'Prototype This' invents the future Video

'Prototype This' invents the future Video Transcript

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>>Hey, [Inaudible] we have a painted pyropack here. [ Inaudible background yelling ]

>>Those are the parts and pieces of a pyropack. Ever heard of it? Well, that's because it doesn't exist, not yet at least.

>>It's just as good as before, but now it's colorful. [ Laughter ]

>>And that's just one example of what you'll see on the Discovery Channel's new TV series "Prototype This".

>>We build a new invention on each show and throughout the course of each hour, we follow that process. Through the concepts, through the design, testing facets of it and then the big final test which is finding out if the prototype works or not.

>>From robots that can climb stairs to a water slide simulator, no idea is too outlandish or seen as impossible.

>>Say you're out with a bunch of friends at the zoo and you go, "You know what would be funny is if we had a giant, you know, swinging arm thing that could throw banana's." And eventually you'll be driving, you know, on a road trip somewhere and be like "Remember we talked about that giant arm that throws bananas? What if we did this and made it literally kind of grow that way".

>>In the 13 episodes each of the four hosts brings a specific expertise. [Background noise] Terry is all about the animatronics and fabrication of parts.

>>Terry: This is like playing in a toy store for me. It really is. To take something that's, you know a block of aluminum or a block of plastic and cut it down to what I need it to be and put wheels on it and a motor drive it off into the bay, that's perfect.

>>Joe is an electrical engineer and a hardware hacker.

>>Joe: I've been doing that since I was 7 years old.

>>Zoz does robotics.

>>Zoz: These days if it doesn't have a computer inside it then it's not really pushing the envelope.

>>And Mike specializes in mechanical engineering.

>>Mike: We really get into the heart of technology. So we go talk to professors at different universities at the cutting edges that they're doing and then we incorporate that into our own projects.

>>That kind of access and expertise is exactly the draw producers are hoping will attract an audience.

>>Ok, this is just a quick introduction scene.

>>The reason to watch the show is that, you know, you have a bunch of guys. They're really smart. They're thinking about the future. They're thinking about stuff that, you know, has never been done before. And for a non-technical person I'm just interested in seeing these guys go through a process that makes them human because they're being challenged. It's a fallible human process. For a techy person, it's just like a dream.

>>There's been this upsurge in the do it yourself, DIY. It's the hobbyist, you know, really coming to full glory and that's really, I think, the people will appeal to most. People that want to see how you actually do it and then they can do it themselves.

>>Don't expect to watch "Prototype This" like you're watching the home shopping network. These gadgets and devices are not going to be seen on store shelves any time soon but they are here to spark your own creativity. On Treasure Island I'm Kara Tsuboi, CNET.com. [ Music ]