North Korean digital control

05/10/22 • 45 min

North Korea is known as one of the most isolated countries in the world. Yet, there are North Koreans who have access to some of the same kind of technologies that are available to the rest of the world, albeit with severe restrictions. A new report suggests that some even hack their smartphones to get around the stringent digital controls. The authors of the report looked at North Korean phones and spoke to two escapees, a former computer programmer for the North Korean government and a former computer science student. One of the authors Martyn Williams as well as North Korea expert and co-host of the BBC podcast The Lazarus Heist Jean H. Lee join us on the programme.

Clean Drinking water at the push of a button Researchers at MIT have created a portable device that can clean and desalinate seawater. It works by creating an electrical field that pulls salt and suspended solids out of the water. Unlike other methods, this requires little electricity and no filters. Research scientist Junghyo Yoon is hoping to improve and commercialise the technology in the next couple of years.

Military virtual and augmented reality Microsoft has recently been contracted to construct more than 120,000 augmented reality headsets for the U.S. Army. How is virtual and augmented reality used in the military? Will it be used on the battlefield? Gareth speaks to journalist and VR training expert Andy Fawkes.

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

Studio Manager: Steve Greenwood Producer: Florian Bohr

(Image: Woman browsing on tablet in the dark Credit: Christina Reichl Photography/Getty Images)

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

Studio Manager: Steve Greenwood Producer: Florian Bohr

(Image: Woman browsing on tablet in the dark Credit: Christina Reichl Photography/Getty Images)

Previous Episode

Electric road trip on Jersey

This week you can listen again to our electric vehicle Jersey road trip. Gareth and Bill are on the small English speaking island off the coast of France investigating the tech scene. We’re travelling around in an on-demand electric vehicle – all booked, paid for and locked and unlocked with an app from our smart phones. We’re finding out about agricultural tech on a dairy farm – how the famous Jersey Cows that produce premium milk are being managed by the latest innovations, and we’re also out in the fields where a host of sensors and data analytics are helping with the Jersey potato harvest. And we visit the remote control tower at St. Helier airport and see how remote airfields around the world are beginning to embrace this technology, pioneered on Jersey, to make flying to seldom used airports safer.

Guests include: Gavin Breeze, Director of Evie, Air traffic controllers Marc Hill and Richard Mayne, Jersey Cow Girl Becky Houzé and Mike Renouard Business Unit Director at the Jersey Royal Company.

The programme was presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Bill Thompson. It was first broadcast on 14th September 2021.

Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz

(Image: Bill Thompson has a pre-interview chat with guest on Digital Planet. Credit: Ania Lichtarowicz / BBC)

Next Episode

Reclaiming African art in digital form

A Nigerian project called Looty is seeking to take back African art in digital form. Members go into museums, take LiDAR scans using their phones, and recreate these African artworks as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The first piece is one of the Benin Bronzes from the British Museum. Different artistic reimaginations of this ancient artwork are now being sold as NFTs, with parts of the proceeds going to emerging Nigerian artists. Gareth speaks to Looty’s founder Chidi about the idea, and blockchain expert Anne Kaluvu comments on the project.

The innovative vision of Amazonia 4.0 The Amazon rainforest is being destroyed at an alarming rate. Could there be another way? The project Amazonia 4.0 is envisioning harnessing the rainforest’s inherent biodiversity through a sustainable bioeconomy. Professor Carlos Nobre explains how, with the help of drones, fibre optic cables and other technologies, this vision may become a reality.

The common fruit fly’s digital twin One of the most ubiquitously used and best understood organisms in science is the common fruit fly. Many important developments in medicine and biology stem from research on this tiny insect. Now Professor Pavan Ramdya and his team have developed a complete simulated model of the fruit fly, a so-called digital twin. This model can be used by researchers to conduct experiments digitally, which may help speed up research and solve unanswered questions.

The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Angelica Mari.

Studio Manager: Duncan Hannant Producers: Hannah Fisher and Florian Bohr

(Photo: A man uses Sony's 3D Creator scanning to create a three-dimensional image Credit: PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)