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Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: Another leap for AI, how to drink without getting drunk & battling noisy neighbours

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: Another leap for AI, how to drink without getting drunk & battling noisy neighbours
Steve Caplin is excited by ChatGPT's latest innovation which combines text, audio and video and talks to you uncannily realistically. He also explains which AI system you should use and points out that AI is not guaranteed to tell the truth. There's the video portal between Dublin and New York which had to be shut because of mischievous activity. Scientists have found a way to consume alcohol without getting drunk. MIT is working on a way to combat noisy neighbours. There may be a way to stop satellite jammers blinding planes' navigation systems. And Ordnance Survey is incorporating local nicknames to its maps.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published:
Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: Underwater bikes, robotic shoes, Bill Gates' unused megayacht & knifeless knives

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: Underwater bikes, robotic shoes, Bill Gates' unused megayacht & knifeless knives
Steve Caplin delves into the world of gadgets. You can swim faster with an underwater bike or the thrusters of the Jetdrive Pro. You can speedwalk with Moonwalker robotic shoes. There's an electric quadricycle and a personal flying system. You can now strap bike clips to your shoes. If you're after a megayacht, Bill Gates is selling his – unusued. The new Swiss Army Knife has no blades. And accountants BDO will no longer be doing Zoom interviews to cut down on cheating.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published:
Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: Superfood from thin air, anti-ageing drugs & 3D-printed houses

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: Superfood from thin air, anti-ageing drugs & 3D-printed houses
Steve Caplin enlightens Simon Rose as to the new protein superfood that can be made from thin air with little environmental impact. In California, human trials are starting on anti-ageing drugs. A lifebelt can be sent further when it's attached to a drone, but some of the grocery delivery companies are being closed down. Steve finds Portuguese 3D-printed houses very attractive. The famous can use AI for engaging with fans on Instagram. New plastic can biodegrade when mixed with compost. And the Dodo may make a comeback.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published:
Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: A one-in-a-billion-year event, the Thermonator & an omnidirecitonal bicycle

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: A one-in-a-billion-year event, the Thermonator & an omnidirecitonal bicycle
In a once-in-a-billion-year happening two lifeforms have merged into one organism, says Steve Caplin. Post Office staff are using Google to tell if stamps are counterfeit. Whatsapp is being switched off in China and TikTok in the US. There's a flamethrower dog, an omnidirectional bike, a cat self-groomer and a way of putting your ex's love letters behind you. We also learn why NASA can't find out if there's life on Mars and hear why Microsoft won't release its way of producing realistic talking AI videos from a single photo.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published:
Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: Avoiding kangaroos, various-legged robots & a crow imitating a siren

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: Avoiding kangaroos, various-legged robots & a crow imitating a siren
Steve Caplin on the latest tech. VW have developed a kangaroo scarer for cars. A home security device can fire paintballs or tear gas. There's a three-legged robot for asteroid mineral extraction, a two-legged humanoid that can be trained remotely and a drone that can hop on one leg. Skateboards can now be propelled by an expensive broomstick-like device. The Post Office can't tell if its own stamps are counterfeit or not. A crow near a police station can imitate two types of siren. And Elon Music wants to send 1,000 rockets to colonise Mars.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published:
Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: Recharging drones, tea & post robots, DNA in air conditioners & vegan leather

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: Recharging drones, tea & post robots, DNA in air conditioners & vegan leather
Steve Caplin admires a Singapore company offering electric rental vans. In Denmark, they are developing drones that can recharge from power lines. Japanese scientists are experimenting with drones that can become a rolling wheel on land as well as fly. Hyundai are producing a robot that can deliver tea and post and cope with lifts. A new multitool lets you select the tools you would find most useful. Imperial College has grown a vegan leather shoe from bacteria which even dyed itself. And in Australia, they've found they can retrieve criminals' DNA from air conditioners.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published:
Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: A timezone & crops for the Moon, AI nurses & Unidentified Submerged Objects

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: A timezone & crops for the Moon, AI nurses & Unidentified Submerged Objects
Tech expert Steve Caplin explains to Simon Rose why NASA believes the Moon should have its own time zone. NASA also plans to grow crops there in two years' time. Is space junk becoming dangerous to us on Earth? UFO spotters are turning their attention to the oceans. Amazon is ending its "just walk out" shops in the USA. NVIDIA is developing AI nurses while DrugGPT is hoping to provide doctors with second opinions. An Emo robot attempting to mimic human expressions turns out to be rather creepy. The invisibility shield is now available to buy. And Steve recommends an inexpensive micro sander kit for tricky angles.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published:
Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: Brain chips, AI film and song-generation, a stair-climbing vacuum & railways on the moon

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: Brain chips, AI film and song-generation, a stair-climbing vacuum & railways on the moon
Steve Caplin marvels at the success of Elon Musk's Neuralink brain chip, enabling a paralysed man to control a computer. He thinks filmmakers and song writers should be very afraid of AI technology that could make them redundant. He has hopes for an autonomous road repair system designed to stop potholes developing. He feels the investor of a bike lane sweeper hasn't thought things through properly. Northrup Grmman has won a contract to develop a railway on the moon. There's a stair-climbing robot vacuum. And the world's fastest camera has got even faster.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published:
Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: Robot space binmen & baggage handlers, flying taxis & maglev trains

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: Robot space binmen & baggage handlers, flying taxis & maglev trains
Steve Caplin heralds the development of robot rubbish collectors in space and driverless baggage handlers at Gatwick. After two weeks of being plugged into AI, a humanoid robot can speak, reason and manipulate objects: the entrepreneur behind it wants a billion of them to be made. Electric flying taxis could be in the UK by 2026. There's a remarkable tech auction in progress. GameScent adds smells to computer games. Maglev trains may be able to use existing rail tracks. And a robot can paint offshore wind turbines underwater.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published:
Simon Rose

Gadgets & Gizmos: Is Perplexity the new Google, Google's wifi problem & bionic eyes

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

Gadgets and Gizmos

Gadgets & Gizmos: Is Perplexity the new Google, Google's wifi problem & bionic eyes
Steve Caplin and Simon Rose marvel at new search engine Perplexity which they both feel knocks Google for six in its usefulness. You can try it at Perplexity.ai for free on the web and through apps. Google have other problems too, with their new campus a wifi black spot. A helium balloon could be the answer if you're lost in the wilderness. A watch could show you your actual blood flow. Bionic eyes could be powered by solar panels on the iris. A replica of the Titanic is due to sail in 2027. And there's a sweet crowdfunded robot powered by your smartphone.
Guest:

Steve Caplin


Published: