History Makers Podcast: Episode Five - From Wedgwood’s Wares to 3D Printing

Former Robot Wars judge and resident DesignSpark blogger Dr Lucy Rogers is joined by award-winning comedians Bec Hill and Harriet Braine for the History Makers podcast, exploring modern technology and the people throughout history who have made it all possible.

In episode five, the trio discusses whether 3D manufacturing technology will be our salvation or damnation. Dr Lucy explains how additive manufacturings works, “robot” Harriet uses her databanks to bring some makers to life and Bec tells us why we should have never moved on from modelling with plasticine.

So set your ears to receive and your mind to blown for History Makers episode five!

Listen Now

Missed our previous episodes? 

Where have you been? There are four other episodes for you to catch up on, which you can find below:

Episode 1 - Wireless Communications: “It’s addictive, dangerous and I don’t trust it”

Episode 2 - Artificial Intelligence: “What would Mary Shelley make of Westworld?”

Episode 3 - Computer Programming: "The first computer bug was a moth"

Episode 4 - Navigation: “GPS would make the Wizard of Oz boring"

Meet The Maker

Josiah Wedgwood; Pottery Pioneer

John Harrison was destined to become a carpenter, well, that was the family business, but young John had other ideas, he had a keen interest in watches and their mechanisms and had built his first Grandfather clock when he was just 20!

Back in 1714, the British government offered a prize for the person who was able to solve the tricky puzzle of calculating Longitude when navigating the seas and oceans. John, deciding he fancied winning the £20k prize on offer (serious dosh back then), set about the task at hand. After many years, and various designs he had created the Sea Clock, a hefty device that worked, to a degree, but never really pleased our intrepid watchmaking inventor.

A little while later, he came up with the idea that smaller was better, and with a team of watchmakers set about creating the World’s first maritime watch that could accurately measure longitude. Six years later and the H4 Marine Chronometer arrived, a brilliant handheld device that spawned a plethora of similar devices and changed the world of ocean travel forever!

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Feel free to let us know what you thought of this episode in the comments below. 

Disclaimer

Listener discretion is advised. The contents expressed in these Podcasts are the clever creation of the comedy teams involved, and although suitable for a wide range of audiences, please be aware of colourful language and the abuse of politicians. No robots (or humans) were harmed in the making of these podcasts.