in the middle of the otherworldly landscape of iceland, something strange is going on. 130,000 barley plants are slowly making their way from one end of this greenhouse to the other. and what's even stranger is what this barley is going to be used for. it is in the food chain but it's not food for us and it's not food for animals. no, this is something much, much weirder than that. this grass is a host. it's been genetically modified to carry a special protein called a growth factor in its seeds. once the plants reach the end of theirjourney, these seeds are harvested, milled and purified and the resulting growth factor protein can be used to help produce something very unexpected — meat, in a lab, without the animals. i think we will reach the point where it's not, like, nice to have. i think it's we have to have it. the earth is not going to grow, we're not going to get more agriculture area, the population is rising, and we have to feed all of the people. the argument for growing meat in labs without living animals is that the process will eventually require less land, less energy and produce less harmful waste. and it takes more agricultural land to grow feed for the animals that we eat. we are essentially bypassing that. so we don't have to kill all these animals, we just have to take the stem cell from them, and i think this is a more viable and more environmental — much better option. companies using cow stem cells to make lab—grown beef burgers and even lab—grown steak are already trying out growth factors made here in iceland. and although the first—ever growth factors came from animals, it's hoped that this barley plant method will be cheaper and scalable because nature can do a lot of the heavy lifting. but at the moment, research is still ongoing to come up with the barley that produces the very best growth factors — which is why the volcanic and geothermal peculiarities of iceland are an ideal place to experiment with different growing conditions. they're growing the barley in this, which is volcanic pumice from mount hekla, which is somewhere over there. the good thing about pumice is it is inert so it doesn't really release any nutrients into the plants itself, and that means these guys can completely control the nutrient mix that the barley gets. we are here in a high—tech greenhouse that is using geothermal energy for heating and for the electricity. we are using hydroponic cultivation. the computer decides when to open windows, when to turn off lights, when to pump in c02, what nutrition to feed these plants and so forth. but eventually, these carefully programmed plants will have to be harvested in regular fields to produce enough growth factor for a global lab—grown meat industry, and barley specifically has been chosen because it can grow in many different climates and it also doesn't cross—pollinate with other plants around it. the typicalfarm in iceland, which is about 150 hectares, could actually produce about 10,000 tonnes of meat. that's if lab—grown meat is, indeed, the answer — after all, aren't we all supposed to be eating more greens? well, not too far away, another company is tapping into iceland's geothermal power to put us on an altogether different diet. this is food for us — or, at least, it will be one day. it's not something we're currently used to eating, mind you, but tastes change. it's algae. i know. sounds kind of ewww, doesn't it? but the microalgae growing in these test units are rich in protein and omega—3 — much more so than traditional crops grown in a field — and they also consume way fewer natural resources, too. in these systems, we can grow a tonne of protein and using 300, 400, 500 times less water and 1400—1500 times less land than the best thing that we know today. and in fact, because algae is a plant, it has another environmental benefit — photosynthesis. we get the c02 from the power plant, we get that into our system, we use algae to actually fix that co2 into biomass and they breathe out oxygen, so oxygen is actually our only by—product of this product. which is not a bad by—product, really. the health authorities don't seem to mind! spencer laughs. so, right here in geothermal iceland, where electricity and hot water are both essentially clean, green and on tap, growing this algae ends up being carbon negative — it pulls more c02 out of the environment than the electricity puts back in. but in order to feed the world, these algae farms would need to be placed around the globe, and not everywhere's on top of a volcano. the system itself is always carbon negative because we take in c02, we fix it in biomass and we breathe out oxygen. but if you're having to use electricity that's generated through coal... exactly. ..then the system is generating c02 as well... yes, yes. ..and can then you connect the pipe from the power station straight back into the algae and suck it back in? that — that is actually a possibility. this is what we're doing right now. these guys, they need c02, so we could actually take whatever c02 into the system, theoretically. and in fact, vaxa is thinking even further ahead than improving the environment here on earth. growing food in small spaces with limited water and producing oxygen as a by—product sounds like a pretty useful thing to be able to do, i don't know, in a moon base or on mars — if the colonists can stomach it, that is. all right, let me ask you a question — what does algae taste like? uh, basically the medium it's in. 0k. so this algae is a cold seawater algae. salty then? so it's salty. yeah. the problem is, this one is fairly robust. by "fairly robust", you mean a tough chew? it's a tough chew, yeah, it is. laughs. 0k, i've been made an offer that i can't refuse. kiti said, "would you like to drink some algae?" of course i would! oh, my life! for real, or...? 0k. i can do it first, if you want. you're not having a laugh? i can do it first. yeah, it's fishy. yeah. needs a little, um... what's it called? a lie—down afterwards — that's it. 0k. laughs. hmm, maybe it will take a more creative chef than me to be able to sell this straight onto the plate. nobody is going to eat algae paste, green goo, so that's not the idea. so we are going to use this crop to make food. because you get soy—based stuff. exactly. it's like you extract the protein and make stuff out of the protein. i have solved your problem for you. you know how in posh restaurants, you have your main course and you have it in a red winejus, which is basically just gravy, so you need to call this al—jay and you can charge £100 a plate. i like it! hello. here's your tech news round up. it was the week that douyin, china's version of tiktok, announced it will limit the use of the platform for users under 1a to a0 minutes per day. the eu has proposed a common charger for mobile phones, tablets and headphones. imagine that! and streaming service netflix has bought the rights to all of roald dahl�*s books. and a week after apple showed off the new iphone 13 and watch series 7, it was microsoft's turn to tempt us with their shiny wares at their surface event. the company promised its most powerful surface pro device ever, the new surface pro 8, a new surface laptop and also hyped up a new iteration of its foldable phone called — wait for it — the surface duo 2. students from the netherlands have set off on a 3,000km road trip in what they claim is the world's first self—sustaining house on wheels. the concept, home, has an array on its roof that harvests energy to power the vehicle, making it fully self—sufficient. they are taking part in the european solar tour, which aims to raise awareness of the need for sustainable travel. and finally, nasa has chosen the site for its moon rover landing near the moon's south pole. the viper mission, slated for 2023, will attempt to find water ice on the western side of the mobile crater. the moon's south pole is actually one of the coldest parts of our solar system. i'm looking forward to seeing the dark side of the moon! is it a bird? is it a plane? it's a...bird—plane. i'm at a maritime innovation hub in reykjavik and i'm being taught how to command the silent flyer. flapping a bird drone. it's all right, innit? it's... it's kind of really relaxing, just watching it. oh, yeah. engineer peter, helped here by daughter clara, is the technical lead behind a very different and quiet kind of drone — one that emits less than 70 decibels. why have you built a bird drone? surveillance, where it's important to not have an intrusive device, but something that is quite — can be obscured and can hide within a flock of birds, like if you're thinking of wildlife monitoring. of course, we have had inquiries also from the defence sector. by mimicking nature, it is hoped that this drone will be able to flap by unnoticed. actual in—air tests aren't scheduled, though, until next summer. so it might be a little while before this bird starts to fly, but in the skies above san francisco, there is an aircraft which is currently flying itself and on board is cody godwin. the streets of san francisco are home to many self—driving cars so naturally, the sky above the city is home to a self—flying plane. this is xwing, a company that has developed an autonomous flying system that handles everything from taxiing to take—off to landing to parking. the system is similar to self—driving cars and uses a lot of the same tech, like lidar cameras and sensors to navigate the skies, while a command centre on the ground helps the autonomous system communicate with the humans in air traffic control. and now that i'm suited and booted, let's see this thing in action. so this is basically a beta version of what they're working on, which means it will always require a safety pilot on board, but the company is working to be entirely autonomous, meaning none of these by the end of next year. and they're also hoping to get faa certification in 202a. all that the human pilot on board has to do is physically turn the plane on, check that all systems are go and press the button that activates the autonomous system, then it's up to the plane. it does have to liaise with a human in the ground control centre while it's making its way to the runway for take—off, but that's just to ensure it's safe to cross certain parts of the strip. during take—off, it's almost like a ghost is in control because all of the parts are still moving but i'm not seeing what's moving them. once you've trained a robot once, you can build as many robots as you want, they all do the same thing, right? yeah. some of what the sensors and cameras are picking up is augmented over a real—time view from three cameras mounted on the exterior of the plane. the purplish bits off to the side are other planes that are in the area, while the bluish coloured lines in front of the plane are the flight path. on our way back to base, the team decided to let me fly the plane. so we're taking control of the aeroplane. 0k. so he's out of the loop because he doesn't know what you are doing. all right. i don't know what i'm doing. perfect. after a quick lesson on an xbox controller, i was flying a plane for the first time ever. sure, i was just controlling the direction and the altitude but it was a lot of fun. they even let me go as far as a 45—degree tilt. aeroplanes have been equipped with autopilot systems for years already but the system xwing has developed takes that to the next level. if i was just a passenger in this plane, i would have never known it was being flown autonomously. the ride, take—off and landing were as smooth as any other flight i've been on. what makes this possible is the control room. the goal is to eventually have one person overseeing a fleet of flights and sending instructions from control to the computers flying the planes. this plane took its first autonomous flight in december 2019 and since then, xwing has been building up the capabilities of the system. right now, they are planning to use the system to transport cargo. the next step is to fly commercially unmanned so no—one aboard the aircraft, but over unpopulated areas so you're not putting anybody�*s life in jeopardy or anybody on the ground in jeopardy. the company also sees this as a way to make the process more cost—effective. it's uncharted territory, but to make it even this far has proved to the federal aviation authority it is possible and more importantly safe. i've always wanted to get a pilot's licence, but maybe tech like this means i won't ever need to. but it's still likely a ways off before we see widespread adaptation and faa approval of unmanned aircrafts. drones built at this country house in chichester don'tjust hover above the back yard. a ground—breaking new licence mean pilots can fly these aircraft from hundreds of miles away. typically, drones are not allowed to be flown outside of line of sight of the operator and even when this does happen, regulators only give permission for specific flights on a specific date and for a specific cause. that could be about to change. a company based here has just been granted the uk's first ever blanket licence to make beyond line of sight flights at a moment's notice. the pioneering first flights also rely on autonomous systems. our system maps the world in 3d, in real time, understands that 3d world and its position in the world. that can allow the pilot to stand back and observe. the drone is going to turn, the cameras going to turn. we can go and have a look at those trees over there. 0h, cool! what's the difference between flying it in here and out of the line of sight than it would be if you were stood outside? if you're flying on an oil rig or a long piece of infrastructure, you don't have to keep walking along and looking at the drone, you don't have to have a trained pilot at each site, it could be a nice, quiet office like this focus on what they are doing without the distraction of the wind in the rain. drones fitted with cameras or sensors are particularly useful at locations that are difficult or dangerous for humans to be. parts of this nuclear power plant and the uk's high—speed rail network have already been surveyed from afar. a0 miles away, remote—controlled drones are also helping skanka construction with reservations in surrey. the visual line of sight gives us the opportunity to have fewer people on site. fewer people is less risk, which is a massive plus on busy construction sites. the capabilities of it mean we can cover large areas quicker and it's also more reactive, being able to set a certain task and check beam or a concrete finish and checking the view from above is key. later down the line, delivery of online shopping medicine by drones could change our lives but industrial sites are a good place to prove the systems are safe. i really want to press it. i won't. if the pilot becomes incapacitated, someone just has to press that button and the drone comes home and lands safely. sees.ai, along with amazon, boeing and volocopter are also working with the uk's aviation regulator, shaping rules that may one day permit drones to transport human passengers. the software doesn't know if it's carrying a camera or a human in a drone taxi. we'll start with simple cases and end up with jetsons' flying cars. after i go on a simulator, i don't think i should be flying any precious cargo. i don't think i'm going to be coming for anyone because my job anytime soon. i'm quite nervous, even though isn't real! i'm going to try to get through that without crashing. argh! bit more practice needed there! on a similar theme, let's talk about how your deliveries are going to be dropped off in future. will it be by drone? by cute delivery robot? or by an overworked human driver? well, this place have found a way to combine all three. the academy of robotics have treated a self—driving electric delivery vehicle. it's fully road legal and houses 12 cameras and a number of sensors to tell when it's going, not to mention it features a slew of solar panels to constantly power and charge it up. in this version of kar—go, there's space for an operator to make sure everything is running well and that will be phased out once they can connect to the car with confidence remotely but the company says it only takes one pass through an area before kar—go learns it and then it can drive around comfortably with no help. we are told this thing can deliver up to 48 packages a day and hit up to 60 miles an hour but we won't see that speed here as we follow it through a local neighbourhood during its trial run. itjust looks like a really small racing car, but with just a whole lot of green, plastic trim. i guess it doesn't matter how it looks, it's about how it functions and right now it's functioning fine, it's going down the route, it's driving well, avoiding parked cars, it's impressive. it almost looks like someone is driving it. it then completed its run of deliveries with no trouble at all. but this isn't the only vehicle they've created. the company needs a command base to control everything from as well, remotely connect to the car and make sure everything is going all right, intervene if need be. well, they put that on wheels too. inside is a system built to process what they can't see in real time, a driving seat so someone can manually take control of a car if need be and even space to load it up and move once it's done. but this was a late innovation. before anything else, the company spent three years focusing on just the software. most cars are looking at the road as one giant scene and then trying to figure out what it's doing but when we're driving your eyes are darting from there to there and you zoom in, zoom out, and you do all these little things so we just simulated this in software where we make a cluster of ms doing little things and together they synchronise. and how they train these ais is not typical, either. instead of gathering tonnes of data to teach them, the company computes scenarios, giving many driving possibilities to teach the car. this is the only self—driving delivery car out there. over in the states, there are other vehicles, quite similar in the way they look, work and drive about like kar—go. but the company is looking to do more than deliver to people's homes. we are on the raf brize norton base, watching as their car delivers items across the massive site. for security reasons, the company couldn't scan the base as it normally would a neighbourhood but they've gotten around that. what they've done is preloaded the bot with pre—existing data about similar sites and fine—tuned it to the specific set up, like where certain places are and a traffic light that's green here actually means stop. weird that, isn't it? that, coupled with the on—board cameras and sensors, means it can go across the relatively unknown site without any pre—training. so this self—driving car has a lot of promise, potentially the future of delivery for consumers and businesses, too, but with humans still needed behind the wheel for safety�*s sake, it may be a while before we see these swarming our roads. and that's all we have time for in click for this week, from iceland. you can find out what we're up to on social media. we live on youtube, facebook, instagram and twitter. thanks for watching and we'll see you soon. hello, there. after the heavy rain and brisk winds that affected most parts of the uk during tuesday, wednesday gives something of a chance to draw breath — certainly a drier, brighter day in prospect with some sunshine. it will still be quite breezy and there will be one or two showers but we are essentially between weather systems — this band of cloud that brought the rain on tuesday, this area of cloud waiting in the wings in the atlantic — but, in between, a zone of clearer skies thanks to this little ridge of high pressure building its way in. notice the white lines on the chart, though — the isobars still fairly tightly squeezed, so it will still be quite breezy and certainly we're getting off to a very cool start, quite a chilly start in places — three orfour degrees in one or two spots in the countryside, but we should see a good deal of sunshine through the day. now we will see some showers, too — these most plentiful across parts of northern ireland, south—west scotland, drifting through northern england, into the midlands, perhaps one or two into east anglia and the south—east, but many spots by the end of the afternoon will be dry with some sunshine. the winds easing a little by the end of the day, but temperatures just 13 to 16 degrees. and temperatures will drop quite quickly under clear skies during wednesday evening. however, the clear skies won't last. in western areas we see cloud and rain spreading in, a strengthening breeze, so by the end of the night it will be turning milder in the west — 11 for belfast, 12 for plymouth — still quite chilly to start the day across eastern areas. but for thursday, this frontal system dominates the weather — that's going to bring some outbreaks of quite heavy rain southwards and eastward, the rain quite sporadic, quite on and off in nature. very windy to start the day, especially in north—west scotland. the winds will ease a little through the day across northern areas — it should brighten up a little bit here, too. further south, those winds will stay strong and gusty, exposed spots in england and wales seeing gusts in excess of a0 or a5 mph even through into the afternoon. temperatures still struggling — 13 degrees for aberdeen, 17 in plymouth — although, actually, that's about where we should be at this time of year. now, into the weekend, low pressure dominates. weather system spinning around these areas of low pressure — that means we'll see some outbreaks of heavy rain at times, some very strong winds are possible, too, and temperatures will stay in a similar range — between 12 and 17 degrees. so with the cloud, the rain, the brisk winds and the cool conditions, it will feel very autumnal. welcome to bbc news. the headlines. how to make friends and influence people — new research uncovers the staggering scale of china's hidden foreign lending. america's top general admits the united states' reputation has been damaged by the chaotic exit from afghanistan. the french insist they're doing everything they can to stop migrants crossing the english channel, and accuse the uk of being ungrateful. we all have our secrets. we just didn't get to yours yet. and shaken, stirred and very, very late. finally, the newest bond film is released, with the premiere in london.

Related Keywords

Plane , Plant , Seeds , Secret , Dinner , Acquired Taste , Something , Iceland , Landscape , Middle , Barley , Way , Greenhouse , Plants , Other , One , 130000 , Food , Us , Food Chain , Food For Animals , Growth Factor , Protein , End , Host , Grass , Theirjourney , Animals , Meat , Growth Factor Protein , Lab , Point , Agriculture Area , Earth , Aren T , People , Energy , Process , Waste , Rising , Population , Argument , Labs , Land , Stem Cell , Feed , Steak , Companies , Option , Cow Stem Cells , Beef Burgers , Plastic Trim , Growth Factors , Nature , Barley Plant Method , Lifting , Research , Place , Growing Conditions , Peculiarities , Thing , Doesn T , Guys , Pumice , Nutrients , Somewhere , Mount Hekla , Electricity , Nutrient , Mix , Heating , Hydroponic Cultivation , C02 , Windows , Computer , Nutrition , Lights , Fields , Climates , Meat Industry , Doesn T Cross Pollinate , Typicalfarm , 10000 , 150 , Company , Greens , Power , Answer , Diet , Algae , Tastes , Eating , Sounds Kind Of Ewww , Crops , Growing , Test Units , Microalgae , Natural Resources , Omega 3 , 3 , Systems , Water , Tonne , 500 , 1500 , 400 , 300 , 1400 , Fact , Benefit Photosynthesis , Driving Seat , By Product , Oxygen , Biomass , Power Plant , Product , Co2 , Health Authorities , Bad , Spencer , World , Carbon Negative , Environment , Everywhere , Top , Tap , Order , Globe , Algae Farms , Volcano , Coal , Power Station , Generating C02 , Pipe , Yes , Possibility , The System , Spaces , Theoretically , Vaxa , Moon Base , Right , Colonists , Don T Know , Mars , 0k , Cold Seawater Algae , Algae Taste , Uh , Salty , 0k , Problem , Laughs , Offer , Chew , Tough Chew , Kiti , Course , For Real , Laugh , Life , Or , Little , Um , Plate , Chef , Nobody , Idea , Crop , Algae Paste , Green Goo , Stuff , Restaurants , Gravy , Al Jay , Red Winejus , 100 , 00 , Douyin , Platform , Mobile Phones , Charger , Headphones , Tech News Round , Users , Use , Tablets , Version Of Tiktok , China , Eu , 1 , Microsoft , Iphone 13 , Rights , S Books , Apple , Series , Roald Dahl , Netflix , 7 , 13 , Surface Event , Surface Pro Device , Foldable Phone , Surface Pro , Wares , Iteration , Surface Laptop , 8 , Wheels , Concept , Vehicle , Students , Array , House , Home , Surface Duo , Road Trip , Roof , A 3000km , Netherlands , 2 , 3000 , Site , Nasa , Part , Awareness , Need , Moon Rover Landing , Moon , South Pole , European Solar Tour , Sustainable Travel , Parts , Side , Solar System , Water Ice , The Dark Side Of Moon , Mobile Crater , Viper Mission , 2023 , Bird , Innovation Hub , Reykjavik , Kind , Flapping A Bird Drone , Innit , Silent Flyer , Surveillance , Bird Drone , Lead , Engineer Peter , Daughter Clara , 70 , Thinking , Birds , Device , Flock , Drone , Flap , Wildlife Monitoring , Sector , Defence , Unnoticed , Inquiries , Aircraft , Board , Cody Godwin , San Francisco , Self Driving Cars , Xwing , Sky , City , The Streets Of San Francisco , Everything , Sensors , Landing , Flying System , Skies , Command Centre , Lidar Cameras , Tech , Parking , Taxiing To , Autonomous System , Humans , Ground , Air Traffic Control , Beta Version , Action , The End , Human Pilot , None , Safety Pilot , Faa Certification In 202a , 202 , Button , Human , Ground Control Centre , Runway , Safe , Strip , Cameras , Control , Wall , Some , Robots , Ghost , Robot Once , Planes , Base , Area , Lines , Aeroplane , Exterior , Bits , Front , Team , Flight Path , Three , Out Of The Loop , Time , Xbox Controller , Lesson , Direction , Altitude , Perfect , Passenger , Aeroplanes , Fun , Tilt , Level , 45 , Flights , Flight , Autonomously , Control Room , Goal , Fleet , Person , Ride , Capabilities , Computers , Instructions , December 2019 , 2019 , Areas , Planning , Step , Transport Cargo , Jeopardy , Anybody S Life , Anybody , Territory , Pilot S Licence , Aviation Authority , Adaptation , Ways , Approval , Unmanned Aircrafts , Faa , Drones , Pilots , Country House , Miles Away , Yard , Hundreds , Chichester Don Tjust Hover , Line , Sight , Operator , Regulators , Cause , Permission , System , Uk , Autonomous Systems , Licence , First , Notice , Pilot , 3d , Position , 3d World , Difference , Trees , Look , 0 , Piece , Infrastructure , Oil Rig , Nice , Walking , Office , The Rain , Locations , Wind , Nuclear Power Plant , Distraction , Network , Risk , Construction , Reservations , Opportunity , Surrey , Skanka , Construction Sites , Plus , Finish , Task , View , Beam , , Delivery , Sites , Medicine , Lives , Shopping , Someone , Incapacitated , Software Doesn T , Camera , Human Passengers , Drone Taxi , Volocopter , Shaping , Aviation Regulator , Boeing , Sees Ai , Amazon , Flying Cars , Cargo , Cases , Simulator , Anyone , Job , Isn T Real , Jetsons , Deliveries , Talk , Crashing , Practice , Theme , Argh , Let S , Cute , Human Driver , Robotics , Academy , Road , Number , Solar Panels , Slew , 12 , Car , Kar Go , Space , Version , Confidence , Speed , Help , 60 , 48 , Neighbourhood , Green , Trial Run , Matter , Racing Car , Itjust , Cars , Run , Functioning Fine , Driving Well , Route , Trouble , Isn T , Command Base , Inside , Software , Innovation , Anything Else , Giant Scene , Doing , Eyes , Darting , Things , Data , Ms , Ais , Zoom , Cluster , Zoom Out , States , Possibilities , Scenarios , Vehicles , Over , Security Reasons , Couldn T , Homes , Items , Raf Brize Norton , Bot , It , Set Up , Places , Traffic Light , Weird That , Self Driving Car , Stop , Pre Training , Promise , Roads , Consumers , Wheel , Safety S Sake , Businesses , Social Media , Instagram , Thanks , Youtube , Twitter , Facebook , Brisk Winds , Rain , Sunshine , Hello , Chance , Breath , Prospect , Pressure , Showers , Band , Weather Systems , The Rain On Tuesday , Cloud , Zone , Ridge , Cloud Waiting In The Wings , Atlantic , Two , Spots , Chart , Start , Countryside , Deal , Isobars , Afternoon , Northern England , South East , South West Scotland , Midlands , East Anglia , Northern Ireland , Temperatures , Rain Spreading In , Strengthening Breeze , Clear Skies Won T Last , 16 , Outbreaks , Weather , Heavy Rain Southwards , Plymouth , Belfast , 11 , South , Bit , Gusty , North West Scotland , Degrees , Weekend , A0 , Gusts , Excess , A5 , Aberdeen , 17 , Weather System , Times , Heavy Rain , Conditions , The Cloud , Headlines , Bbc News , General , Scale , Influence , Lending , Reputation , Friends , Secrets , Exit , Migrants , English Channel , Afghanistan , Being Ungrateful , French , Premiere , Bond Film , London ,