Brave new world
The wonders of modern technology never fail to amaze Alexander Mccall Smith, so whether it’s simple science or advanced electronics, he’s ready to embrace the future
Goldfinger was filmed in 1964. That seems like a long time ago, and it is, I suppose. The Beatles were in the ascendant (they were a famous band, by the way), LBJ was President of the United States, and Greek and Turkish Cypriots were having a local disagreement. Goldfinger was highly entertaining – in particular for the technology that was made available to 007 through the good offices of Q. One piece of electronics stood out, though, and that was the electronic map that Bond had in his Aston Martin. This enabled him to track Goldfinger’s car as he pursued it along perilous mountain roads. This was stunning technology to the audience, but we all realised that it was implausible science fiction and that we would never have electronic maps in our cars. Nor would we have the radio wrist-watch that the detective, Dick Tracy, used. These were nice ideas, but we knew that such things were impossible.
How wrong we proved to be, as we so often were when we attempted to predict our technical future. It’s rather different now. For those of us who like gadgets, this is a truly golden age. All about us are gizmos that will perform the most amazing feats and keep us entertained until… well, at least until the next clever piece of technology comes along.
A few days ago, I was invited to look over a friend’s new car. This is an all-electric vehicle, which of course we are all quite accustomed to by now. But what intrigued me was the range of things that the car could do in addition to getting from A to B. Firstly, believe it or not, it has Netflix. Then the next surprise was that there were no dials, and that everything was displayed on a single screen. As this screen came to life, we were treated to views from cameras on all sides. As we drove along, the road ahead unfurled on the screen, with pedestrians and other vehicles all appearing in motion and in real time. By touching the right button on the screen, the car is capable of driving itself, keeping to a lane and steering – as long as one kept one’s hands on the wheel. If you are in any danger of bumping into anything, the car will sense what is happening and apply the brakes, uninvited. James Bond would have loved all this, even if there was no passenger ejector seat (as far as I could make out). Perhaps that was an optional extra.
My high-tech week got even better when the same friend gave me a present of a new pair of glasses that are the brainchild of an Edinburgh physicist. Alex Macdonald is a keen cyclist and had become fed up with cars and lorries creeping up behind him and almost knocking him off his bicycle. It occurred to him that cycling would be safer if cyclists could see what was behind them – in the same way in which motorists can with the aid of rearview mirrors. Such mirrors are available for bicycles, but they are not very satisfactory, as cyclists move about while pedalling and may not see very much in a tiny mirror on their handlebars.
Alex’s solution was to develop sunglasses that enable the wearer to see what is behind them without moving his or her head. This is achieved by the inclusion, at the edge of each lens, of a small panel that acts as a sort of mirror. This means that while you are looking forward through the normal lens, you have at the same time a clear view of the road behind you. Sophisticated optics go into this remarkable invention, and the system has patent protection. The glasses are now available, and with any luck this enterprising Scottish start-up will make a significant contribution to road safety. We may not have autonomous bicycles just yet (is anybody working on one?) but more and more of us are going back to cycling as a means of getting around towns and cities. There may even be other uses for his glasses, as there must be other situations where people feel the need to see what’s going on behind their backs.
I must confess to getting a certain pleasure out of new and clever devices. My Christmas present this year was an underwater drone, which is a tiny submarine controlled by a three-hundred feet cable. This device dives at your behest and sends back a clear picture of what lies below. I have had a very good view of some pebbles on the sea bed and of a bit of seaweed. I am now trying to think of a use for it. It is possible that these things are useful in searching for other underwater drones that have sunk and been lost.
But here is an invention that readers of Scottish Field will undoubtedly rush to buy. If you have a woodburning stove, you may have noticed that the heat goes straight up to the ceiling. Most chairs are at floor level, and therefore if there were to be some way of dispersing the heat towards the shivering and seated masses, that would undoubtedly be a good thing. Well, now there is, and I recently acquired one. It is a small fan on two metal feet with some built-in baffles. Placed on the stove, the feet warm up and by some scientific process unknown to ordinary people, the fan spins, sending warm air into the room. It is, I believe, a simple technology, and it costs very little. If you are searching for it on-line, ‘thingy with a fan that you put on a wood-burning stove’ will probably yield results.
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It’s rather different now. For those of us who like gadgets, this is a truly golden age