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Traveling Into China Is Like "Entering A Fortress"; Making Softer Robots. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired May 02, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: With four weeks left to go in our spring broadcasting season, we`re happy you stopped by. I`m Carl Azuz.
We are not yet living in a world without COVID-19, but we are living in one that`s increasingly removing restrictions related to the virus. The
European Union recently announced that it is out of the emergency phase of the pandemic. What that likely means is that there will be less mass
testing events in Europe.
The EU may pull back from trying to report every case of COVID, and instead focus on how the disease spreads in communities. It`s also looking at ways
to track coronavirus data like it does that of the seasonal flu. This is according to a report by the Reuters News Agency.
Rules are being lifted in several European countries with case numbers and hospitalizations dropping, so are limits on where you can go and what you
can do. In Italy, for instance, people no longer have to show a sort of vaccine passport, proof they`ve been vaccinated or recently recovered from
the virus in order to go to the gym, the movies or a restaurant.
Greece has gotten rid of vaccination and testing rules for people traveling to that country as its tourism season gets going. The European Union
estimates that between 60 and 80 percent of its population has had COVID. The omicron version of the virus is now the main strain spreading there,
and it`s less severe than previous versions like delta.
So even though the World Health Organization has not declared an end to the pandemic and even though it warns that new variants of the virus could
still crop up, some governments and many residents around the world are indicating they`re ready to move on.
The nation of China continues to be an exception. We`ve told you about the shutdowns and complications they`ve caused in the city of Shanghai, where
more than 25 million people live. Now, a major clampdown is in effect in Beijing, the Chinese capital that`s home to more than 21 million people.
They now have to show proof of a negative COVID test to go into public areas. Universal Studios has been shut down, all dining and restaurants has
been banned. And this is all happening during China`s Labor Day holiday, an event that typically lasts five days. Despite China`s strict coronavirus
rules though, the disease continues to spread throughout the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Traveling into China`s like entering a fortress. The country has been virtually sealed off since the
start of the pandemic, burdened by strict border controls and the world`s harshest quarantine.
My journey to get in started with three PCR tests in Tokyo.
Seven days out for my flight, I just got my first COVID test.
Back at home, I tracked my daily temperature and packed a suitcase full of snacks to prepare for 21 days in quarantine. Within 48 hours of boarding,
China requires PCR tests at two different government-approved clinics.
This is possibly the most paperwork I ever needed to board an airplane.
I say goodbye to Tokyo, my home for the past one and a half years. Checking in at the airport relatively smooth.
Still checking my documents. I finally have my boarding pass. I`m at the gate. I`m going to China.
Most people on my flight are Chinese citizens. Foreigners can only enter under very limited conditions. It`s even harder for American journalist
because of U.S.-China tensions. All the flight attendants are in full protective gear.
We are ready for takeoff. Here we go.
Flights into China, especially Beijing, are extremely limited. Even though I`ll be based in the capital, first, I`m flying to Yunnan province. After
landing, I get another COVID test. A bus eventually takes us to the quarantine location. No one can choose to where they will be locked in for
the next 21 days.
Hours later, we arrive. I count myself lucky. It`s a hot spring resort converted into a quarantine site. It`s my first time here, but I`ll have to
enjoy the view from the window. I can`t step out onto the balcony or open my door, except for health checkups and food pick up. Two temperature
checks a day, regular COVID tests, sometimes even twice a day.
Food delivery isn`t allowed. But breakfast, lunch, and dinner are part of the quarantine fees. These restrictions are all part of China`s zero COVID
policy.
Across China, tens of millions are sealed inside their homes. Since mid- December, China`s average new daily case count has searched from double digits to more than 20,000. Any positive case and close contacts has to go
to government quarantine.
Entire metropolises brought to a standstill. Most of Shanghai`s 25 million residents have been locked in for weeks, many struggling to get enough
food, and medical care.
In year three of the pandemic, most of the world is learning to live with COVID. But in China, no cases tolerated, no matter the emotional and
economic costs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
R.U.R. was a play published in 1920 that introduced the concept of what?
Robots, records, radio, or radon?
Rossum`s Universal Robots was a Czech play about machines that take over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Traditionally, robots have been built out of stiff parts like steel that have a lot of links and have to move in vastly different ways than
people and animals. Advancements are being made in soft robots fabrications that are more elastic and bendable. But these can be difficult to design.
They may need a power source that can move or bend with them. And controlling soft robots can be a challenge especially if their movements
need to be precise, but new research is exploring the softer side of technology.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUBTITLE: Mission: Ahead: Making Softer Robots.
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Building the next big thing in tech can take time.
LI ZHANG, PROFESSOR AND MICRO-ROBOTICIST, THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: Sometimes innovation should not be too fast.
CRANE: In this case, it`s moving at a snail`s pace.
Meet Li Zhang, engineer professor and now maker of sludge-like goo.
ZHANG: It behaves sometimes like a liquid sometimes like a solid.
CRANE: Inspired by the cheap slime toy that children play with all over the world, Zhang`s team first created the substance in 2021 by mixing a
simple polymer with borax. The magic happened when they added magnetic particles.
ZHANG: Then basically, you get this so-called magnetic slime board.
CRANE: So when it comes close to a magnet, it can move change shape and grasp objects.
Zhang is one of a growing number of scientists worldwide on a mission to better understand a relatively new field in tech, soft robotics.
CONOR WALSH, PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCES, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Traditionally, when people think about robotics, they think
about big robot arms in factories that are very strong, very fast and very precise. And in the field of soft robotics, we`re thinking about how do you
make robots that are more flexible, more adaptable.
CRANE: Sometimes, looking to nature helps, like the agile but entirely boneless octopus.
In 2016, Harvard unveiled this silicone proof of concept called the octobot. Hydrogen peroxide inside the robot is converted into a gas which
moves its arms. Others are working on soft robotics that mimic human limbs, or even augment them. Experts say that this kind of research may ultimately
have a much wider influence in the world of robotics.
CECILIA LASCHI, PROFESSOR, THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE: Completely soft robots don`t make much sense. I think that now that we have
learned that compliance is helpful, softness is helpful, we cannot build robots without any compliant part.
CRANE: But like any big mission to develop new technology, this one will take time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Teachers, administrators, homeschoolers, instructors, if you like heads up notices -- well, heads up, you should totally check out our free
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(MUSIC)
AZUZ: If people who live in glass houses shouldn`t throw stones, people who walk on glass-bottomed bridges should probably walk carefully?
This is purportedly the longest glass-bottomed bridge on earth or above it. It`s more than feet long and almost feet above a valley between two
mountain peaks in Vietnam. It`s said to be strong enough to support up to 450 people at once, though it`s that up to part that might make you
hesitate if it`s crowded.
It may not be over troubled water, but for those who think the bridge of size is a bridge too high, that would be a bridge too far. Like an arch
enemy, they just couldn`t trust it. Those who liked suspension wouldn`t be crossed at a crossing, even an abridged version would leave them beaming.
I`m Carl Azuz.
Today`s shout-out goes out to Moanalua High School. It is in Honolulu, Hawaii. We hope you enjoyed today`s show and that you`ll come on back for
more tomorrow.
END
