Robots under the Thwaites Glacier

Published: Jan. 12, 2022, 1:02 p.m.

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Huge robots, including a seven-metre two-tonne vessel named Ran, are on their way to the Thwaites Glacier to learn more about the retreating ice and its impact on Climate Change. But this won\\u2019t be the only tech that\\u2019s being deployed on the 65-day mission; British Antarctic Survey\\u2019s Boaty McBoatface and the Autosub Long Range vehicle operated by the National Oceanography Centre in the UK, will travel under the ice shelf along with Ran. Professor Anna W\\xe5hlin from the University of Gothenburg tells us more about her robot Ran and about the data she\\u2019ll be collecting.

Tiny light engines\\nWe\\u2019re talking to Ed Tang, the CEO of Avegant. They\\u2019re the company behind the world\\u2019s smallest light engines for augmented reality. Developing projectors thinner than the width of a pencil means we\\u2019re on the brink of AR glasses that will barely look different from standard glasses. Alongside talking about how this technology works, Ed also spoke to us about what this means for the future of AR.

James Webb telescope tech\\nSpace journalist Kate Arkless-Gray is live on the show to tell us about the tech that got the James Webb Telescope into space and how vital it is that none of the tech deployed goes wrong - unlike the Hubble space telescope, repair missions to James Webb are impossible.

The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Ghislaine Boddington.

Studio Manager: Nigel Dix\\nProducer: Ania Lichtarowicz

(Image: Ran navigates its way under the ice front of Thwaites Glacier. \\nPhoto credit: Filip Stedt)

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