Hrkn to .. Gadgets & Gizmos
150 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago -Stocks may rise and fall, businesses may boom and bust, but gadgets keep appearing at an ever-increasing rate. Share Radio’s Gadgets & Gizmos show explores the latest technological innovations, from the indispensable to the downright ridiculous. Show host Simon Rose and technology editor Steve Caplin take a weekly humorous look at what’s on offer, featuring both existing products and those whose inventors utilise crowdfunding platforms to make them a reality. Through its 300-plus shows, Gadgets & Gizmos has delved into the world of wifi, Bluetooth and exploding lithium batteries, reviewing gadgets of interest and ridiculing those that should never have got off the drawing board. Where some financial journalists tell you how to make your money grow, Gadgets & Gizmos tells you how to spend it – and when not to.
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Episodes
Gadgets & Gizmos: A one-in-a-billion-year event, the Thermonator & an omnidirecitonal bicycle
April 26, 2024 12:41 - 26 minutesIn 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 talki...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Avoiding kangaroos, various-legged robots & a crow imitating a siren
April 18, 2024 14:43 - 25 minutesSteve 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 ...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Recharging drones, tea & post robots, DNA in air conditioners & vegan leather
April 11, 2024 15:37 - 26 minutesSteve 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 ...
Gadgets & Gizmos: A timezone & crops for the Moon, AI nurses & Unidentified Submerged Objects
April 04, 2024 15:03 - 26 minutesTech 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 creep...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Brain chips, AI film and song-generation, a stair-climbing vacuum & railways on the moon
March 28, 2024 15:17 - 26 minutesSteve 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 ...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Robot space binmen & baggage handlers, flying taxis & maglev trains
March 21, 2024 15:24 - 25 minutesSteve 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 ...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Is Perplexity the new Google, Google's wifi problem & bionic eyes
March 14, 2024 15:47 - 23 minutesSteve 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. ...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Will world run out of electricity, transparent laptops, hospital beeps & a mood app
March 07, 2024 16:06 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin looks at the latest tech. Elon Musk thinks the world will run out of electricity next year because of AI. Lenovo has a concept transparent laptop. Hospital beeps might be more effective if they are more musical and less annoying. An app can tell if you're depressed and recommend solutions. Image specialist Adobe are moving into music but composers need not be worried just yet. There's a crowd-funded fishing probe. Honda have a moving way to enhance your VR experience, but might n...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Project Titan cancelled, why Odysseus fell over & sterilising mosquitoes en masse
February 29, 2024 15:21 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin delves into the world of tech. The once officially-secret BT Tower has been sold to a hotel group. The Odysseus lunar lander fell over because somebody forgot to turn a switch back on. A new ride will give you longer in space for less money. Google has had to pause AI images of people again because of bias. Helicopters could soon be much simpler to fly. A Brazilian company has found a way to sterilise mosquitoes en masse. A robot bed vacuum will get rid of your dust mites. An arm...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Amazing Sora video, drying out phones & wooden satellites
February 22, 2024 18:33 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin discusses the amazing advances in AI Sora videos. It transpires that rice is NOT the best way of drying out wet phones. With a shortage of guide dogs, a robot seeing-eye dog is being developed in Glasgow. Clothing impregnated with nanodiamonds could cool you in summer. Japan believes a satellite made of magnolia could be more environmentally friendly than aluminium. Bumpy solar cells are more efficient. Rice filled with fat and muscle could be a cheap high-protein food. Doctors c...
Gadgets & Gizmos: The US returns to the Moon, Darwin online, safer lithium batteries & Taylor Swift and CPR
February 15, 2024 16:52 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin discusses the US returning to the Moon for the first time since 1972, entirely in private hands rather than equipped by NASA. There's an electric rickshaw with a detachable scooter. A top-of-the-ranger mobility scooter has all mod cons. Brian Eno's limited edition turnable is a work of art – but an ugly one. Steve wonders why there's a new portable CD player. Charles Darwin's library is online in its entirety, but dreadfully presented. Lithium batteries could be made far safer, i...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Apple Vision Pro, healing broken bones, driling straight & dinosaur feathers
February 08, 2024 16:22 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin enviously discusses Apple's Vision Pro's features, still only available in the US. Korean scientists believe electric bandages will heal bones more quickly. An app will guide blind people directly to bus stops and another will help identify anything they pick up. A clever gadget will ensure that you can drill perpendicular holes. Seoul scientists believe they're discovered the reason that dinosaurs had feathers before they could fly. A new minimal phone does less for a steep pric...
Gadgets & Gizmos: 1st chipped human, Google Lumiere, Rabbit phone-tapper, networking video doorbells
February 01, 2024 17:24 - 25 minutes40 years after Apple introduced the Macintosh computer, Steve Caplin points out the company has overtaken Samsung in the number of smartphones sold. Elon Musk's Neuralink has implanted a chip into a human skull for the first time. Google Lumiere's video creation AI appears to be astounding in what it can do. So too is the Rabbit, a beermat-sized device to replace multiple taps on your phone. A vacuuming app shows where you've missed. You can make your own Postit Notes, but why would you? Phan...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Segway-style wheelchair, electric skis, perfect parking & saving hedgehogs from lawnmowers
January 25, 2024 16:54 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin digs up the latest from the world of tech. There's a Segway-style two-wheeled wheelchair which rises to the upright position, electric all-terrain skis, a prototype car whose 90-degree-turning wheels enable perfect parking, binoculars that tell you what bird or animal you are looking at, a Stylophone Theremin almost as good as the real thing, a crash-test-dummy hedgehog to train lawnmowers to recognise them, an Elon Musk robot video that didn't quite show what it claimed, a drone...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Autofocus glasses, a washing bot, a smart coffee table & a 1000-year photograph
January 11, 2024 15:55 - 25 minutesTech guru Steve Caplin discusses some of the devices at the Consumer Electronics Show incuding a bus with AR windows, autofocus glasses, a washing bot and an auto-tracking phone-charging stand. An experimental philosopher has set up a camera with a 1000-year exposure. There's a strap for an Apple watch that will let users control Apple devices with gestures. A smart coffee table will display photos and movies and games. Morrison's pod to deter shoplifters is proving unpopular. There's a devel...
Gadgets & Gizmos: The VIBES slimming pill, beating Tetris and Pasadena's robot restaurant
January 04, 2024 17:30 - 24 minutesSteve Caplin talks tech with Simon Rose. There's a vibrating pill to help you get thin, which has been proven to work on pigs. Amazon Prime will soon be showing ads on its video service, unless subscribers stump up more cash. A 13-year-old has become the first person to beat Tetris since it was launched in 1989. Robots in Pasadena will fry your burger and chips for you. Facial recognition could replace passports at airports. The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft over stolen content...
Gadgets & Gizmos: 2023 review with bizarre TVs, remote stroking, powdered beer, AI and more
December 28, 2023 13:00 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin takes Simon Rose through some of the highlights of the tech year, with trouble for Apple, WeWork, Buzzfeed & the FAA, while AI boosted the likes of ChatGPT and even commentated on Wimbledon. Some TVs were free while others used a vacuum to stick on the wall. Hong Kong scientists developed remote stroking, while German monks created the first powdered beer – with no alcohol. The best-rated restaurant in Montreal turned out not to exist while AI is revolutionising computer games, p...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Electric penny farthing, batteryless e-bike, iPhone security & the lost space tomato
December 21, 2023 17:27 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin wows Simon Rose with the latest in the world of gadgets. Dr. Who at Christmas reduces the death rate. There's an electric penny farthing, a cargo e-bike with 3 wheels in a line and an e-bike with no battery. Lego modellers can make a 1977 Polaroid camera. Apple is to update security to reduce iPhone theft. 3D portraits go portable. The missing space tomato has been found. Cardboard can be recycled into a polystyrene alternative. And Hyundai's tyres can come with built-in snow cha...
Gadgets & Gizmos: The latest wonders of AI and an e-scooter the size of a briefcase
December 14, 2023 16:53 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin delves into the latest AI developments. Google's Gemini AI can work with text, audio, images, video or even hand-drawn pictures. The forthcoming TV news Channel1 has AI presenters and reporters and will use "trusted news sources". Steve demonstrated how it translates on the fly. Amazon, meanwhile is to invest $4bn in a startup to generate a chatbot called "Claude". Most impressive – and potentially scary – is BrainGPT which converts thoughts into text. There's a crowdfunded e-sco...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Christmas gift guide 2023
December 07, 2023 15:42 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin takes Simon Rose through a cornucopia of techie Christmas gift ideas. Among his favourites are the crowdfunded Linka Lasso bike lock and the Hover X1 self-flying camera. There's an app to help with the office Secret Santa and a distillery to brew your own booze. You can get a magnetic wrapping tripod, a great phone case with a built-in stand, teflon mats for flaky BBQ food, an underseat suitcase for flights, magnetic bookmarks, a folding charger plug and even an electrified Land ...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Wearable stethoscopes, phasing out DAB & Deliveroo and electronics
November 30, 2023 16:37 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin delves into the world of tech. Sitting in traffic really does raise your blood pressure, it transpires. A wearable stethosope is being developed, as is a pill that can track your vital signs. Curtains could prove the answer to stopping superbugs being transmitted in hospitals. DAB is being phased out in favour of DAB+ and users need to be careful about buying second-hand radios. Kodak are producing a bizarre camera using Super 8 film. The Swiss have developed a machine for creati...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Sam Altman & OpenAI, Microsoft's Azure avatars, eating shipworms & a walking app
November 23, 2023 17:11 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin takes Simon Rose through the drama of OpenAI's Sam Altman being sacked and then reinstated. Microsoft have an animated avatar that may make deepfakes even easier. Shipworms, which eat wooden boats, could be cultivated to be a fish substitute as a solution to overfishing. The Slow Ways walking app should benefits walkers everywhere, rural and urban. Logitech have produced an impressive articulating webcam. And, because they can, the US Marine Corps have created a robot dog with an...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Plastic that turns into fish food, improved weather forecasts & a drunkenness app
November 16, 2023 16:07 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin talks Simon Rose through the latest tech. A white dwarf predicted to hit the earth now apparently won't. Google's new weather prediction computer can massively improve the accuracy of forecasts. A crane has been designed to shin up wind turbines to repair them. A record-breaking supercar has set a new one – for driving backward. Japanese scientists have produced a plastic that not only self heals but turns into fish food. There's a new way of reading drums for sound checks. A cro...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Telepresence robots, video conference fun & virtual tourist visits
November 09, 2023 16:22 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin discusses the latest tech. On the latest Apple computers there are new ways to enliven video conferencing. An AI security camera can describe what it sees. Robots attending meetings for you are getting more responsive. Drones will take you to some of the world's greatest tourist site without leaving home. Prague's airport is to have a country-wide map on the ceiling linked to current events. There's a revolutionary bike lock that solves the problems all cyclists face. The Departm...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Bunny hops in the garage, haptic gloves & electric car troubles
November 02, 2023 16:26 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin discussses the latest tech with Simon Rose. Mountain bikers can practise bunny hops in their garage with the Garage Bunny. Haptic gloves should add realistic touch to the world of immersive VR. A new riot gun won't fire at anyone's head. It's been proven that bad grammar causes real stress. The Guardian has collated some of the worst stories of electric cars going rogue. There's a chair for when you're tired of standing at your standing desk. A beautiful programmable mechanical m...
Gadgets & Gizmos: A 2-wheeled car, an AI chicken coop & an ultrasonic kitchen knife
October 26, 2023 16:07 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin delves into the world of tech. The Hoverboard inventor has designed a 2-wheeled balancing car. For £2m, you can get a 15-foot high transforming robot. Driverless taxis are getting harder to hail in San Francisco. There's an AI-powered chicken coop (with Albert Eggstein). There's a crowdfunded ultrasonic kitchen knife. The Swedish Academy Dictionary, started in 1883, is out but with words like "allergy" and "computer" missing. Scientists have discovered that flipping a coin does n...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Nasa's mining mission, Twitter's fees & Amazon drone deliveries
October 19, 2023 14:39 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin dazzles Simon Rose with the latest tech news. NASA are using SpaceX to visit an asteroid worth $10 quadrillion. Twitter is to introduce an annual fee, but only in 2 countries. Amazon say they'll be delivering by drone by the end of next year. Adobe have developed a dress that changes pattern. Japanese scientists have discovered that drinking alcohol-free drinks reduces your alcoholic intake. There's a flat-pack electric car for €10,000. And a bricklaying robot will be able to lay...
Gadgets & Gizmos: AI traffic lights, Prada spacesuits & wheelchairs for stairs
October 12, 2023 16:08 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin talks tech with Simon Rose. Manchester is to trial AI-controlled traffic lights, Prada are to make spacesuits to go to the moon while there's a watch commemoriating Neil Armstrong which contains moon dust. There's a wheelchair which can climb stairs, Japanese businessmen can nap upright in a Giraffenap and nouvelle cuisine goes mobile with food dancing around the plate. All this and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Gadgets & Gizmos: Alexa upgrade, Meta's smart glasses, Medieval murders & AI art copyright
September 28, 2023 15:32 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin talks tech with Simon Rose. Alexa is to become more conversational while Meta has launched smart Ray-Ban glasses with AI. A website will show you the grisly details of medieval murders, while Swedish scientists believe they can resurrect a carnivorous marsupial from Tasmania. Mini launches its first eBike while there are improvements to car roof boxes and head torches. While Amazon is trying to limit the number of AI-written books, the US Copyright Office has ruled that art creat...
Flying cars & mass-produced humanoid robots, a desk bike & a folding e-bike
September 21, 2023 15:07 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin celebrates the arrival of a flying car, though with a slow terrestrial speed. He also looks at modular jets, how electric planes could be powered by lasers on the ground, at the first mass-produced humanoid robot, at a desk bike that keeps you fit while powering your devices, at Honda's ebike that folds into a briefcase and at the development of a flexible soft robot that can heal like a living organism and even self destruct into an oily puddle (thanks of course to diphenyliodon...
Gadgets & Gizmos: New iphone and watch, Duolingo does music & an off-road e-unicycle
September 14, 2023 13:34 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin waxes lyrical about the iPhone 15, with a camera he's dying to get his hands on and an EU-enforced change to the charging slot. There's also a new Apple Watch, while Polaroid have, despite the ageing technology, brought out a new camera. Duolingo are moving from language into music, students have created the fastest-accelerating EV and the Finns are experimenting with a digital passport scheme. An oscilloscope watch is shipping, a mere 10 years after it was launched, cyclists can...
Gadgets & Gizmos: AI assistants for meetings, tear-powered contact lenses & CAPTHA's accuracy
August 31, 2023 15:17 - 25 minutesTech maven Steve Caplin discusses the non-TFL ULEZ websites, the AI speed camera catching misbehaving motorists, sending AI assistants to meetings for you, AR contact lenses powered by tears, an up-market martini mixter, Tesla's secret autopilot mode, the Playstation Portal, a pen with 16 million colours, why Jeff Bezos had to buy a $75m support vessel to provide what his $500m mega yacht was lacking and why CAPTHA is not as good at distinguising computers from humans as you might expect. Lea...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Toilet-cleaning robots, cocktail makers, vegan spare ribs & an AI cat flap
August 24, 2023 15:14 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin laments the end of Wilko's while marvelling at a toilet-cleaning robot for offices, a tech toilet brush, a sophisticated cocktail maker, braille-coded Lego bricks, vegan spare ribs with edible bones, a snorkel with 10 mins of air, an intelligent cat flap that will stop moggies bringing in unwanted "presents", a humanoid pilot that can do everything a real pilot can do and an ePaper 25-inch poster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Gadgets & Gizmos: eBike caravans, smart glasses, 3D vegan seafood and an electric wheelbarrow
August 17, 2023 14:57 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin takes Simon Rose on a voyage through the latest tech. There's a hoist to lift your eBike onto your car roof, a cargo eBike and an eBike caravan. Smart glasses make a return as a fitness and navigation aid, there's a mouse that clips to your fingers, scientists have come up with 3D printed vegan seafood, China is limiting smartphone use for under-18s and you can buy an electric wheelbarrow wheel and a chair to cool you down. In New Zealand, a meal-bot has's been coming up with som...
Gadgets & Gizmos: AI comes to computer games, writing music with your brain & storing electricity in concrete
August 10, 2023 13:54 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin tells Simon Rose about the latest tech developments. There's a demo of AI computer game characters who can interact realistically with players, devices to help deaf concertgoers and blind subway users, how simply thinking about music can now actually produce it, glue that can be unstuck on demand, a camera so fast it can capture light in motion and take photos in almost total darkness, an electric guitar for children, why bras may be soon be able to check for breast cancer and ho...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Electricity without heat, Meta's Lincoln chatbot & Steve's best of the year
August 03, 2023 15:39 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin delves into the latest tech. He is excited about a room-temperature superconductor, producing no heat, which could have extraordinary ramifications. There's a camping induction cooker, a cryptocurrency where you have to prove you're human, Meta's AI chatbot in the persona of Abraham Lincoln, Australian doctors being told not to use ChatGPT for writing medical notes, a new way to recycle tech, an E-trike like a go-cart and Steve's favourite gadget of the year, an autonomous crowd-...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Twitter, Delaying ageing, dementia & Parkinson's and a less-than-cuddly robot dog
July 27, 2023 14:52 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin on the latest tech news. There's Twitter rebranding, scientists working out how to reverse ageing and ward off dementia and Parkinson's, the Australian military investing in computer-capable brain cells, injured knee tendons being replaced with those from kangaroos, DNA storing data with a biological camera, a relatively inexpensive robot dog that lacks cuddliness and a crowd-funded e-scooter with a more comfortable riding position. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast...
Gadgets & Gizmos: $190,000 for a useless iPhone, AI to annoy cold callers & music for cows
July 20, 2023 16:16 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin marvels at the $190,000 paid for an original, unopened iphone, at AI helping conquer the world record for juggling and defeating cold callers, at a laser device to rid Western Australia of feral cats, at a music system to keep cows grazing in the right place, at a system to reduce methane in cow dung – that appears utterly impractical, at a new way of charging electric cars that might mean they can enter the 24hr Le Mans race, at a crowd-funded portable hammock, at a device to co...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Threads, the UK's first hands-free car & a robot dog with built-in flamethrower
July 13, 2023 14:46 - 26 minutesShare's tech editor, Steve Caplin, discusses Wimbledon's AI commentary, Meta's Twitter rival Threads, the Pope's Ferrari, the UK's first legal hands-free car, an eBike with built in ChatGPT, VR glasses for reading, underwater reading glasses for SCUBA divers, a robot surgeon with four hands and a robot dog which has a built-in flamethrower. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Gadgets & Gizmos: AI Wimbledon commentary, jet pack pizza delivery & a water refill app
June 22, 2023 14:32 - 26 minutesShare Radio's tech whizz Steve Caplin tells Simon Rose how Wimbledon will be serving an AI-powered commentary this year. There's also an app to tell you where you can refill your water bottle, a way of tracking wild animals without having to replace batteries, Google's help for skin problems, an extreme short-throw projector, an electric "car" for under £6,000, a smart chain bike lock, a variety of concrete that will reduce car pollution and pizza delivery at Glastonbury – by jet pack. Learn ...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Frying chips in space, AI and The Beatles & mining asteroids
June 15, 2023 15:20 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin talks tech with Simon Rose. Greek scientists have been working out how to fry chips in space, there's an ultra-wide gaming monitor, a TV you can take to the beach, AI is helping to create the final Beatles song, the UK is trialling smart lampposts and hopes to beam power from space, geothermal power takes a leap forward, there could be a way of abolishing most food waste and NASA hopes to find a way to mine an asteroid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/a...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Apple's AR headset, pedestrians and driverless cars & AI reads the small print for you
June 08, 2023 14:53 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin guides Simon Rose through the latest tech developments, majoring on Apple's new AR headset bringing "spatial computing" to the world. But at $3,500, who is going to buy it? He explains the latest features of iOS 17, how driverless cars might let pedestrians know that they have been seen, why AI might read T&Cs on your behalf to check there's nothing fishy in the small print and wonders where the truth lies with a report that an AI drone tried to kill its operator because it didn'...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Driverless car rental, Robot sweaters and smart white canes for the blind
June 01, 2023 14:07 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin delves into the world of tech where driverless car rental has just been introduced in Milton Keynes, the cars being delivered by a remote operator. Sweaters are giving robots the sense of touch, Dyson's robot vacuum has 6 times the suck, there's a solution to mice devouring wheat seeds, a great new bird app, a smart cane for the blind, beaming energy from space to earth and progress towards getting astronauts to hibernate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.co...
Gadgets & Gizmos: A dog airline, AI does 3D modelling, AR laptop projection & a Spanish housework app
May 25, 2023 14:49 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin enlightens Simon Rose on the latest tech. Which? says that facial recognition on cheap smartphones can be unlocked by photos. Disney is shutting its Star Wars hotel, K9 Jets will let you travel with your dog – for a price, Tesla's bot Optimus is upgraded, AI can now create 3D-models, even from text, Google's AI is having trouble creating music, free WiFi on trains may disappear and the Spanish government want to develop an app to ensure that husbands do their fair share of housew...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Eels on Saturn's moon, Zombie defence, drinkable sea water & a free telly
May 18, 2023 15:00 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin updates Simon Rose on the latest tech. NASA have developed autonomous EELS to see if there's life on one of Saturn's moons. There's an extinction level event camper trailer to keep you safe in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse, a gadget to make sea water drinkable, a wheeled suitcase that is supposed to operate your hotel aircon, lights & TV while a US company is giving away free tellies in return for bombarding you with ads. There are claims that Uber charges more if your phone b...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Google's folding phone, booking flights with Uber & rock music – from rocks
May 11, 2023 15:05 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin discusses the latest tech with Simon Rose. Google have a folding phone (pricey) and a new tablet (reasonable), while Uber's app now lets you book flights, with a better refund policy than most airlines and 100 of Amazon's original shows are now available for free. Scientists have worked out how to get water on the moon – with a microwave, to produce music from rocks and to get the best head of beer from a can. AI cameras are to be used to catch litterlouts while a man has made th...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Sneaking war news into Russia, AI innovatios, bike radars & cultivated fish
May 04, 2023 14:12 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin delves into the latest tech, with a computer game that's found a way to sneak censored war news into Russia. ChatGPT is apparently more empathetic than real doctors while AI can now provide therapy and even read minds. Before long you'll be able to control your kettle by stroking it, there's a bike helmet with clever indicators and a bike light with built-in radar. Cultivated fish grown in a lab have been developed, with eel next on the list and Uber have a replica Coronation car...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Inflatable drones, bikes with square wheels & edible batteries
April 27, 2023 15:11 - 26 minutesSteve Caplin discusses tech with Simon Rose, lamenting the end of BuzzFeed news and explaining Twitter's blue tick problem. The Russians have beaten Tom Cruise to making the first movie in space while NASA's Mars helicopter has just completed its 50th flight. Inflatable drones may soon solve the problem of drone fragility while a bike's been built with square wheels. Parrots have been trained to video call each other while Italian scientists are developing an edible battery. Steve is also imp...
Gadgets & Gizmos: AI songs, cassette sales soar and a backpack for carrying your off-road bike
April 20, 2023 15:23 - 25 minutesSteve Caplin delves into the world of tech, with AI creating a photo that won a big photography competition, composing a popular song that has now been banned and attracting Elon Musk, shortly after demanding a pause in AI research. There's an electronic device to replace physical board games, a bike rack with a powered motor and a backpack for your bike if it's too tough off road. Last year cassette sales were at a 20-year high, while vinyl outsold CDs. And do you know how "high" you are scr...
Gadgets & Gizmos: Speed cameras on drones, creating shooting stars & AI robot massages
April 13, 2023 14:45 - 26 minutesShare Radio's technology editor Steve Caplin explains why Getty Images is suing an AI art maker. Devon & Cornwall Police are putting speed cameras on drones while a Janapese company is offering to create meteor showers to order. There's an AI humanoid robot and AI earbuds, while Italy is banning ChatGPT. Sony have come up with a spatial reality display that doesn't need glasses, Buckingham Palace has produced a coronation emoji while scientists have mimicked polar bears, producing material th...