WEBVTT - This Episode Was Written By AI (Sort Of) 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:12.400 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 0:00:12.440 --> 0:00:16.320 and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:20.000 I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and how the 0:00:20.040 --> 0:00:23.560 tech are you? So what you're about to hear is 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:27.880 an experiment. I decided to see what chat GPT could 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.200 scramble up if I asked it to create a tech 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:35.720 podcast episode. Now, I didn't specifically say a tech stuff 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:41.080 episode in particular. Instead, my prompt literally read quote, create 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:46.440 a tech podcast episode about airbags, end quote, and I 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:50.840 just chose airbags at random. This is what it came 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:54.639 up with. So, without further ado, listeners, I bring you 0:00:55.560 --> 0:00:59.760 the following episode from chat GPT, and this will all 0:00:59.840 --> 0:01:03.880 be quoted directly from chat GPT. You'll know when I 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:08.840 come back in. So here we go. Tech Innovations, air 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:13.720 Bags and Automotive Safety. Host Welcome to Tech Innovations, the 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:16.720 podcast where we explore the latest and greatest in technology 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:21.480 and innovation. I'm your host, your name, and today we're 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:25.920 diving into a crucial aspect of automotive safety. Airbags. These 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:29.039 life saving devices have been a staple of vehicles for decades, 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:32.800 but their technology and impact are often overlooked. Today, we'll 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:37.480 uncover the history, technology, and future of airbags. Let's get started. 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:42.399 Segment one, The history of airbags. HOST. Air bags have 0:01:42.480 --> 0:01:45.360 a fascinating history that dates back to the nineteen fifties. 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:48.040 The idea of a cushion to protect drivers in a 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:51.800 crash was first conceived by John W. Hetrick, who filed 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:55.040 the initial patent in nineteen fifty one. However, it wasn't 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:57.640 until the nineteen seventies the airbags started to become a 0:01:57.680 --> 0:02:01.680 practical reality. Guest expert joining us today is doctor Emily 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:05.680 Roberts and automotive safety historian Doctor Roberts. Can you tell 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.080 us about the early development of air bags in their 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:13.360 initial reception? Dtor Roberts. Absolutely, The early prototypes were quite 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:17.280 rudimentary compared to today's standards. They relied on compressed air 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:21.960 and were often bulky and unreliable. However, as the technology evolved, 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:24.880 especially with the advent of solid state crash sensors in 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:28.240 the nineteen eighties, airbags became more efficient and began to 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:35.720 gain acceptance among manufacturers and consumers. Segment two. How airbags work. HOST. 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:39.760 Modern airbags are marvels of engineering at their core. They're 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:43.080 designed to deploy within milliseconds of a collision to cushion 0:02:43.120 --> 0:02:46.880 and protect the occupants. But what exactly happens during those 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:51.440 critical moments? Guest expert to explain the technical workings, we 0:02:51.520 --> 0:02:56.280 have James Lee, and automotive engineer specializing in safety systems. James, 0:02:56.480 --> 0:02:59.480 can you break down the process for us? James Lee? 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:03.160 Or When a crash sensor detects a collision, it sends 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:06.400 an electric signal to the airbag control unit. This unit 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:09.600 triggers an igniter that rapidly inflates the air bag using 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:14.280 a chemical reaction, typically sodium azide. The airbag then deploys 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:16.320 at speeds of up to two hundred miles per hour, 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:19.720 providing a cushion to reduce the impact on the occupants. 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:25.239 Segment three types of airbags host airbags have evolved beyond 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:29.200 just standard front airbags. There are now side airbags, curtain 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:32.600 air bags, knee air bags, and more. Each type serves 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:35.400 a specific purpose in protecting different parts of the body 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:39.160 during various kinds of collisions. Guest Expert, we're joined by 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:42.960 Lisa Fernandez and expert and vehicle safety systems. Lisa, could 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:45.600 you tell us about the different types of air bags 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:49.640 in their roles Lisa Fernandez. Of course, front air bags 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:51.720 are designed to protect the head and chest in a 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:55.480 frontal crash. Side airbags help protect the torso and pelvis 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:58.640 and side impacts, while curtain air bags deploy from the 0:03:58.720 --> 0:04:01.800 roof to shield the head in rollovers. Knee airbags are 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:05.760 intended to prevent leg injuries. Together they create a comprehensive 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:09.920 safety net. Segment four. The impact of airbags on safety 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:13.960 statistics HOST. The introduction and widespread adoption of airbags have 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:17.520 had a profound impact on vehicle safety. According to the 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:22.880 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA, airbags have saved 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:27.000 tens of thousands of lives since their introduction. Guest expert, 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:31.960 we have doctor Michael Harris, a statistician with the NHTSA, 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:35.440 to provide insights into the data. Doctor Harris, what do 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:39.400 the numbers tell us about the effectiveness of airbags, Doctor Harris? 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:43.279 The statistics are compelling. Front airbags have been credited with 0:04:43.400 --> 0:04:47.200 reducing driver fatalities by about twenty nine percent and front 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:51.839 passenger fatalities by thirty two percent in frontal crashes. Side 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:55.440 airbags with head protection have shown even greater potential, reducing 0:04:55.480 --> 0:05:01.040 deaths in side impacts by about thirty seven percent. Future 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:04.960 of airbag technology. Host. As we look to the future, 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:09.480 airbag technology continues to advance. Innovations such as pedestrian air 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.640 bags and smart air bags that adjust deployment based on 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:15.880 the occupant's size and position are now on the horizon. 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:19.400 Guest expert. To discuss these future trends, we have doctor 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:23.839 Sarah Kim, a researcher in automotive technology. Doctor Kim, what 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:28.560 exciting developments can we expect in air bag technology? Doctor Kim. 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:31.359 One of the most promising areas is the integration of 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:35.520 advanced sensors and artificial intelligence. These systems can assess the 0:05:35.520 --> 0:05:39.480 severity of a crash and adjust airbag deployment accordingly. Additionally, 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:42.960 external air bags that deploy to protect pedestrians and cyclists 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:47.040 are being tested, which could significantly enhance overall road safety. 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:52.479 Closing remarks, Host, it's clear that airbags have revolutionized automotive 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:56.000 safety and continue to evolve from their humble beginnings to 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.080 the sophisticated systems we have today. Air Bags play a 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:02.560 crucial role in protecting lives. Thank you to our experts 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:05.320 for sharing their insights, and thank you to our listeners 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:09.960 for tuning in, Stay safe and stay curious. Host. This 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:13.719 concludes today's episode of tech Innovations. If you enjoyed this episode, 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:16.120 please subscribe and leave a review. If you have any 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:19.120 questions or topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes, 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:21.960 feel free to reach us on social media or via 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:26.560 our website. Until next time, I'm your name, and this 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:30.520 is tech Innovations. Okay, there we go. That's it. That 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:36.520 is the chat GPT generated episode about airbags. Obviously very 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:39.799 light episode, right, not like a tech stuff episode, doesn't 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:42.440 last forty seven minutes. In fact, it lasted less than 0:06:42.480 --> 0:06:46.960 seven minutes with me reading through that, although I imagine 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:49.560 that the different segments would probably have things like musical 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.880 transitions and such if this were a fully produced episode, 0:06:52.880 --> 0:06:55.719 and probably each of those segments was meant to be 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:58.240 fleshed out right like that was not meant to be 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:01.599 a full episode. It was more like the outline of 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:06.719 an episode. And after I read this, I wanted to 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:10.080 know what sources the AI actually used in order to 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.800 craft this episode. So this is what it had to 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:16.000 say when I asked for that information. The episode script 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:21.240 was created based on general knowledge about airbags and their history, technology, 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:24.280 and impact on automotive safety. The information is drawn from 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:29.080 widely known facts and common sources in the automotive safety field, 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:34.440 such as National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in HTSA reports 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:38.520 and statistics on airbag effectiveness and safety data, automotive safety 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:42.920 engineering principles, including how airbags function and their deployment mechanisms, 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:46.920 historical records and patents such as the original airbag patent 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:49.840 by John W. Hetrick. More on that in a minute, 0:07:50.040 --> 0:07:53.760 Current trends in automotive technology, including advancements in smart air 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:58.120 bags and pedestrian protection systems. For more detailed or specific information, 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:02.760 here are a few potential sources that could provide the 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:07.200 data used in the episode. NHTSA website and their publications 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:11.560 on vehicle safety features, automotive engineering textbooks and technical papers 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:15.600 on airbag technology, interviews and articles from industry experts and 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:19.280 researchers in automotive safety, automotive history books that cover the 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:22.440 development and evolution of vehicle safety features. If you need 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:26.040 specific references or more detailed information from these sources, I 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:29.280 can look them up for you. Okay, I didn't bother 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:32.320 to go into deeper detail here. Maybe I should have, 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:35.480 but already this is a little puzzling, right because it 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:39.040 says here are a few potential sources that could provide 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:42.599 the data used in this episode, which is pretty darn ambiguous. 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:45.880 You know, the sources could do that, but there's no 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.600 guarantee they will, or that they actually served as a 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:53.080 crucial source for the data that was ultimately pulled for 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:58.320 this AI generated episode. The plot thickens now. I would say, 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:05.280 on the surface, this rudimentary tech podcast episode is more 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:09.120 or less fine, but let's dive down a bit and 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:13.160 double check the homework assignment, because there are problems here, 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:16.640 some of which are factual in nature and a lot 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:19.559 of which I would argue are more ethical. So the 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:24.559 AI generated episode is correct that John W. Hettrick frequently 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:28.720 gets the credit for inventing the airbag. The Institute of Physics, 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:32.240 which in turn cites sources such as D. Sherman's article 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:36.280 The Rough Road to Airbags, gives a slightly different date. However, 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:39.840 the AI had said that Hettrick filed for this patent 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:43.520 back in nineteen fifty one, whereas the Institute of Physics 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:47.280 says he actually got the idea in nineteen fifty two, 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.240 after he got into an automobile accident with his wife 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:53.120 and child in the car. So why would he patent 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:55.719 something in nineteen fifty one if he didn't even get 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:58.559 the idea for it until nineteen fifty two. Well, this 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:01.160 one is easy to solve. All we have to do 0:10:01.320 --> 0:10:05.200 is pop over to a patent database and search for 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:08.400 Hendrick's name in the inventor field and see what it 0:10:08.480 --> 0:10:11.600 has on there. When I did that, I saw that 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:15.200 the date for the initial filing of a patent from 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:21.800 John Hendrick about airbags was on August fifth, nineteen fifty two. Okay, 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.080 that's one data point that's wrong, but it's only wrong 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:29.080 by a year, right, Like, this isn't the worst mistake 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:32.640 that AI could make. It's the right person, it's the 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:36.839 right invention, it's just the wrong year. And goodness knows, 0:10:36.880 --> 0:10:38.880 there are a lot of tech topics that I cover 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:41.960 in the show where I can't find a reliable source 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:45.800 to give me a definitive date for certain things. The 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:48.040 further back you go, the harder it is to do 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:52.280 that unless someone has specifically filed a document. But in 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:55.079 this case, we do have that. We have an official 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:58.760 filed document. In fact, Chad GBT said that the patent 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:02.160 could be one of the sources that pulled from it. 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:06.000 Obviously wasn't because if they had pulled from that source, 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:09.000 it would have said nineteen fifty two, not nineteen fifty one. 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:12.800 This was a claim that was easily verifiable. The AI 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.360 did not do that, But no big deal. Human writers 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:18.880 make these kind of mistakes all the time, right, like 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:22.360 they just don't take the extra effort. Heck, there are 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:24.720 episodes of tech stuff that have gone out there where 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:27.480 I have made similar errors because I did not take 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:30.760 the extra step to actually verify something that's on me. 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:34.080 So I don't want to hold AI to too high 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:37.600 a standard, but it's already proven to not be one 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:41.360 hundred percent reliable, which is an issue if it's being 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:45.520 presented as being one hundred percent reliable. Right not to 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:47.840 say that AI has to be better than humans, but 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:50.199 at least has to be as good as it's claim 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:53.680 to be. Well, what happened next is I would argue 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:58.160 a very big deal and a real issue, more so 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:02.160 than the fudging a year. That is because the AI 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:05.000 creates an expert and it wouldn't be the last time 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:07.880 the spoiler alert, and I'll say it again when we 0:12:07.920 --> 0:12:11.480 get to each one, but all of the guest experts 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:15.640 appear to me at least to be invented. I do 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:20.080 not believe doctor Emily Roberts exists. Now. There are plenty 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:23.720 of people named Emily Roberts. There's even one who's named 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:27.920 Emily Roberts who's a child Passenger Safety technician or CPST, 0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:31.720 and she creates content for TikTok and YouTube shorts about 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:35.040 the proper way to ensure children are protected while riding 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:39.240 in vehicles. So she's at least in the ballpark for 0:12:39.760 --> 0:12:44.680 an expert who's talking about automotive safety features. But there is, 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:48.280 as far as I can determine, no automotive safety historian 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:53.080 named doctor Emily Roberts, at least not anyone I could find. However, 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:57.120 that's probably for the best, right because unless chat GPT 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:02.559 was pulling directly from an actual interview with a real 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:06.560 doctor Emily Roberts, the only conclusion we can draw is 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:10.800 that the AIS fabricating a quote. And I would hate 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:15.200 to see an AI generated script that purported to feature me. 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:18.520 And the words that are being spouted off are not 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:22.200 my own. They're AI generated standing in for me, that 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:26.080 is really troubling. So I do wonder if chat GPT 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:29.040 came up with the name Emily Roberts all on its 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:32.480 own and that's just a coincidence, or if within the 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:35.920 vast database of information it draws from, in the large 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:39.440 language model that feeds into chat GPT, there happens to 0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:43.360 be a record of Anne Emily Roberts, who does work 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:47.320 related to automotive safety. Like maybe that was what statistically 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:50.960 guided chat GPT to choose that name. I don't know, 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:54.479 So it's either a coincidence or it's a stone's throwaway 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:59.360 from impersonation, at least in my opinion. Okay, we're just 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:02.480 scratching surface here. We've got a lot more to talk 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:06.520 about as far as this AI generated episode goes. But 0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:09.200 before we get to that, let's take a quick break 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:22.520 to thank our sponsors. We're back with our AI generated 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:27.400 technology podcast episode and the issues that I found when 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:31.480 I did a deeper dive. So, the fictional doctor Emily 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:36.280 Roberts explains that early prototypes of airbags used compressed air. 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:39.920 This is true. It is correct at least Hettrick's patent 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:44.560 refers to quote an air accumulator or reservoir end quote 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:47.200 that would hold air under pressure, and then there would 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:50.800 be a valve that would connect this reservoir to deflated 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:54.280 air bags housed somewhere in the vehicle, such as in 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:58.800 the steering column and the dashboard. In Hettrick's design, there 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:02.440 is inside the scent a weight attached to a spring, 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:06.440 and this controls the valve. So normally the valve's position 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.840 remains firmly closed because the spring, when it's in its 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:14.560 normal uncompressed state, holds the weight in place. And on 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:17.200 the other end of the weight is the connection to 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:19.880 this valve, which is kind of like a plug. Imagine 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:22.520 a plug in a bathtub, right, and it's connected to 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:27.200 this thing. When a vehicle were to stop very suddenly, 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:29.840 such as in the case as a head on collision, 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:34.040 the momentum the inertia really would mean that the weight 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:37.720 would continue to move forward even as the vehicle itself stopped. 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:41.040 Just as people in the car would continue to move forward, right, 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:44.200 the weight would move forward. This would compress the spring 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.440 that otherwise holds the weight in place, and thus the 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:50.960 weight would pull the plug forward this valve, and it 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:55.440 would open the valve between the reservoir of air and 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:58.280 the deflated air bag. So the idea is the compressed 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:00.960 air would then rush up of that's reservoir and into 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:03.560 the area of low pressure, which is the deflated airbag 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:05.880 in other words, and thus inflate it. So this would 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:10.440 be a purely mechanical system. There was no actual censor 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:13.760 to speak of, at least not an electronic one. Momentum 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:16.360 itself would determine if the weight would open the valve 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:18.960 or if everything would stay in place. Now you might 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:21.680 be thinking to yourself, huh, that sounds like it's, you know, 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:26.480 possible for airbags to deploy if you just stop the 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:30.120 car really fast, right, like not a collision, but you 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:35.360 breaked really hard. And yeah, I thought that too. And 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:38.320 my guess is that is a possibility and of a 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:42.440 definite drawback on this particular design. At any rate, Hettrick's 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:45.440 invention didn't really get any traction. It was, as the 0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:50.560 fictitious Emily Roberts points out, not reliable enough, so Hettrick 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:54.000 never made any money off this particular idea. It would 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:57.680 serve as kind of a launching point for other inventors, 0:16:57.880 --> 0:17:03.120 but it was not sufficient to actually spur the creation 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:06.719 of airbags. But I do have another note about that 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:09.920 nineteen fifty one discrepancy. If you remember, before the break 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:14.159 I mentioned the AI episode said that Hettrick filed for 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:16.800 the patent in nineteen fifty one. He didn't. He filed 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.159 for the patent in nineteen fifty two. But there was 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:22.960 someone else who did file a patent for airbags in 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:26.159 nineteen fifty one, a whole year before Hettrick did it. 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:31.080 On October sixth, nineteen fifty one, Walter Linderer applied for 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:34.560 a patent for his quote device for protecting people in 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:38.200 vehicles from injuries in the event of a collision end quote. 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:41.320 Now he filed for this patent in Germany, not the 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:44.240 United States, so it wasn't the US Patent office, it 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:47.400 was the German one. That might be why some sources 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:51.119 cite Hettrick as being the inventor of airbags. It's that 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:54.879 good old American bias, like it doesn't count unless Americans 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:58.879 did it. But like Hettrick's design, Linderer proposed using compressed 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.520 air to inflate an air bag in the event of 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:05.399 an accident. Now Lenderers design allowed for either mechanical or 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:09.920 electrical control of the valve that would either allow air 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:12.199 to rush out of the compression chamber or keep it 0:18:12.280 --> 0:18:16.240 stoppered up. Interestingly, in Lenderer's invention, there was the potential 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:19.600 for manual control, so in other words, the driver could 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:22.159 throw a lever that would open the valve and deploy 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:25.640 the airbags. I don't know when this would ever be useful, 0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:28.400 because you know, when you know how fast a car 0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:33.199 accident happens, and how comparatively slowly we humans react to 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:36.480 this sort of stuff. I don't know that there's any 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:40.919 scenario where someone would have the time to switch a 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:45.360 manual lever to deploy airbags and have it be useful. 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:47.800 If anything, I would think such a lever would actually 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:51.000 make it more dangerous to operate a car, because what 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:53.040 if you threw the switch by accident in the middle 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:56.040 of a trip, and then suddenly airbags deployed. That would 0:18:56.080 --> 0:19:00.160 not be good. But Lenderer also allowed for automatic deploy 0:19:00.520 --> 0:19:05.120 and his proposal was not this mechanical system that Hettrick 0:19:05.200 --> 0:19:10.000 had had thought up. His was an electric contact, actually 0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:13.480 a pair of contacts that would be built into and 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:17.480 behind the front bumper of the vehicles, so normally the 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:21.000 two points of contact would not touch. There'd be a 0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:23.520 gap between them. But if the car were to collide 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:27.399 with something, then the pressure on the bumper would push 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:30.240 back and cause the contacts to touch one another and 0:19:30.280 --> 0:19:34.719 thus close a circuit, which Linderer saw as drawing power 0:19:34.760 --> 0:19:39.399 from the car's battery to operate the valve electronically and 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:42.920 to have it open. So it was a rudimentary crash detector, 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:45.240 in other words, and one that wouldn't be prone to 0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:48.119 the issue of deploying after just a hard breaking you 0:19:48.160 --> 0:19:51.959 would have to have contact with something. While Lenderer would 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:55.280 file for his patent in Germany a year before Hettrick 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:58.639 would do the same in the United States, Hettrick actually 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:02.879 got his patent first. He was awarded his patent about 0:20:02.960 --> 0:20:06.240 three months before Lenderer would get his in Germany. So 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:10.120 maybe that's why some people think Hettrick is the inventor 0:20:10.200 --> 0:20:13.960 of the airbag, because he got his patent first, even 0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:18.520 though Lenderer filed his a year earlier. I think all 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:21.000 of this is interesting. I think that this is stuff 0:20:21.000 --> 0:20:23.920 that should be included in any episode about the history 0:20:23.920 --> 0:20:26.639 of airbags, but sadly we don't get any of that 0:20:26.920 --> 0:20:29.879 in the AI generated episode, and rather we seem to 0:20:29.880 --> 0:20:32.719 get a case where the host is conflating two different 0:20:32.840 --> 0:20:36.639 inventors and the invention date. Now I'm not done with 0:20:36.680 --> 0:20:39.919 our fictional historian yet. Doctor Roberts then goes on to 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:43.600 say that the technology becoming more efficient and reliable and 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:47.119 going to solid state is what led to the industry 0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:52.840 in general and consumers accepting it. But that's not really true. 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:56.040 The solid state thing, I don't think really plays into 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:59.680 it that much, and Chad GPT doesn't seem to factor 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:04.359 in to account things like the political landscape and the 0:21:04.400 --> 0:21:11.560 automotive industry's flex in US politics, and thus the reason 0:21:11.600 --> 0:21:15.680 why airbags took so long to become mandated safety features 0:21:15.680 --> 0:21:18.840 within vehicles. So there's another cat we got to talk 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:21.639 about who is left out of the AI version of 0:21:21.720 --> 0:21:25.760 the episode, and his name is Alan K. Bred, an 0:21:25.800 --> 0:21:29.639 engineer and overachiever if ever there was one. So. Breed 0:21:29.880 --> 0:21:33.119 was born in nineteen twenty seven, and by the nineteen 0:21:33.200 --> 0:21:36.080 sixties he had done more than most folks doing an 0:21:36.280 --> 0:21:40.360 entire lifetime. He rushed through a four year college program 0:21:40.440 --> 0:21:43.639 in just two years. He did that by attending different 0:21:43.760 --> 0:21:47.879 lectures simultaneously, and he managed that by leaving a tape 0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:50.640 recorder in one lecture Hall, while he would actually attend 0:21:50.880 --> 0:21:55.760 another lecture. So this guy was driven and ambitious anyway. 0:21:55.800 --> 0:21:59.720 By the late nineteen sixties, he was tackling automotive safety 0:21:59.760 --> 0:22:03.360 and airbag design. The mechanical and electrical switch proposals by 0:22:03.359 --> 0:22:06.439 Hettrick and Lenderer were kind of a non starter. They 0:22:06.480 --> 0:22:09.919 weren't reliable, and anyway, compressed air would not inflate an 0:22:09.960 --> 0:22:14.160 airbag fast enough to provide a cushion for a passenger 0:22:14.200 --> 0:22:15.840 in the event of a crash. It would still be 0:22:15.880 --> 0:22:19.440 inflating long after the passenger had already completed their full 0:22:19.520 --> 0:22:21.639 range of motion in the wake of a crash. So 0:22:21.800 --> 0:22:25.639 Breed innovated both on the crash detection part of the 0:22:25.680 --> 0:22:29.320 problem as well as the airbag inflation bet Now this 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:34.040 is actually going to overlap into our second fictional guest, 0:22:34.320 --> 0:22:38.879 the supposed automotive safety engineer named James Lee. So James 0:22:38.960 --> 0:22:41.560 Lee is a pretty darn common name, and there were 0:22:41.640 --> 0:22:44.679 lots of hits when I started searching for this to 0:22:44.720 --> 0:22:47.879 see if maybe James Lee was actually a real person 0:22:47.920 --> 0:22:50.959 that was being quoted here. One James Lee I found 0:22:51.119 --> 0:22:54.960 is an engineering manager at a tire company, So you know, 0:22:55.680 --> 0:23:00.920 general automotive industry area. There another served as an in 0:23:01.080 --> 0:23:05.120 turn for automation controls over at TESLA, So again someone 0:23:05.160 --> 0:23:08.199 who's working at least within the industry, though not in 0:23:08.240 --> 0:23:11.879 the same capacity as our supposed guest expert. There's also 0:23:12.119 --> 0:23:15.640 an associate professor at a tech university who specializes in 0:23:15.680 --> 0:23:19.879 manufacturing and mechanical engineering, but not specifically in safety. So 0:23:20.160 --> 0:23:22.960 maybe Chad GBT looked around for a likely name for 0:23:23.000 --> 0:23:26.360 a safety expert and found some instances of various James 0:23:26.440 --> 0:23:30.560 Lees working in jobs relatively in the same industry and 0:23:31.080 --> 0:23:34.280 use that name for this episode. Or maybe again it's 0:23:34.520 --> 0:23:37.760 just a coincidence. Either way, I feel confident saying that, 0:23:38.200 --> 0:23:41.399 like Emily Roberts, there's no real James Lee who is 0:23:41.480 --> 0:23:45.359 being quoted here. Instead, we have an invented expert and 0:23:45.480 --> 0:23:50.560 invented quotations. So back to Breed and his improvements in 0:23:50.600 --> 0:23:54.760 airbag design in the sixties, So on the crash detection front, 0:23:54.920 --> 0:23:57.880 Breed proposed a new kind of electronic sensor that folks 0:23:57.920 --> 0:24:01.479 would refer to as a ball in tube device. So, 0:24:01.520 --> 0:24:05.040 what the heck is a ball in tube? Well, some 0:24:05.119 --> 0:24:08.600 of it is just kind of self explanatory. You got yourself. 0:24:08.800 --> 0:24:11.560 A small ball made of something like steel, something that's 0:24:11.600 --> 0:24:14.840 you know, affected by magnets, and this ball is nestled 0:24:14.880 --> 0:24:18.720 inside a tube and the tube is not affected by magnets. 0:24:18.720 --> 0:24:21.399 It's made out of something like plastic. And there is 0:24:21.440 --> 0:24:24.199 a permanent magnet that holds this ball in place at 0:24:24.320 --> 0:24:27.159 one end of the tube. But with enough force, the 0:24:27.240 --> 0:24:29.960 ball can be dislodged. It can break free of this 0:24:30.080 --> 0:24:32.800 magnetic hold, and at that point it rolls down the 0:24:32.840 --> 0:24:36.960 tube and ultimately it hits an electrical trigger that closes 0:24:37.040 --> 0:24:39.679 a circuit, so a contact in other words, or it 0:24:39.720 --> 0:24:43.359 pushes two points of contact to touch one another. So 0:24:43.440 --> 0:24:47.480 in some ways Breed's design married what Hetrick and Linderer 0:24:47.520 --> 0:24:51.199 were both working on independently. Now, this is not a 0:24:51.240 --> 0:24:55.399 solid state electronic device. Solid state electronics are based on 0:24:55.440 --> 0:24:59.959 semiconductors like microchips essentially, So this is an electro mechanical 0:25:00.560 --> 0:25:05.200 switch that detects crashes and it and variations of this 0:25:05.320 --> 0:25:08.320