Xploration Earth 2050

Mechanical birds, aluminum snakes, dragonfly helicopters that sound like buzzing bees, remote controlled manta rays. They may look like toys, but they are incredible robots that may change the world. Joe Penna explores Mechanimals!

Billions are flocking to cities, needing a place to live. Futuristic apartments being built like cars on assembly lines. The furniture of the future plays hide and seek. Limited space even comes to the country side. Homes of the future, on Earth 2050!

Sound--you don't think much about it, but futurists and entrepreneurs do. Host Chuck Pell catches up with two college-age inventors who've created a fire extinguisher that puts out fires--with sound waves. Another inventor has created a 'sound cloaking' device that could make submarines invisible to sonar. And sound waves can also be used to defy gravity--provided you can generate enough noise.

High tech is revolutionizing the way kids learn AND the way teachers teach. Join host Chuck Pell as he gets elbow deep in the 'sandbox of the future'--and 3D topographical sandbox that allows young students to test earth science theories with their own hands in real time. 3D printing is also helping students create historical artifacts that they used to see only in photographs.

Humans have always used their best technology to save lives, and new tech--and even some OLD tech--is now being employed by doctors the world over. Host Chuck Pell meets a designer who uses old car parts to help 3rd world doctors keep babies from getting jaundice. He takes a ride in a wheelchair that's built to work like an All-Terrain-Vehicle. Doctors and botanists join forces to GROW medicines.

Green technology is radically changing the way people get around. Host Chuck Pell will take to the road in a hybrid between a solar powered car and an old fashioned tricycle-- that has no carbon footprint. He'll visit the factory where electric powered buses are changing the daily commute for millions. And trains that float just inches above the ground will get you there faster than ever.

If you want to see some of the world's most famous treasures you often have to travel thousands of miles. Now, asChuck Pell saw for himself, high tech is bringing fossils, artwork and historical artifacts to classrooms around the world. And virtual reality is changing the way teachers learn to do their job. Chuck goes to the virtual classroom to test himself in front of the students of the future.

Inventors are up to some crazy things. We'll see a mirror that records your reflection -from all sorts of angles--- and downloads all those images to your cell phone. Host Chuck Pell will demonstrate a bulletproof material made of a new kind of foam. And a New York City hotel has a new employee: a two-ton robot that loves to handle visitors' luggage.

Weather---it’s Mother Nature’s way to remind us how beautiful---and fickle---she can be. Host Chuck Pell visits a local TV station to see how supercomputers are used to predict future weather events.

High tech is revolutionizing the way art is being created. Is Artificial Intelligence intelligent enough to make art? Host Chuck Pell find out when sees works of art produced solely by computers.

Plastic is one of mankind’s most revolutionary inventions. It’s everywhere—in your home, in your car, in your clothes. It’s also fouling your environment. Host Chuck Pell visits the world of plastic recycling.

A child born in 2000 will most likely see people living on the moon and maybe even Mars. Host Chuck Pell visits training facilities for these future colonies.

DNA -- we all have it, and it’s being used for a lot more than solving crimes. Could we get DNA from dinosaurs? Host Chuck Pell visits a lab where they’ve discovered fossilized proteins that are coming awfully close.

We tend think of robots as boxy, hard, and a little awkward. Well, those days are over. Discover the new world of soft robotics, where robots are so human-like they can actually feel things.