Detroit Public TV | Highlights & Specials. Innovation

Innovation. Episodes

Building to Extremes
Many saw the terrorist attacks of September 11th as a stopping point in the evolution of the giant skyscraper. But surprisingly, around the world, the race to erect the world's tallest building continues at full speed. In this episode, INNOVATION follows the architects and engineers who have dedicated their lives to reaching new heights, travels around the world to see giant buildings under construction, and investigates the risks and benefits of building tall. Can innovative materials and design techniques overcome critical new safety issues? From blueprints for the site of the World Trade Center to an audacious plan to construct a half-mile-high building in Dubai, the program goes behind the scenes for an intimate look at the passions, egos and energy required to get these massive projects off the ground.

Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: Polarized Light - The Polarized Light features two polarizers and pieces of plastic between them. When you squeeze the plastic, the stress deforms the plastic and changes how the light comes through. Before computers were powerful enough, this is how stress was analyzed in structures. Now it is done mostly through finite element analysis.

Human Body Shop
Karen Grisdale, completely blind for the last 27 years, lies on an operating table in Portugal, where a surgeon is poised to remove a portion of her skull and implant a series of electrodes directly onto the visual cortex of her brain. It is a risky, expensive procedure, but one that may very well give Karen back some of her sight. In medical research facilities all over the world, engineers and doctors like Karen's are hard at work in an effort to make once debilitating conditions a thing of the past. From the most sophisticated leg prostheses to jaw-dropping artificial vision systems and astonishing advances in the translation of brain signals, this installment of the series explores the complex and futuristic world melding human and machine.

Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: TAM (Transparent Anatomical Model) - See the liver, heart, lungs and other vital organs.

SpyCatchers
With the first-ever access to the FBI's counter-terrorism training facility, INNOVATION explores the intriguing world of espionage, demonstrating some of the essential innovations in the history of spying. Relating true stories of two of the CIA's master spies and presenting the cutting-edge of today's latest spy techniques and gear, the program illustrates how, in a post-Cold War world, modern agents are being forced to adjust classic techniques in order to counter the threats from a changing, ill-defined enemy.

Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: Whisper Dishes - Send your voice across the room! Dishes reflect sound waves. Because of their parabolic shape, whisper dishes act like telescopes for sound.

Hi-Tech War
Scheduled to air near the one-year anniversary of the commencement of the war with Iraq, Hi-Tech War looks back at the successes and failures of the high-tech weapons and communications systems that were used in the campaign. Following the soldiers on the ground who actually used the weapons, and the engineers back home who developed them, the program investigates how a new generation of weapons is forever altering the political and technical reality of combat and changing the way wars are fought and enemies are defined.

Crash Site Secrets
Despite all the time, money and effort that go into the development of aircraft, the history of commercial aviation is littered with devastating, deadly crashes. The investigations that follow such disasters are driven by the need to find out "what went wrong" and prevent whatever did go wrong from happening again. The experts call this "tombstone technology" - big advances in air safety that come about in the aftermath of a catastrophe. From the black box that became standard after accidents in the 1950s to the installation of Doppler radar in response to wind shear accidents in the '80s, this episode tells the stories of accidents that changed the way we fly, the groundbreaking technology that rose from the ashes of disaster and the on-going quest for even greater safety in the skies.

Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: Doppler Arm - The Doppler Arm is a big rotating arm in the Waves & Vibrations Laboratory. When you press a button, the red ball on the end of the arm produces a tone. When you stand in the middle, the tone seems steady. If you stand off to the side, the pitch seems to rise and fall depending on whether the ball is coming toward you or going away. In conjunction with the Tornado exhibit, this can show how tornadoes are detected.

Miracle Cell
A woman is rushed to the emergency room, the apparent victim of a heart attack. But she's about to undergo a radical treatment. Adult stem cells will be harvested from her bone marrow, amplified, and then injected into her heart. The hope is that instead of forming scar tissue, new heart muscle will grow. Miracle Cell will follow heart attack patients undergoing this revolutionary procedure, and will show audiences other stem cell trials that are showing progress in the treatment of both spinal cord injuries and diabetes. This is just the tip of the iceberg in a promising but controversial field that has the potential to revolutionize the way medicine is practiced.

Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: Cell Drawers - The cell is the basic unit of all living organisms. Look at the cell drawers in the Life Science Laboratory to compare and contrast animal and plant cells.

Light Speed
In 1970, a team of researchers at Corning Glass made a discovery that would revolutionize the way we communicate. Their development of a fiber optic cable was one step in an ongoing process of research and experimentation in a number of diverse fields of study. More than 30 years later, it is a technology that nearly outgrew itself, but one that is an almost omnipresent element of modern communication. Just about every international phone call we make relies on fiber optics somewhere along the way, and newly developed high-bandwidth cables have even allowed scientists to recreate the sense of touch via the Internet and to perform remote tele-surgeries across continents. This episode centers on the brilliance, foresight, challenges, and sheer luck that have led to the proliferation of the worldwide network of fiber optic cables and the revolution of global communications.

Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: Fiber Optics - See fiber optic cables and learn how light is forced to follow the path of the cable.

Brain Fingerprinting
This episode introduces you to an evolving technology that looks directly into the brain to pinpoint and chart the very origin of deception. Given its seeming ability to gauge whether or not an individual is lying, the FBI and CIA hope brain fingerprinting will become one of the most significant breakthroughs in crime detection since the advent of DNA analysis. Following current court cases, INNOVATION looks at the way this technology is making its way into the legal system. Brain fingerprinting could be a major step forward - but is it all it's cracked up to be, or are there other, more promising techniques in the quest for the perfect lie detector?

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Innovation. Episodes Building to Extremes Many saw the terrorist attacks of September 11th as a stopping point in the evolution of the giant skyscraper. But surprisingly, around the world, the race to erect the world's tallest building continues at full speed. In this episode, INNOVATION follows the architects and engineers who have dedicated their lives to reaching new heights, travels around the world to see giant buildings under construction, and investigates the risks and benefits of building tall. Can innovative materials and design techniques overcome critical new safety issues? From blueprints for the site of the World Trade Center to an audacious plan to construct a half-mile-high building in Dubai, the program goes behind the scenes for an intimate look at the passions, egos and energy required to get these massive projects off the ground. Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: Polarized Light - The Polarized Light features two polarizers and pieces of plastic between them. When you squeeze the plastic, the stress deforms the plastic and changes how the light comes through. Before computers were powerful enough, this is how stress was analyzed in structures. Now it is done mostly through finite element analysis. Human Body Shop Karen Grisdale, completely blind for the last 27 years, lies on an operating table in Portugal, where a surgeon is poised to remove a portion of her skull and implant a series of electrodes directly onto the visual cortex of her brain. It is a risky, expensive procedure, but one that may very well give Karen back some of her sight. In medical research facilities all over the world, engineers and doctors like Karen's are hard at work in an effort to make once debilitating conditions a thing of the past. From the most sophisticated leg prostheses to jaw-dropping artificial vision systems and astonishing advances in the translation of brain signals, this installment of the series explores the complex and futuristic world melding human and machine. Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: TAM (Transparent Anatomical Model) - See the liver, heart, lungs and other vital organs. SpyCatchers With the first-ever access to the FBI's counter-terrorism training facility, INNOVATION explores the intriguing world of espionage, demonstrating some of the essential innovations in the history of spying. Relating true stories of two of the CIA's master spies and presenting the cutting-edge of today's latest spy techniques and gear, the program illustrates how, in a post-Cold War world, modern agents are being forced to adjust classic techniques in order to counter the threats from a changing, ill-defined enemy. Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: Whisper Dishes - Send your voice across the room! Dishes reflect sound waves. Because of their parabolic shape, whisper dishes act like telescopes for sound. Hi-Tech War Scheduled to air near the one-year anniversary of the commencement of the war with Iraq, Hi-Tech War looks back at the successes and failures of the high-tech weapons and communications systems that were used in the campaign. Following the soldiers on the ground who actually used the weapons, and the engineers back home who developed them, the program investigates how a new generation of weapons is forever altering the political and technical reality of combat and changing the way wars are fought and enemies are defined. Crash Site Secrets Despite all the time, money and effort that go into the development of aircraft, the history of commercial aviation is littered with devastating, deadly crashes. The investigations that follow such disasters are driven by the need to find out "what went wrong" and prevent whatever did go wrong from happening again. The experts call this "tombstone technology" - big advances in air safety that come about in the aftermath of a catastrophe. From the black box that became standard after accidents in the 1950s to the installation of Doppler radar in response to wind shear accidents in the '80s, this episode tells the stories of accidents that changed the way we fly, the groundbreaking technology that rose from the ashes of disaster and the on-going quest for even greater safety in the skies. Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: Doppler Arm - The Doppler Arm is a big rotating arm in the Waves & Vibrations Laboratory. When you press a button, the red ball on the end of the arm produces a tone. When you stand in the middle, the tone seems steady. If you stand off to the side, the pitch seems to rise and fall depending on whether the ball is coming toward you or going away. In conjunction with the Tornado exhibit, this can show how tornadoes are detected. Miracle Cell A woman is rushed to the emergency room, the apparent victim of a heart attack. But she's about to undergo a radical treatment. Adult stem cells will be harvested from her bone marrow, amplified, and then injected into her heart. The hope is that instead of forming scar tissue, new heart muscle will grow. Miracle Cell will follow heart attack patients undergoing this revolutionary procedure, and will show audiences other stem cell trials that are showing progress in the treatment of both spinal cord injuries and diabetes. This is just the tip of the iceberg in a promising but controversial field that has the potential to revolutionize the way medicine is practiced. Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: Cell Drawers - The cell is the basic unit of all living organisms. Look at the cell drawers in the Life Science Laboratory to compare and contrast animal and plant cells. Light Speed In 1970, a team of researchers at Corning Glass made a discovery that would revolutionize the way we communicate. Their development of a fiber optic cable was one step in an ongoing process of research and experimentation in a number of diverse fields of study. More than 30 years later, it is a technology that nearly outgrew itself, but one that is an almost omnipresent element of modern communication. Just about every international phone call we make relies on fiber optics somewhere along the way, and newly developed high-bandwidth cables have even allowed scientists to recreate the sense of touch via the Internet and to perform remote tele-surgeries across continents. This episode centers on the brilliance, foresight, challenges, and sheer luck that have led to the proliferation of the worldwide network of fiber optic cables and the revolution of global communications. Want to continue exploring this topic? Visit this exhibit at the Detroit Science Center: Fiber Optics - See fiber optic cables and learn how light is forced to follow the path of the cable. Brain Fingerprinting This episode introduces you to an evolving technology that looks directly into the brain to pinpoint and chart the very origin of deception. Given its seeming ability to gauge whether or not an individual is lying, the FBI and CIA hope brain fingerprinting will become one of the most significant breakthroughs in crime detection since the advent of DNA analysis. Following current court cases, INNOVATION looks at the way this technology is making its way into the legal system. Brain fingerprinting could be a major step forward - but is it all it's cracked up to be, or are there other, more promising techniques in the quest for the perfect lie detector?
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