracts, 543 00:22:18,700 --> 00:22:20,533 your tricep is also contracting 544 00:22:20,533 --> 00:22:22,300 and that causes that movement to be rigid. 545 00:22:24,366 --> 00:22:27,100 PARISEAU: So we're targeting the biceps and triceps. 546 00:22:27,100 --> 00:22:29,133 Let me know if it's too tight. 547 00:22:29,133 --> 00:22:31,833 DARAIO: Biomedical engineering, requires 548 00:22:31,833 --> 00:22:34,533 a fundamental understanding not only of 549 00:22:34,533 --> 00:22:36,333 the basic engineering principles 550 00:22:36,333 --> 00:22:39,300 like mechanics, electronics and... 551 00:22:39,300 --> 00:22:40,500 uh, computer science, 552 00:22:40,500 --> 00:22:44,000 but also of the fundamental properties 553 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:45,866 of the biology of the human body. 554 00:22:45,866 --> 00:22:48,833 NARRATOR: Step one: put the prototype system 555 00:22:48,833 --> 00:22:50,833 on student volunteer Anni 556 00:22:50,833 --> 00:22:52,066 and use it to collect data 557 00:22:52,066 --> 00:22:53,966 with a simple reflex test. 558 00:22:53,966 --> 00:22:56,433 We've attached E.M.G. sensors. 559 00:22:56,433 --> 00:22:58,600 So E.M.G. is electromyography. 560 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,300 We're going to record the activation of her muscles 561 00:23:01,300 --> 00:23:02,766 and then display it on this laptop. 562 00:23:04,466 --> 00:23:07,033 (device beeping, hammer tapping in rhythm) 563 00:23:07,033 --> 00:23:08,066 Yeah, I think that was... 564 00:23:08,066 --> 00:23:09,766 ...that, that was. Oh, yeah. 565 00:23:09,766 --> 00:23:11,266 PARISEAU: Yeah? That was a strong one. 566 00:23:11,266 --> 00:23:12,266 NARRATOR: Step two: 567 00:23:12,266 --> 00:23:13,866 measure the amount 568 00:23:13,866 --> 00:23:16,266 of muscle activation when the device vibrates, 569 00:23:16,266 --> 00:23:19,500 to see if the activation goes down. 570 00:23:19,500 --> 00:23:21,400 PARISEAU: So now we are going to turn on the vibration. 571 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:23,466 SRINIVASAN: Here what we're looking at is 572 00:23:23,466 --> 00:23:25,000 can we apply vibratory stimuli 573 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,733 at just the right time and at the right amount 574 00:23:27,733 --> 00:23:31,366 and the right parameters to relax the relevant muscles 575 00:23:31,366 --> 00:23:33,466 to allow for more free movement. 576 00:23:33,466 --> 00:23:36,000 (device beeping, hammer tapping in rhythm) 577 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:37,433 Yeah, I think that's... All right. 578 00:23:37,433 --> 00:23:39,133 So now it should be stimulating on the bicep. 579 00:23:39,133 --> 00:23:40,733 Can you feel it on your bicep? Yes. 580 00:23:40,733 --> 00:23:42,733 (device beeping, hammer tapping in rhythm) 581 00:23:42,733 --> 00:23:43,900 Yup. Yep. Right there? 582 00:23:43,900 --> 00:23:44,900 All right. Great. 583 00:23:44,900 --> 00:23:46,466 NARRATOR: The next step? 584 00:23:46,466 --> 00:23:49,233 Preliminary analysis of the motions. 585 00:23:49,233 --> 00:23:52,333 The hope is that vibration reduces 586 00:23:52,333 --> 00:23:54,266 unwanted muscle activation 587 00:23:54,266 --> 00:23:56,733 so they can use vibrations in their device 588 00:23:56,733 --> 00:23:59,333 to relax the targeted muscles. 589 00:23:59,333 --> 00:24:01,133 If they can demonstrate that, 590 00:24:01,133 --> 00:24:03,766 then eventually they plan to build a device 591 00:24:03,766 --> 00:24:06,533 that will detect activation in one muscle 592 00:24:06,533 --> 00:24:09,700 and determine which other muscle to deactivate. 593 00:24:09,700 --> 00:24:10,700 (electronic buzzing) 594 00:24:10,700 --> 00:24:11,700 PARISEAU: Begin. 595 00:24:11,700 --> 00:24:12,900 NARRATOR: Boosting flexibility 596 00:24:12,900 --> 00:24:14,433 and restoring motion. 597 00:24:14,433 --> 00:24:15,733 Two, three, four, five. 598 00:24:15,733 --> 00:24:17,233 NARRATOR: In today's test... Relax. 599 00:24:17,233 --> 00:24:19,500 NARRATOR: ...the device is giving them encouraging data. 600 00:24:19,500 --> 00:24:22,166 Confirming vibration as an effective strategy 601 00:24:22,166 --> 00:24:26,033 for relaxing specific muscles brings them one step closer 602 00:24:26,033 --> 00:24:29,666 to developing a therapeutic device for spasticity. 603 00:24:29,666 --> 00:24:32,033 PARISEAU: The feeling that we were able to, 604 00:24:32,033 --> 00:24:33,600 What appears to be successfully, 605 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:35,766 relax those muscles with vibration 606 00:24:35,766 --> 00:24:37,533 was a very good feeling, 607 00:24:37,533 --> 00:24:39,600 because it means that we're one step closer 608 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:42,433 to help people with spasticity move more easily. 609 00:24:42,433 --> 00:24:45,700 NARRATOR: From one test to another. 610 00:24:45,700 --> 00:24:47,466 Good evening, everybody. 611 00:24:47,466 --> 00:24:49,333 Welcome to Decoded Rhythms. 612 00:24:49,333 --> 00:24:51,200 The human nervous system... 613 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,933 NARRATOR: The first opportunity for Shriya and her dance company 614 00:24:53,933 --> 00:24:56,200 to add a layer to the performance 615 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:57,700 through haptic feedback. 616 00:24:57,700 --> 00:25:01,233 Sensation is the gateway to the human experience. 617 00:25:01,233 --> 00:25:03,266 NARRATOR: Audience members download an app, 618 00:25:03,266 --> 00:25:05,366 and as they watch and listen, 619 00:25:05,366 --> 00:25:06,933 they'll feel synchronized vibrations. 620 00:25:06,933 --> 00:25:12,233 ♪ ♪ 621 00:25:17,566 --> 00:25:18,800 SWAMINATHAN: We're hoping that the audience 622 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:22,166 can be more in tune with the performance 623 00:25:22,166 --> 00:25:24,100 by giving them this sort of understanding, 624 00:25:24,100 --> 00:25:26,933 haptically, what the dancers are doing. 625 00:25:26,933 --> 00:25:31,966 ♪ ♪ 626 00:25:35,833 --> 00:25:37,033 (music ends) 627 00:25:37,033 --> 00:25:39,700 (audience applauding) 628 00:25:41,433 --> 00:25:43,566 SRINIVASAN: I thought it was a good work in progress demo. 629 00:25:43,566 --> 00:25:45,433 Most of the technology aspects worked well. 630 00:25:45,433 --> 00:25:46,700 Everything synced, 631 00:25:46,700 --> 00:25:48,300 and it was exciting to just see initial-- 632 00:25:48,300 --> 00:25:49,933 people's initial reactions to it. 633 00:25:49,933 --> 00:25:52,733 I love this. Um, I'm an ex ballet dancer. 634 00:25:52,733 --> 00:25:55,500 There's something about having this motion and movement 635 00:25:55,500 --> 00:25:57,866 in my hand, but I felt I was moving along with you, 636 00:25:57,866 --> 00:25:59,966 and that was really cool. 637 00:25:59,966 --> 00:26:01,366 (audience applauding) 638 00:26:01,366 --> 00:26:03,200 NARRATOR: Combining two worlds, 639 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:05,500 each adding a bit to the other. 640 00:26:05,500 --> 00:26:07,400 SRINIVASAN: I would say that the data 641 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:09,333 that we're gathering from the dance work, 642 00:26:09,333 --> 00:26:10,700 the biomechanics, 643 00:26:10,700 --> 00:26:12,300 the ability to classify movements 644 00:26:12,300 --> 00:26:14,400 to interpret intent, 645 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,666 all of those higher level insights 646 00:26:16,666 --> 00:26:19,133 will guide us in the development 647 00:26:19,133 --> 00:26:22,600 of patterns for patients with spasticity. 648 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:24,933 Two, three, four, five. 649 00:26:24,933 --> 00:26:26,066 Relax. 650 00:26:26,066 --> 00:26:28,566 NARRATOR: We all have physical limits. 651 00:26:28,566 --> 00:26:31,766 But tools of all kinds help us 652 00:26:31,766 --> 00:26:35,100 go beyond what our bodies can do on their own. 653 00:26:35,100 --> 00:26:36,966 Simple machines, 654 00:26:36,966 --> 00:26:40,133 like levers and pulleys and screws, 655 00:26:40,133 --> 00:26:41,500 boost our strength. 656 00:26:41,500 --> 00:26:45,100 But we also make tools just for fun. 657 00:26:47,566 --> 00:26:50,400 Every invention starts with an idea. 658 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:51,800 TAHIRA REID SMITH: We're trying to see 659 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,633 how much play there is... 660 00:26:53,633 --> 00:26:54,866 NARRATOR: For Tahira Reid Smith, 661 00:26:54,866 --> 00:26:57,933 her idea comes from a childhood passion: 662 00:26:57,933 --> 00:27:00,733 Double Dutch. 663 00:27:00,733 --> 00:27:02,733 GIRL: One two, three, four, 664 00:27:02,733 --> 00:27:04,466 five, six, seven, eight... 665 00:27:04,466 --> 00:27:06,166 REID SMITH: Growing up in Bronx, New York, 666 00:27:06,166 --> 00:27:08,600 in the 1980s, 667 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:10,666 Double Dutch was just what you did as a little girl. 668 00:27:10,666 --> 00:27:14,466 NARRATOR: This double rope version of jump rope 669 00:27:14,466 --> 00:27:16,666 was brought to New York by Dutch settlers 670 00:27:16,666 --> 00:27:18,133 in the 17th century. 671 00:27:18,133 --> 00:27:22,033 (kids chanting) 672 00:27:26,666 --> 00:27:28,200 More recently, 673 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,566 it became popular, particularly among Black girls, 674 00:27:31,566 --> 00:27:35,033 in cities across the U.S. 675 00:27:35,033 --> 00:27:37,800 There are even fiercely competitive 676 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:40,933 national competitions, and in some high schools, 677 00:27:40,933 --> 00:27:44,166 it's recognized as a varsity sport. 678 00:27:44,166 --> 00:27:46,333 ♪ ♪ 679 00:27:46,333 --> 00:27:47,666 To play, 680 00:27:47,666 --> 00:27:49,266 Double Dutch requires two people 681 00:27:49,266 --> 00:27:51,400 spinning ropes in opposite directions 682 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:54,133 and at least one person to jump. 683 00:27:56,300 --> 00:27:59,133 Tahira dreamed of a machine that would allow her, 684 00:27:59,133 --> 00:28:01,233 an only child at the time, 685 00:28:01,233 --> 00:28:04,100 to play Double Dutch whenever she wanted. 686 00:28:04,100 --> 00:28:07,100 In third grade, she won a contest for that concept. 687 00:28:07,100 --> 00:28:09,000 And in the years that followed, 688 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,100 she never gave up on that dream. 689 00:28:11,100 --> 00:28:13,700 REID SMITH: Major passion project. 690 00:28:13,700 --> 00:28:17,900 Talking about an idea that I've had for decades. 691 00:28:17,900 --> 00:28:21,000 NARRATOR: Today, she's a mechanical engineer and professor, 692 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,633 working in human-machine systems. 693 00:28:24,633 --> 00:28:26,300 And she's building to her ultimate dream: 694 00:28:26,300 --> 00:28:29,233 to create an affordable version of her invention 695 00:28:29,233 --> 00:28:32,300 that people everywhere could enjoy. 696 00:28:35,100 --> 00:28:37,466 Meanwhile, another engineer, 697 00:28:37,466 --> 00:28:40,100 Sky Leilani, is working on 698 00:28:40,100 --> 00:28:42,833 her own Double Dutch prototype. 699 00:28:42,833 --> 00:28:46,300 Sky works at a robotics software company. 700 00:28:46,300 --> 00:28:48,000 SKY LEILANI: When I was in college, 701 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,633 I found Dr. Reid's Double Dutch machine, 702 00:28:50,633 --> 00:28:53,833 at a point where I was feeling like I couldn't 703 00:28:53,833 --> 00:28:55,566 get where I wanted to go. I was just surrounded by 704 00:28:55,566 --> 00:28:57,366 a lot of people who didn't look like me. 705 00:28:57,366 --> 00:28:59,433 I saw she was from the Bronx, 706 00:28:59,433 --> 00:29:01,533 which is kind of similar to where I'm from, 707 00:29:01,533 --> 00:29:02,866 and that really inspired me. 708 00:29:02,866 --> 00:29:04,766 Problems that matter, 709 00:29:04,766 --> 00:29:08,100 that are informed by culture, then informed by background, 710 00:29:08,100 --> 00:29:11,866 can stimulate the desire to get into engineering, 711 00:29:11,866 --> 00:29:14,800 to desire to go about this process of creating something 712 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:16,400 that didn't previously exist. 713 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:20,600 The problems in which we decide are important enough to solve 714 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:22,700 are influenced by someone's background 715 00:29:22,700 --> 00:29:24,400 and someone's culture. 716 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,500 NARRATOR: Tahira has come to Viam Robotics in New York City 717 00:29:27,500 --> 00:29:29,233 to collaborate with Sky. 718 00:29:29,233 --> 00:29:31,166 Hi! Oh my gosh, hi! 719 00:29:31,166 --> 00:29:32,566 NARRATOR: Bringing along her goddaughter, Sa'nai, 720 00:29:32,566 --> 00:29:34,000 part of the latest generation 721 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,533 interested in engineering Double Dutch. 722 00:29:36,533 --> 00:29:38,500 REID SMITH: When I first learned about Sky, 723 00:29:38,500 --> 00:29:41,966 it really touched me deeply, because 724 00:29:41,966 --> 00:29:44,533 I didn't know that people were watching me from afar. 725 00:29:44,533 --> 00:29:47,333 When I was looking at your designs, I was just like, "Wow." 726 00:29:47,333 --> 00:29:50,166 REID SMITH (voiceover): I was very encouraged by it, I was also impressed by 727 00:29:50,166 --> 00:29:52,133 her passion and her excitement. 728 00:29:52,133 --> 00:29:56,533 NARRATOR: Sky isn't a mechanical engineer like Tahira is. 729 00:29:56,533 --> 00:29:59,433 She's iterated on Tahira's design, 730 00:29:59,433 --> 00:30:02,433 adding computer-controlled motors 731 00:30:02,433 --> 00:30:04,833 and a software interface to control the two ropes. 732 00:30:04,833 --> 00:30:06,433 DARAIO: What are the traits of an engineer? 733 00:30:06,433 --> 00:30:08,333 I think I think it's hard to generalize. 734 00:30:08,333 --> 00:30:10,466 I feel like there's, 735 00:30:10,466 --> 00:30:12,666 there's many different kinds of engineering. 736 00:30:12,666 --> 00:30:15,433 There's many different kinds of skills required 737 00:30:15,433 --> 00:30:16,866 in the different types of engineering. 738 00:30:18,300 --> 00:30:20,066 REID SMITH: She's modernized it, 739 00:30:20,066 --> 00:30:21,866 writing code to control it. 740 00:30:21,866 --> 00:30:23,966 There's vision for even an app, 741 00:30:23,966 --> 00:30:26,133 and doing everything largely through 742 00:30:26,133 --> 00:30:28,800 computer software and electronics. 743 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:32,400 Very little mechanical engineering. 744 00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:34,700 NARRATOR: As Sky describes her approach, 745 00:30:34,700 --> 00:30:37,133 Tahira sees that Sky is running into 746 00:30:37,133 --> 00:30:39,366 a familiar problem: 747 00:30:39,366 --> 00:30:41,433 synchronizing the ropes. 748 00:30:41,433 --> 00:30:44,133 ♪ ♪ 749 00:30:44,133 --> 00:30:47,366 The ropes need to extend in a high arc, 750 00:30:47,366 --> 00:30:49,300 turning in opposite directions 751 00:30:49,300 --> 00:30:53,466 and staying 180 degrees out of phase with each other-- 752 00:30:53,466 --> 00:30:56,866 in other words, when one rope is on the ground, 753 00:30:56,866 --> 00:31:00,466 the other should be directly overhead. 754 00:31:00,466 --> 00:31:01,733 As they rotate, 755 00:31:01,733 --> 00:31:04,300 they need to maintain a regular rhythm 756 00:31:04,300 --> 00:31:08,266 to truly create Double Dutch. 757 00:31:08,266 --> 00:31:10,666 It looks easy when a person does it, 758 00:31:10,666 --> 00:31:13,066 but as Tahira and Sky know firsthand, 759 00:31:13,066 --> 00:31:15,633 it's anything but simple to engineer. 760 00:31:15,633 --> 00:31:17,166 That was wrong. 761 00:31:17,166 --> 00:31:18,800   (clattering) 762 00:31:20,533 --> 00:31:22,266 REID SMITH: The motor is always 763 00:31:22,266 --> 00:31:24,500 the most challenging aspect. LEILANI: Mm-hmm. 764 00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:27,466 REID SMITH: And that is how it was with us. 765 00:31:27,466 --> 00:31:29,200 With Double Dutch, the biomechanics 766 00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:31,466 that people use to get it to-- 767 00:31:31,466 --> 00:31:33,566 it looks so seamless. Yeah. 768 00:31:33,566 --> 00:31:36,366 But trying to recreate that in a robot? Yes. 769 00:31:36,366 --> 00:31:37,533 You realize... 770 00:31:37,533 --> 00:31:38,933 VALERO-CUEVAS: We have to ask ourselves 771 00:31:38,933 --> 00:31:43,800 how does the biology do it with materials and 772 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,133 information processing units 773 00:31:46,133 --> 00:31:48,200 that no engineer would dream of using? 774 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:52,066 How is it that we can move both ropes so well 775 00:31:52,066 --> 00:31:53,900 at the same time, but a robot can't? 776 00:31:53,900 --> 00:31:57,766 So then the question is, what do we need to do 777 00:31:57,766 --> 00:32:00,133 to replicate that? 778 00:32:00,133 --> 00:32:01,233 Look to your left. 779 00:32:01,233 --> 00:32:03,433 That's so cool. 780 00:32:03,433 --> 00:32:05,100 NARRATOR: Sky has chosen motors 781 00:32:05,100 --> 00:32:06,400 that are powerful enough to swing the ropes, 782 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,766 with an added feature. 783 00:32:08,766 --> 00:32:10,633 LEILANI: The motor for the Double Dutch machine 784 00:32:10,633 --> 00:32:12,166 is from a hoverboard. 785 00:32:12,166 --> 00:32:14,333 They're DC motors with encoders in them, 786 00:32:14,333 --> 00:32:15,633 so they can track the position. 787 00:32:15,633 --> 00:32:18,266 ♪ ♪ 788 00:32:18,266 --> 00:32:20,933 NARRATOR: The encoder setup uses magnetic poles 789 00:32:20,933 --> 00:32:23,633 mounted on the motor's shaft. 790 00:32:23,633 --> 00:32:26,933 A nearby sensor detects the changes in magnetic field 791 00:32:26,933 --> 00:32:28,533 as the motor spins, 792 00:32:28,533 --> 00:32:31,800 tracking the motor's rotational position and speed 793 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:34,166 with precision. 794 00:32:34,166 --> 00:32:37,400 That information can then be sent to a computer, 795 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,766 to adjust the spin in real time. 796 00:32:40,766 --> 00:32:42,966 At least, in theory. 797 00:32:42,966 --> 00:32:45,200 REID SMITH: A and C we're running right now. 798 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,800 LEILANI: Not B. B isn't running, see? 799 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:51,633 NARRATOR: For now, only three of Sky's four motors are spinning. 800 00:32:51,633 --> 00:32:53,666 REID SMITH: If these are two people's arms, 801 00:32:53,666 --> 00:32:55,733 it's just that-- 802 00:32:55,733 --> 00:32:58,066 it's like you step to the right... Okay. 803 00:32:58,066 --> 00:33:00,333 NARRATOR: They decide to align two working motors 804 00:33:00,333 --> 00:33:03,700 so they can work with one spinning rope for now. 805 00:33:03,700 --> 00:33:05,300 Let's just turn it on, let's just see. 806 00:33:05,300 --> 00:33:07,833 ♪ ♪ 807 00:33:07,833 --> 00:33:09,566 Yeah, this is slow enough 808 00:33:09,566 --> 00:33:11,766 where I could actually just walk into it. 809 00:33:15,466 --> 00:33:17,933 (excited squeal) 810 00:33:17,933 --> 00:33:20,566 NARRATOR: It's an impressive milestone: 811 00:33:20,566 --> 00:33:23,666 the two arms turning the rope are perfectly in sync. 812 00:33:23,666 --> 00:33:25,033 (laughs) 813 00:33:25,033 --> 00:33:27,066   Oh, it's... 814 00:33:27,066 --> 00:33:28,100 Okay. 815 00:33:28,100 --> 00:33:29,500 Yay! (both clapping) 816 00:33:29,500 --> 00:33:31,300 Oh my gosh, so good. 817 00:33:31,300 --> 00:33:32,800 I haven't seen anybody use it 818 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:34,666 or anything, this-- (exclaims) 819 00:33:34,666 --> 00:33:36,366 Let's see... 820 00:33:36,366 --> 00:33:38,333 It's really important, especially in sort of 821 00:33:38,333 --> 00:33:40,300 engineering projects where there's a consumer, 822 00:33:40,300 --> 00:33:42,766 to sort of take prototypes 823 00:33:42,766 --> 00:33:44,800 and actually test them with your end users 824 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:47,066 to see what their feedback is. 825 00:33:47,066 --> 00:33:48,500 LEILANI: That's what I love so much 826 00:33:48,500 --> 00:33:51,000 about this project, is Double Dutch is collaborative 827 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:53,633 and then robotics as an entire field, 828 00:33:53,633 --> 00:33:56,500 it combines three types of engineering: mechanical, 829 00:33:56,500 --> 00:33:59,366 electrical, and software engineering. 830 00:33:59,366 --> 00:34:02,466 NARRATOR: After making some tweaks to the code, 831 00:34:02,466 --> 00:34:04,366 they decide to try 832 00:34:04,366 --> 00:34:06,433 a true Double Dutch jump. 833 00:34:06,433 --> 00:34:09,433 REID SMITH: You want to hear a pat-pat, pat-pat, pat-pat... 834 00:34:09,433 --> 00:34:12,233 Okay, can you take it over for me? Okay. 835 00:34:12,233 --> 00:34:14,433 NARRATOR: With two of the working motors, 836 00:34:14,433 --> 00:34:17,200 Tahira guides Sky to be a stand-in turner. 837 00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:18,500 Just snatch it from me. Okay, okay. 838 00:34:18,500 --> 00:34:21,033 (laughs) 839 00:34:21,033 --> 00:34:23,233 I'm gonna just try it with a little bit... 840 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:29,466 (jumping echoing) 841 00:34:29,466 --> 00:34:31,600 NARRATOR: With Sky's assistance, 842 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:33,033 the motors are leading the way. 843 00:34:33,033 --> 00:34:34,166 (jump rope clattering) 844 00:34:34,166 --> 00:34:36,800 And they're working like a charm. 845 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:38,600 Oh, that's so satisfying! 846 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:40,333 Oh my gosh. (breathless): Okay. 847 00:34:40,333 --> 00:34:42,500 Thank you so much, Dr. Reid. You are so welcome. 848 00:34:42,500 --> 00:34:45,133 This is... amazing. This was fun. 849 00:34:45,133 --> 00:34:46,633 LEILANI: Working with Dr. Reid today 850 00:34:46,633 --> 00:34:48,066 was incredible. 851 00:34:48,066 --> 00:34:50,433 It was actually a dream for me. 852 00:34:50,433 --> 00:34:52,633 I felt like, if I continue with this project, 853 00:34:52,633 --> 00:34:54,333 I'm gonna get there, 854 00:34:54,333 --> 00:34:56,266 and then I'm going to see myself as a different person 855 00:34:56,266 --> 00:34:58,966 who's capable of more than I used to think I was. 856 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:02,333 NARRATOR: Meanwhile, after decades, 857 00:35:02,333 --> 00:35:05,266 Tahira is finally taking her own Double Dutch design 858 00:35:05,266 --> 00:35:06,633 to the next level. 859 00:35:06,633 --> 00:35:11,200 ♪ ♪ 860 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:13,033 And when we've done small tests... 861 00:35:13,033 --> 00:35:14,733 NARRATOR: She's partnering with a product design company, 862 00:35:14,733 --> 00:35:16,833 to turn her prototype 863 00:35:16,833 --> 00:35:21,033 into an affordable, consumer-ready version. 864 00:35:21,033 --> 00:35:23,500 Historically what has been difficult has been 865 00:35:23,500 --> 00:35:26,566 how to design the system in such a way 866 00:35:26,566 --> 00:35:30,800 that it's fully functional and also cost effective. 867 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:33,633 NARRATOR: Which is why she still thinks 868 00:35:33,633 --> 00:35:35,400 that the most practical approach is to use 869 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,166 only mechanical means to synchronize the motors. 870 00:35:38,166 --> 00:35:41,333 Tahira and director of industrial design, 871 00:35:41,333 --> 00:35:44,433 Steve Escobar, are deep in the proof-of-concept stage. 872 00:35:44,433 --> 00:35:46,166 ♪ ♪ 873 00:35:46,166 --> 00:35:49,600 For now, they're working with a rudimentary plywood model 874 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:51,600 to answer a few basic design questions. 875 00:35:53,233 --> 00:35:54,666 ARMANI: Once you have an idea, 876 00:35:54,666 --> 00:35:56,133 how are you going to actually 877 00:35:56,133 --> 00:35:57,266 execute the idea? 878 00:35:57,266 --> 00:35:59,066 How are you going to design 879 00:35:59,066 --> 00:36:00,700 the idea so that people 880 00:36:00,700 --> 00:36:02,000 will actually want to use it? 881 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:04,666 How are you going to make it accessible? 882 00:36:04,666 --> 00:36:08,333 Both from a cost perspective, but also... 883 00:36:08,333 --> 00:36:10,800 from a user interface perspective. 884 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:13,866 NARRATOR: This first iteration of the design 885 00:36:13,866 --> 00:36:16,133 uses just one motor on each side, 886 00:36:16,133 --> 00:36:20,566 plus some good old-fashioned mechanical hardware, 887 00:36:20,566 --> 00:36:23,033 like gears, sprockets, and chains. 888 00:36:23,033 --> 00:36:24,066 (creaking) 889 00:36:24,066 --> 00:36:25,300 Already, 890 00:36:25,300 --> 00:36:27,133 they're facing a few familiar challenges. 891 00:36:27,133 --> 00:36:28,866 Looks like it's in sync, actually. 892 00:36:28,866 --> 00:36:30,766 NARRATOR: Including getting the ropes in sync. 893 00:36:30,766 --> 00:36:32,833 It's starting to go out of sync. 894 00:36:32,833 --> 00:36:34,700 Okay. 895 00:36:35,900 --> 00:36:38,033 NARRATOR: With years of Double Dutch experience, 896 00:36:38,033 --> 00:36:41,200 Tahira knows exactly what the ropes should sound like. 897 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:43,600 REID SMITH: We need to be able to hear 898 00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:44,800 a consistent pat-pat, pat-pat. 899 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:46,033 But we're hearing... 900 00:36:46,033 --> 00:36:47,800 (slow, uneven clapping) 901 00:36:49,300 --> 00:36:51,700 It's very rhythmic. 902 00:36:51,700 --> 00:36:53,400 That's why when stuff's out of beat, 903 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:54,700 it's like-- it's like the whole-- 904 00:36:54,700 --> 00:36:56,166 it's-it's, it's just wrong. 905 00:36:56,166 --> 00:36:57,733 If anything slips, 906 00:36:57,733 --> 00:36:59,533 it would be a tooth. 907 00:36:59,533 --> 00:37:01,533 NARRATOR: Using gears is a common sense way 908 00:37:01,533 --> 00:37:04,433 to keep the rotation of the ropes in sync. 909 00:37:04,433 --> 00:37:06,500 But something is wrong. 910 00:37:06,500 --> 00:37:07,500 REID SMITH: We think the weight of the rope 911 00:37:07,500 --> 00:37:09,033 was throwing this off. 912 00:37:10,566 --> 00:37:11,733 ESCOBAR: When it's in motion, 913 00:37:11,733 --> 00:37:13,266 it's actually creating too much force 914 00:37:13,266 --> 00:37:14,333 for these arms. 915 00:37:15,333 --> 00:37:16,733 REID SMITH: Let's take some of these off 916 00:37:16,733 --> 00:37:18,366 and let's see what happens. 917 00:37:20,633 --> 00:37:23,266 Let's see, let me just listen for it. 918 00:37:23,266 --> 00:37:26,466 (ropes patting ground rhythmically) 919 00:37:26,466 --> 00:37:28,466 MICHAEL SPRAUVE: So how's it going? 920 00:37:28,466 --> 00:37:30,166 Yeah, it's coming along. 921 00:37:30,166 --> 00:37:32,666 NARRATOR: Michael Sprauve, president of Speck Design, 922 00:37:32,666 --> 00:37:35,066 stops in to see how things are progressing. 923 00:37:35,066 --> 00:37:37,400 Where are we at, guys? 924 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:39,133 NARRATOR: As a team, they talk about the day's testing, 925 00:37:39,133 --> 00:37:41,433 and how to improve the design. 926 00:37:41,433 --> 00:37:42,833 REID SMITH: There's a lot to think about 927 00:37:42,833 --> 00:37:47,033 with some of the play that's still in the arms. 928 00:37:47,033 --> 00:37:49,300 Your visit with Sky was very inspirational to us, 929 00:37:49,300 --> 00:37:52,633 and that was switching from a single motor with gears 930 00:37:52,633 --> 00:37:55,333 to two motors at each end. 931 00:37:55,333 --> 00:37:58,166 When you shared that with us, 932 00:37:58,166 --> 00:38:01,800 it really kind of turned a light bulb on. 933 00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:03,100 It's extremely important to have 934 00:38:03,100 --> 00:38:04,466 to have different people who can see things 935 00:38:04,466 --> 00:38:06,233 from a different angle, 936 00:38:06,233 --> 00:38:08,166 because each one of us have our own blind spots. 937 00:38:08,166 --> 00:38:10,533   NARRATOR: Tahira's initial designs 938 00:38:10,533 --> 00:38:14,000 were rooted in her experience with mechanisms. 939 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,866 But collaborating with Sky has expanded the possibilities 940 00:38:17,866 --> 00:38:21,400 for realizing the machine. 941 00:38:21,400 --> 00:38:23,400 The best moments of ideation 942 00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:25,866 are, in my experience, collaborative. 943 00:38:25,866 --> 00:38:28,700 And they involve ideas bouncing off one another, 944 00:38:28,700 --> 00:38:31,166 being folded over, the negative of that idea 945 00:38:31,166 --> 00:38:33,300 being turned in into the positive of this other idea. 946 00:38:33,300 --> 00:38:36,433 NARRATOR: Working together across different fields, 947 00:38:36,433 --> 00:38:39,533 what engineers call interdisciplinary collaboration, 948 00:38:39,533 --> 00:38:42,533 can be a powerful multiplier. 949 00:38:42,533 --> 00:38:44,966 Though a lot more troubleshooting remains, 950 00:38:44,966 --> 00:38:48,033 Tahira's project is finally coming to life 951 00:38:48,033 --> 00:38:50,233 after decades of work. 952 00:38:50,233 --> 00:38:51,233 REID SMITH: Semi-surreal. 953 00:38:51,233 --> 00:38:52,766 Exciting... (clapping) 954 00:38:52,766 --> 00:38:54,033 It's a lot. 955 00:38:54,033 --> 00:38:55,966 It's... heartwarming, it's... 956 00:38:55,966 --> 00:38:59,300 (wavering sigh) 957 00:39:01,333 --> 00:39:02,766 (whispering): I'm just glad. 958 00:39:02,766 --> 00:39:04,900 (sniffles) 959 00:39:05,900 --> 00:39:06,900 There's a message 960 00:39:06,900 --> 00:39:08,400 behind this product 961 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:09,866 when it gets on the market, 962 00:39:09,866 --> 00:39:12,966 there's a story to inspire young girls, 963 00:39:12,966 --> 00:39:15,500 young inventors, young minds, dreamers. 964 00:39:15,500 --> 00:39:18,166 NARRATOR: Tahira dreamt of a machine 965 00:39:18,166 --> 00:39:21,633 that could recreate the motions of another person's arms. 966 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:25,300 But what happens when engineers take aim 967 00:39:25,300 --> 00:39:27,400 at a biological system 968 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,700 that is far more complex-- like vision? 969 00:39:30,700 --> 00:39:34,600 Restoring the ability to see with an idea 970 00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:36,133 that once seemed like science fiction. 971 00:39:36,133 --> 00:39:41,966 (indistinct radio chatter) 972 00:39:41,966 --> 00:39:44,066 PHILIP TROYK: "The Six Million Dollar Man." 973 00:39:44,066 --> 00:39:46,366 I have to say, if there was any inspiration, 974 00:39:46,366 --> 00:39:48,000 that, that show was. 975 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:49,533 PILOT: I can't hold it, she's breaking up... 976 00:39:50,700 --> 00:39:52,966 (booming) 977 00:39:52,966 --> 00:39:54,333 MAN: We can rebuild him. 978 00:39:54,333 --> 00:39:57,133 We have the technology. 979 00:39:57,133 --> 00:39:59,200 TROYK: When I was an undergraduate, 980 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:00,700 I became interested in how 981 00:40:00,700 --> 00:40:04,300 electronics could be mated with the human body. 982 00:40:05,666 --> 00:40:07,066 NARRATOR: For more than 20 years, 983 00:40:07,066 --> 00:40:11,433 Phil Troyk and his interdisciplinary research group 984 00:40:11,433 --> 00:40:13,700 have been pioneering a technology 985 00:40:13,700 --> 00:40:16,733 designed to restore some vision 986 00:40:16,733 --> 00:40:19,433 to those who have lost the ability to see. 987 00:40:21,333 --> 00:40:24,900 We've been using prosthetics to restore our bodies' abilities 988 00:40:24,900 --> 00:40:27,966 for thousands of years. 989 00:40:27,966 --> 00:40:30,433 VALERO-CUEVAS: One of the most useful prosthetics 990 00:40:30,433 --> 00:40:33,833 has been the very humble glasses, right? 991 00:40:33,833 --> 00:40:35,633 So you have a sense, 992 00:40:35,633 --> 00:40:37,666 you have a sense of sight, 993 00:40:37,666 --> 00:40:40,133   but then there's a distortion in the curvature of your eye, 994 00:40:40,133 --> 00:40:42,233 so then you use a lens to compensate for that. 995 00:40:42,233 --> 00:40:44,933 NARRATOR: But this new device 996 00:40:44,933 --> 00:40:49,133 takes visual prosthetics to the next level. 997 00:40:49,133 --> 00:40:52,366 The idea is to take the information you capture 998 00:40:52,366 --> 00:40:56,033 from a camera and bypass the eyes and optic nerve 999 00:40:56,033 --> 00:40:57,966 and go directly to the brain. 1000 00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:03,033 VALERO-CUEVAS: The state of neuro engineering is at its infancy 1001 00:41:03,033 --> 00:41:07,066 with very, very promising avenues for growth. 1002 00:41:07,066 --> 00:41:11,133 One that has been for a very long time a dream of engineers 1003 00:41:11,133 --> 00:41:14,866 is to be able to interface with the nervous system. 1004 00:41:14,866 --> 00:41:17,800 ♪ ♪ 1005 00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:21,000 NARRATOR: Phil's group is the first to receive FDA permission 1006 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:23,833 to implant into the brain of a blind person 1007 00:41:23,833 --> 00:41:27,633 a network of wireless stimulators, 1008 00:41:27,633 --> 00:41:31,633 each just five millimeters across. 1009 00:41:31,633 --> 00:41:34,466 PHIL TROYK: You see the electrodes sticking out there. 1010 00:41:34,466 --> 00:41:35,766 Even if they meet the criteria-- 1011 00:41:35,766 --> 00:41:37,200 the visual, the medical criteria-- 1012 00:41:37,200 --> 00:41:40,566   they have to be willing to embark on brain surgery. 1013 00:41:40,566 --> 00:41:42,866 It's hard to find someone that fits into 1014 00:41:42,866 --> 00:41:44,500 all of that criteria. 1015 00:41:44,500 --> 00:41:47,633 NARRATOR: The team has qualified their first participant-- 1016 00:41:47,633 --> 00:41:50,533 Brian Bussard, who lost his vision completely 1017 00:41:50,533 --> 00:41:51,833 several years ago. 1018 00:41:51,833 --> 00:41:53,333 Does the headband match my shoes? 1019 00:41:53,333 --> 00:41:54,900 WOMAN: It does, actually. 1020 00:41:54,900 --> 00:41:56,900 (laughing): I was kidding. 1021 00:41:56,900 --> 00:41:58,100 NARRATOR: Brian agreed to have 1022 00:41:58,100 --> 00:42:00,600 a group of these stimulators 1023 00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:04,266 surgically implanted in his visual cortex. 1024 00:42:04,266 --> 00:42:05,833 When you're considering designing something 1025 00:42:05,833 --> 00:42:08,166 that will be implanted in a person, 1026 00:42:08,166 --> 00:42:10,066 One of the safety checks 1027 00:42:10,066 --> 00:42:13,366 is making sure that whatever that thing is, 1028 00:42:13,366 --> 00:42:16,066 it doesn't actually harm a person. 1029 00:42:16,066 --> 00:42:17,700 And how did you sleep last night, 1030 00:42:17,700 --> 00:42:19,366 on a scale of one to ten? Seven. 1031 00:42:19,366 --> 00:42:20,866 NARRATOR: For the trial, 1032 00:42:20,866 --> 00:42:22,633 he is referred to as the participant, 1033 00:42:22,633 --> 00:42:25,433 not the patient, as his collaboration 1034 00:42:25,433 --> 00:42:27,600 with the entire team is essential. 1035 00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:29,233 BUSSARD: I was going to be the first one. 1036 00:42:29,233 --> 00:42:30,666 In my lifetime, 1037 00:42:30,666 --> 00:42:32,166 I get to be the first of something that 1038 00:42:32,166 --> 00:42:35,500 could change people's lives later on. You know, 1039 00:42:35,500 --> 00:42:37,133   like, who was the first person to walk on the moon? 1040 00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:40,966 NEIL ARMSTRONG: It's one small step for man, 1041 00:42:40,966 --> 00:42:43,966 one giant leap for mankind. 1042 00:42:43,966 --> 00:42:46,366 ARMANI: Artificial vision has 1043 00:42:46,366 --> 00:42:50,800 really been enabled by advances in imaging technology. 1044 00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:54,933 The development of incredibly tiny detectors 1045 00:42:54,933 --> 00:42:57,066 and incredibly tiny 1046 00:42:57,066 --> 00:42:59,566 communication-signaling transmitters 1047 00:42:59,566 --> 00:43:03,433 have enabled these implantable devices. 1048 00:43:04,766 --> 00:43:06,633 NARRATOR: The implants in Brian's brain 1049 00:43:06,633 --> 00:43:09,100 are receivers for signals, that in turn, 1050 00:43:09,100 --> 00:43:10,700 stimulate the brain. 1051 00:43:10,700 --> 00:43:13,800 The coil transmits signals 1052 00:43:13,800 --> 00:43:16,133 that they hope the brain will interpret 1053 00:43:16,133 --> 00:43:18,833 as visual information. 1054 00:43:18,833 --> 00:43:21,500 MICHAEL BARRY: Each of those 25 arrays has 1055 00:43:21,500 --> 00:43:24,333 16 electrodes that we can stimulate on command. 1056 00:43:24,333 --> 00:43:29,566 And the goal is to use those electrodes to 1057 00:43:29,566 --> 00:43:32,000 activate the healthy neurons that are still there, 1058 00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:35,433 and just haven't been receiving normal visual input for a while. 1059 00:43:35,433 --> 00:43:36,900 (pinging) 1060 00:43:36,900 --> 00:43:38,233 BUSSARD: What do I see? 1061 00:43:38,233 --> 00:43:41,200 Probably the closest thing I would say, 1062 00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:43,566 is if you had blips on a radar screen. 1063 00:43:43,566 --> 00:43:46,366 NARRATOR: The process requires creating 1064 00:43:46,366 --> 00:43:48,333 a new kind of visual language. 1065 00:43:48,333 --> 00:43:50,566 DAGNELIE: Imagine getting these 1066 00:43:50,566 --> 00:43:51,966 funny flashing lights 1067 00:43:51,966 --> 00:43:54,566 from either a retinal or a cortical prostheses 1068 00:43:54,566 --> 00:43:56,966 that don't look anything like what vision used to be. 1069 00:43:56,966 --> 00:43:59,666 And then your brain is beginning to discover 1070 00:43:59,666 --> 00:44:01,266 there's a message to the madness. 1071 00:44:01,266 --> 00:44:02,800 There are some patterning here, 1072 00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:05,366 and if I can try to find out how things hang together, 1073 00:44:05,366 --> 00:44:07,533 then I can learn to understand what's around me. 1074 00:44:07,533 --> 00:44:09,933 VALERO-CUEVAS: People used to think, 1075 00:44:09,933 --> 00:44:11,666 well, we need to recreate 1076 00:44:11,666 --> 00:44:13,600 the signals from the eyes 1077 00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:15,766 into that same neural code. 1078 00:44:15,766 --> 00:44:19,133 But we've seen examples where if you establish a, 1079 00:44:19,133 --> 00:44:21,966 an interface with those areas, 1080 00:44:21,966 --> 00:44:26,400 and you give them a consistent input, 1081 00:44:26,400 --> 00:44:28,666 the brain will adapt 1082 00:44:28,666 --> 00:44:32,366 and interpret those as best as it can. 1083 00:44:32,366 --> 00:44:36,933 NARRATOR: As Brian continues to adapt, the work has progressed 1084 00:44:36,933 --> 00:44:40,300 from the chair to a smaller, cart-sized version 1085 00:44:40,300 --> 00:44:42,933 of the system, connected by a cord, 1086 00:44:42,933 --> 00:44:45,366 with researcher Michael Barry 1087 00:44:45,366 --> 00:44:48,666 pushing the cart and following behind. 1088 00:44:48,666 --> 00:44:51,700 TROYK: So we're putting on the visible light glasses. 1089 00:44:51,700 --> 00:44:54,300 (voiceover): The basic idea is to capture images 1090 00:44:54,300 --> 00:44:57,500 with a camera technologically, 1091 00:44:57,500 --> 00:45:00,566 somehow convert those images 1092 00:45:00,566 --> 00:45:05,400 to the commands that go to each of these little modules. 1093 00:45:05,400 --> 00:45:08,266 BARRY: Stand up slowly, but to your left. 1094 00:45:10,066 --> 00:45:12,400 BUSSARD: The first real exciting thing for me was 1095 00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:14,133 when we added a camera to it. 1096 00:45:14,133 --> 00:45:16,000 I went like this with my hand, 1097 00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:17,833 and then I went like, "oh, there's my thumb." 1098 00:45:19,366 --> 00:45:23,166 So that was the first time in probably six years 1099 00:45:23,166 --> 00:45:26,266 that I had a sensation of vision. 1100 00:45:26,266 --> 00:45:28,700 That was exciting. 1101 00:45:28,700 --> 00:45:31,200 It gave me a system. 1102 00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:32,633 GRANT: So what we're going to work on today 1103 00:45:32,633 --> 00:45:35,466 is a task of finding an open chair. 1104 00:45:37,133 --> 00:45:39,700 Can you identify which chair is open? 1105 00:45:47,133 --> 00:45:49,066 (clacking) 1106 00:45:49,066 --> 00:45:50,266 Right there. 1107 00:45:50,266 --> 00:45:51,633 Great job. BARRY: Yeah, good job. 1108 00:45:51,633 --> 00:45:54,300 TROYK: What we're providing is 1109 00:45:54,300 --> 00:45:56,133 really a targeting system. 1110 00:45:56,133 --> 00:45:58,333 It says for whatever the camera is detecting, 1111 00:45:58,333 --> 00:46:00,166 "Is something there?" 1112 00:46:01,933 --> 00:46:04,366 It says where something is, but you don't know what it is. 1113 00:46:04,366 --> 00:46:06,533 Let me find the cart. (laughs) 1114 00:46:06,533 --> 00:46:08,700 That way we don't pull the cords. 1115 00:46:08,700 --> 00:46:10,666 Hey, so do you want to try something infrared? 1116 00:46:10,666 --> 00:46:13,800 NARRATOR: The team decides to expand the testing to include 1117 00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:15,600 a camera that can see wavelengths of light 1118 00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:19,000 beyond what humans can see. 1119 00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:22,066 BARRY: So now we have the thermal sensor. 1120 00:46:22,066 --> 00:46:23,833 ARMANI: Why should you limit 1121 00:46:23,833 --> 00:46:26,433 your wavelengths to the visible range? 1122 00:46:26,433 --> 00:46:29,533 Why not allow someone to see in the thermal range? 1123 00:46:29,533 --> 00:46:32,166   NARRATOR: With his limited vision, 1124 00:46:32,166 --> 00:46:34,466 infrared allows Brian to distinguish people-- 1125 00:46:34,466 --> 00:46:37,700 and animals-- by their body heat. 1126 00:46:37,700 --> 00:46:39,666 GRANT: For this task, 1127 00:46:39,666 --> 00:46:41,566 you'll find there's one occupied chair. 1128 00:46:44,200 --> 00:46:45,533 Well, there's Grace right there. 1129 00:46:45,533 --> 00:46:46,966 Hi, Grace, nice to meet you. 1130 00:46:46,966 --> 00:46:48,633 (chuckling) 1131 00:46:49,933 --> 00:46:51,600 (voiceover): But you still have the big donut 1132 00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:52,933 in the back of your head, you still have 1133 00:46:52,933 --> 00:46:54,333 the wires for the camera. 1134 00:46:54,333 --> 00:46:56,500 If you walk too fast, well, we can pull the coil. 1135 00:46:56,500 --> 00:46:58,766 You lose signal and you got to stop and reset. 1136 00:46:58,766 --> 00:47:00,700 YANG: There are a lot of technologies that 1137 00:47:00,700 --> 00:47:02,733 work beautifully in a lab, right? 1138 00:47:02,733 --> 00:47:04,766 Where you have a lot of space, it's dedicated, 1139 00:47:04,766 --> 00:47:07,000 and everything works well. 1140 00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:09,033 But the reality is people move, they have their lives, 1141 00:47:09,033 --> 00:47:11,666 they want to live the way they want to live and be mobile. 1142 00:47:11,666 --> 00:47:13,733 Nice to meet you. 1143 00:47:13,733 --> 00:47:16,466 NARRATOR: With the basic technology working, 1144 00:47:16,466 --> 00:47:18,333 the team has been building a system 1145 00:47:18,333 --> 00:47:19,666 that condenses an entire cart of equipment 1146 00:47:19,666 --> 00:47:22,100 into a wearable device, 1147 00:47:22,100 --> 00:47:25,266 so Brian can go mobile. 1148 00:47:25,266 --> 00:47:27,833 The camera records images that are translated by 1149 00:47:27,833 --> 00:47:31,900 a mini computer into signals his brain can understand. 1150 00:47:31,900 --> 00:47:35,000 These are then sent through a transmitter 1151 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:37,100 and beamed into Brian's implants, 1152 00:47:37,100 --> 00:47:39,533 reaching his visual cortex. 1153 00:47:41,633 --> 00:47:43,800 TROYK: Okay, so I'm going to put this on your belt, okay? 1154 00:47:43,800 --> 00:47:46,500 You should be good to go. We're good to go. 1155 00:47:46,500 --> 00:47:47,833 TROYK: You're freed up. 1156 00:47:49,500 --> 00:47:51,866 Trish was right there, she moved. 1157 00:47:51,866 --> 00:47:53,400 (laughs) Now she's right there. 1158 00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:54,933 I'm just gonna tell you, you can walk to me. 1159 00:47:54,933 --> 00:47:57,033 I was gonna say, she's right there. Yeah, I'm right here. 1160 00:47:58,400 --> 00:48:01,433 Okay, so, I'm guessing this is tables over here? 1161 00:48:01,433 --> 00:48:04,133 Or somebody or something. 1162 00:48:04,133 --> 00:48:06,666 TRACY BUSSARD: So, as soon as he didn't have that starting and stopping 1163 00:48:06,666 --> 00:48:09,500 of trying to keep the cart right behind him... 1164 00:48:09,500 --> 00:48:12,200 Yeah, he just decided to just walk 1165 00:48:12,200 --> 00:48:14,133 around the room and see what all was here. 1166 00:48:15,166 --> 00:48:16,733 (clicking) 1167 00:48:16,733 --> 00:48:18,133 I'm free! 1168 00:48:18,133 --> 00:48:21,633 Becoming untethered was a big step. 1169 00:48:21,633 --> 00:48:23,466 It gave me the flexibility 1170 00:48:23,466 --> 00:48:25,833 to move and try and figure it out quicker, 1171 00:48:25,833 --> 00:48:26,933 or on my own. 1172 00:48:26,933 --> 00:48:28,033 Okay, there's something here. 1173 00:48:28,033 --> 00:48:29,400 (clacking) Is this another table? 1174 00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:32,166 BARRY: So now we have the thermal sensor. 1175 00:48:35,466 --> 00:48:39,233 (beeping) 1176 00:48:40,700 --> 00:48:42,300 There's somebody right there. 1177 00:48:42,300 --> 00:48:43,900 You found me. Yay! 1178 00:48:43,900 --> 00:48:47,400 NARRATOR: Watching Brian see his wife-- without his eyes-- 1179 00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:51,533 is a powerful validation of all their hard work. 1180 00:48:51,533 --> 00:48:55,266 The moment today when he had on the mobile unit 1181 00:48:55,266 --> 00:48:57,600 and he walked to his wife and saw her, 1182 00:48:57,600 --> 00:48:59,966 I just thought that was really a special moment. 1183 00:48:59,966 --> 00:49:01,700 She didn't make a sound, 1184 00:49:01,700 --> 00:49:04,200 but you went to her, you found her in the room. 1185 00:49:04,200 --> 00:49:06,700 YANG: You think, "Oh my gosh, this man has lost his vision, 1186 00:49:06,700 --> 00:49:09,500 "and now he can see something with the help of 1187 00:49:09,500 --> 00:49:11,100 this engineering system strapped to him." 1188 00:49:11,100 --> 00:49:13,766 All of these things have come together. 1189 00:49:13,766 --> 00:49:16,333 All that iteration and testing and protocols. 1190 00:49:16,333 --> 00:49:18,033 It's pretty amazing. 1191 00:49:18,033 --> 00:49:20,666 TROYK: This person is volunteering themselves, 1192 00:49:20,666 --> 00:49:22,600 they're putting themselves at risk. 1193 00:49:22,600 --> 00:49:26,900 They're doing so not because they expect to get vision back, 1194 00:49:26,900 --> 00:49:29,400 it's for advancement of knowledge. 1195 00:49:29,400 --> 00:49:31,633 It's for what we learn now 1196 00:49:31,633 --> 00:49:33,966 will make possible what will become 1197 00:49:33,966 --> 00:49:35,700 standard of care 100 years from now. 1198 00:49:35,700 --> 00:49:37,266 There's somebody right there. 1199 00:49:37,266 --> 00:49:40,633 (voiceover): Just from a human standpoint, 1200 00:49:40,633 --> 00:49:41,966 I think we should be wired that we want to 1201 00:49:41,966 --> 00:49:43,066 leave the world a better place 1202 00:49:43,066 --> 00:49:44,400 than it was when we got here. 1203 00:49:44,400 --> 00:49:47,066 NARRATOR: The following day, the team gathers 1204 00:49:47,066 --> 00:49:49,066 to review their progress with the mobile system. 1205 00:49:49,066 --> 00:49:50,966 TROYK: Did it accomplish the goal 1206 00:49:50,966 --> 00:49:54,766 of making you feel more autonomous and liberated? 1207 00:49:54,766 --> 00:49:56,200 Well, full disclosure, 1208 00:49:56,200 --> 00:49:57,966 if it would've been nice out yesterday, 1209 00:49:57,966 --> 00:49:59,600 it would've been "Oops, I made a left-hand turn 1210 00:49:59,600 --> 00:50:01,233 to go out the door." (laughter) 1211 00:50:01,233 --> 00:50:03,466 Now it's okay. 1212 00:50:03,466 --> 00:50:05,566 Well, what do we prioritize next? 1213 00:50:05,566 --> 00:50:08,266 Probably the next... 1214 00:50:08,266 --> 00:50:11,966 step would be is if we can combine 1215 00:50:11,966 --> 00:50:14,333 either the two cameras into one, 1216 00:50:14,333 --> 00:50:16,200 or even adding the second visual camera 1217 00:50:16,200 --> 00:50:18,666 so we can get depth into it. 1218 00:50:18,666 --> 00:50:21,066 From an engineering perspective, 1219 00:50:21,066 --> 00:50:24,000 engineering is not just a technology 1220 00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:26,666 stemming from math and science. 1221 00:50:28,300 --> 00:50:30,466 And the question we're asking is: 1222 00:50:30,466 --> 00:50:33,100 how can an artificial interface like this 1223 00:50:33,100 --> 00:50:37,133 be used to provide useful sensory information 1224 00:50:37,133 --> 00:50:40,633 for someone who has blindness? 1225 00:50:40,633 --> 00:50:43,400 We do have now the interface, 1226 00:50:43,400 --> 00:50:46,066 albeit in somewhat simpler form than some would like. 1227 00:50:46,066 --> 00:50:48,333 But we do have the interface, 1228 00:50:48,333 --> 00:50:51,166 and we are now answering the questions. 1229 00:50:51,166 --> 00:50:53,600 YANG: It's such a high risk, 1230 00:50:53,600 --> 00:50:55,300 high payoff engineering challenge. 1231 00:50:55,300 --> 00:50:58,366 Giving vision to someone who's visually impaired 1232 00:50:58,366 --> 00:51:01,600 is just such a holy grail engineering strategy, 1233 00:51:01,600 --> 00:51:02,600 and they've done it. 1234 00:51:02,600 --> 00:51:05,700 Our aspirations are high, 1235 00:51:05,700 --> 00:51:08,133 and we only get there by 1236 00:51:08,133 --> 00:51:11,300 making step-by-step incremental progress. 1237 00:51:11,300 --> 00:51:13,866 (panting) There he is, hey, buddy. 1238 00:51:13,866 --> 00:51:15,533 I think we're proud of the fact 1239 00:51:15,533 --> 00:51:17,500 that maybe we got there first. 1240 00:51:17,500 --> 00:51:18,933 BUSSARD: Good boy. 1241 00:51:18,933 --> 00:51:19,933 TROYK: I think we're done. 1242 00:51:19,933 --> 00:51:25,133 ♪ ♪ 1243 00:51:25,133 --> 00:51:27,333 NARRATOR: We're here today, 1244 00:51:27,333 --> 00:51:29,433 with the world around us as it is, 1245 00:51:29,433 --> 00:51:33,833 because we are hard-wired to invent... 1246 00:51:33,833 --> 00:51:37,100 design, 1247 00:51:37,100 --> 00:51:39,866 and build tools. 1248 00:51:39,866 --> 00:51:43,933 As we continue to boost our abilities with technology, 1249 00:51:43,933 --> 00:51:45,800 it's anyone's guess what we'll create 1250 00:51:45,800 --> 00:51:47,066 in the future. 1251 00:51:48,066 --> 00:51:50,433 STELTZNER: When we go to create something new, 1252 00:51:50,433 --> 00:51:52,366 we're stepping into the unknown. 1253 00:51:53,466 --> 00:51:55,333 NARRATOR: With creativity and collaboration, 1254 00:51:55,333 --> 00:51:58,766 we can solve even the most difficult problems. 1255 00:51:58,766 --> 00:52:00,533 ARMANI: Science fiction has always 1256 00:52:00,533 --> 00:52:02,433 inspired the world. 1257 00:52:02,433 --> 00:52:05,466 And it is the job of engineers 1258 00:52:05,466 --> 00:52:09,000 to convert that inspiration into innovation 1259 00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:11,933 and invent the solutions. (machine beeps) 1260 00:52:11,933 --> 00:52:13,966 NARRATOR: Building stuff, 1261 00:52:13,966 --> 00:52:16,333 to benefit all. 1262 00:52:16,333 --> 00:52:18,500 ♪ ♪ 1263 00:52:18,500 --> 00:52:19,700 (blasting off) 1264 00:52:41,166 --> 00:52:44,033 ♪ ♪ 1265 00:52:44,966 --> 00:52:52,500 ♪ ♪ 1266 00:52:56,333 --> 00:53:03,933 ♪ ♪ 1267 00:53:07,766 --> 00:53:15,300 ♪ ♪ 1268 00:53:16,933 --> 00:53:24,466 ♪ ♪ 1269 00:53:26,100 --> 00:53:33,633 ♪ ♪