voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. preparing for a long flight. this plan can stay up in the air almost indefinitely. how?

sunshine- — air almost indefinitely. how? sunshine. wait _ air almost indefinitely. how? sunshine. wait and _ air almost indefinitely. how? sunshine. wait and see. - sunshine. wait and see. chucking the wildlife behind the tracks. paul got distracted. understatement of the century. also, how to keep connected up a mountain when things go downhill. and be technology keeping be wrapped in check. ., , in check. having this technology - in check. having this technology means i in check. having this i technology means this in check. having this - technology means this right there, that is what i am talking about. let me take you up. up into the air. up above the clouds, above the weather, above all the aircraft. this is the stratosphere — a place yet to be conquered by humankind. up here, the air is thin and calm. and it is here that

you'll find the zephyr. this is a strange beast — and the fact that it flies this high is the least strange thing about it. see, it only travels at aomph, it only weighs 75kg. it's launched by hand, it's completely solar—powered — and in theory, it may be able to stay up here for months. i was last at zephyr�*s base in farnborough in the uk in 2018, when it had just stayed aloft for very nearly 26 days. since then, it's done 64. so, this is how it works. during the day, the sun hits the solar panels, which charge the batteries and power the propellers, and the plane climbs to 75,000 feet. when the sun goes down, the batteries completely take

over. the propellers do slow down and the plane does lose altitude. the trick, though, is to make sure you're still above 60,000 feet by the time the sun comes up the next morning — and the process can start again. so, will the entire wing be covered with solar cells, every single square centimetre, as much as you can in solar? actually, the solar array that we use now typically is so efficient that we don't tend to need to do complete coverage. really? yeah, we can actually recharge the batteries most normal days by lunchtime. wow! in theory, is it possible to stay up forever in this? well, i think eventually, we'll get as close as we can to that. at the moment, our limitation is the number of cycles the batteries can cope with. so, a cycle is a day — so a full charge, and then a full discharge, that's one cycle. and we're targeting six months in the stratosphere at a time, and that's in line with the battery performance that we see coming through.

so, look, i get it. the precise curve of so, look, i get it. i get that this plane can stay up in the air almost indefinitely. you only have to look at it to understand that it's something pretty special. the main question i have is why? why would you want this kind of craft? who would want this kind of craft? the idea was first conceived it is almost like this has been a solution looking for a problem. would it carry cameras, could it be military, reconnaissance? since

airbus spun off, it is not been pitched for earth observation and as a flying base station for mobile phones. from the stratosphere, at 60—70,000 feet, we can talk directly to a standard mobile phone, so the aircraft will function exactly like the cell tower that you have today, but it's high up. and, because it's so much higher up than the regular cell tower, it can cover the equivalent of about 200 base stations on the ground. so, of course, that replaces notjust the, you know, the equipment on the tower, but it replaces the whole tower. an uplink antenna would connect the mobile network to zephyr, and then zephyr could serve an area of 7,500 square

kilometres, in theory, for months at a time. this is a real proposition. or in the event of, say, a natural disaster, a plane could be flown to an area that had suddenly become cut—off from the grid. mobile operators have something called cell on wheels — cow — which is usually a truck that has some equipment. we have a cell on wings, a flying cow, which is flying cell on wings. these cows — er, planes — will fly autonomously. there are no joysticks involved. the pilots send the planes coordinates and flight plans — but they're mainly interested in how much energy it's using, and making adjustments to keep its batteries fully charged. so this is the ground, and this is 80,000 feet. and all this colourful stuff, that's wind — you don't want to be in that — but if you can keep the zephyr above it, from about 60,000 feet and up, it's pretty plain sailing. the problem is, you've got to get to 60,000 feet

in the first place — something that can take ten hours from that weird hand—launched take—off. trying to get up in the air is the tricky point. there was a lot more error on the surface than in the stratosphere. getting in that weather is the hardest part. we've spent a lot of time and effort studying meteorology in the tropopause, so that we can understand how to transit through it as safely as possible with this aircraft. and we've now done a global study of where all the weather is, and all the different weather conditions around the world, and we've found some of the best locations in the world to start launching and landing these from regularly. so, where the air is nice and clear, all the way up. all the way through, yeah, and once we're in the stratosphere, we're away. in fact, zephyr�*s parent company has just announced kenya as the location of its first planned permanent launch site.

but we have seen these kind of ventures before. for example, google�*s loon project was also based in kenya, and its balloon—based mobile cell tower project failed to stay afloat. and what about satellites? these days, very small cubesats can be put into orbit at much lower cost than their bigger siblings — and they stay up automatically, no power involved. although, unlike zephyr, you can't bring them down and swap out their payloads. with satellite, if you want to talk to a handset, it's very difficult. and if you manage with low earth orbit satellites, you can talk to a handset, but it would be very limited. you know, it's sms, maybe a few kilobits per second, you cannot do full 56. you're not mimicking what a terrestrial station does. and if you have satellites that are really big enough that can do something like this, the economics are so expensive — and then, you're spreading them across the whole planet,

you're not getting the efficiencies, you cannot scale. so that's on the connectivity side. 0n the earth observation side, satellites are great because they can view anywhere on the planet, but not persistently. because they take an image, come back after a period of time. with high—altitude platform stations, you can do that persistently, so you can see the change over time. and there is competition in the stratosphere itself. similar aircraft are being developed by several companies — including this one by bae systems. whatever the final use for these so—called high—altitude platform stations — haps — there does seem to be both the appetite and now the technology to fly high and stay high. it has the advantage of flying above — it has the advantage of flying above the weather but the many activities, — above the weather but the many activities, the elements are really— activities, the elements are really important. if activities, the elements are really important.— really important. if you are auoin really important. if you are going rock _ really important. if you are going rock climbing, - really important. if you are going rock climbing, the i going rock climbing, the conditions need to be good. sudden changes in the weather is one of the things that could

create serious problems for client and when things do go wrong on the hillside, rescue teams are called and they often need expensive helicopter operations and combine emergency services. operations and combine emeruen services. emergency services. one company is usina emergency services. one company is using 56 — emergency services. one company is using 56 and _ emergency services. one company is using 56 and drones _ emergency services. one company is using 56 and drones to - emergency services. one company is using 56 and drones to take - is using 5g and drones to take switch to another level. as laura goodwin has been finding out. for most people, paper maps are a thing of the past and mobile phones have become pocket navigators where data and google maps get us from a to b. but hiking is so much more thanjust putting to b. but hiking is so much more than just putting one foot in front of the other and travelling across remote roots can create the job of mountain rescue team is extremely difficult. a sunny day in scotland hills can be a glorious thing a chance to get away from everything. but when things go wrong, a lack of connectivity can become a real

problem. connectivity can become a real roblem. ~ . ., connectivity can become a real roblem. . ., ., connectivity can become a real roblem. ~ . . ., ., problem. we have a casual tea the standby- — problem. we have a casual tea the standby. -- _ problem. we have a casual tea the standby. -- casualty. - the standby. —— casualty. instead of sending a team into potentially dangerous situations, these drones can be deployed across remote areas. using a pop—up 5g network, the drone can send back crucial information to base. we are here at at — information to base. we are here at at a _ information to base. we are here at at a blustery - information to base. we are here at at a blustery angusl here at at a blustery angus hill comment area but does not have grey connectivity. you have grey connectivity. you have a 5g network operating from his desk. that is connected up to this antenna and broadcasting 5g across the field. the 5g antennas go back to base station and we have data shown on the laptop. we have a control room here. each have a control room here. each have the ability to talk to other stations so they can move around the hillside.— around the hillside. what are the challenges _ around the hillside. what are the challenges around -

the challenges around connectivity when you are sending teams up into the hills? ~ ., j sending teams up into the hills? ~ . j , ., hills? what they're using at the moment _ hills? what they're using at the moment is _ hills? what they're using at the moment is cameras - hills? what they're using at the moment is cameras on | hills? what they're using at - the moment is cameras on small drones, they can find people but they have no data back to the control room. with a limited amount of signal, that is all they can cope with. it is all they can cope with. it is enabled us to access to connectivity.— is enabled us to access to connectivity. you have your -hone connectivity. you have your phone on — connectivity. you have your phone on a _ connectivity. you have your phone on a network, - connectivity. you have your phone on a network, my i connectivity. you have your- phone on a network, my phone absolutely has no signal. loads of 56, brilliant. _ absolutely has no signal. loads of 56, brilliant. the _ absolutely has no signal. loads of 56, brilliant. the 56 - absolutely has no signal. loads of 56, brilliant. the 56 boxes i of 56, brilliant. the 56 boxes can be mounted _ of 56, brilliant. the 56 boxes can be mounted onto - of 56, brilliant. the 56 boxes can be mounted onto the - of 56, brilliant. the 56 boxes . can be mounted onto the drones which then can then act like a flying 5g network. and even drop of a 5g box to an injured mountaineer or send their location back to base. drones are getting — location back to base. drones are getting much _ location back to base. drones are getting much more - location back to base. drones are getting much more used| location back to base. drones - are getting much more used than before. before we have to send a team in and the conditions could be quite dangerous. no—one can such a large area relatively quickly. that would

give the search managers more information.— information. mountain rescue emergencies _ information. mountain rescue emergencies are _ information. mountain rescue emergencies are not - information. mountain rescue emergencies are not the - information. mountain rescue emergencies are not the only| emergencies are not the only scenario with this type of technology can pop up. looking at disaster— technology can pop up. looking at disaster relief _ technology can pop up. looking at disaster relief and _ at disaster relief and humanitarian efforts, there is a lot of ongoing challenges around connectivity and the scenarios and local networks, you have big mass movements of people and other things we have been saying all is around harry kane or disaster and fixed by the end all those instances where it is down with connectivity in the spaces. with 56 connectivity in the spaces. with 5g opening up new opportunities to achieve better connectivity, butter signal has the potential to be a thing of the potential to be a thing of the past. time for a look at this week's technology news. at a live launch demonstration, 0penai released the latest

version of the technology that underpins its ai chat but chatgpt along with key changes to this user interface. the new version can read and discuss images, translate languages and identify motions with visual expressions. it is faster than earlier models and been programmed to sound more chatty, perhaps even floaty. visit wales has created an immersive virtual experience with the aim of showcasing some of wales best attractions. visitors can take part in quests and build a virtual interactive itinerary for when they visit wales in person. organisers say they believe wales is the first european nation to use this approach to microsoft as a tourist destination. a robot designed to mimic the motion of a snail has been developed by researchers at the university of bristol. the team fitted the robot for a sliding suction mechanism enabling the device to slide on water, a substitute for a snail �*s mucus which also

acts as an adhesive. the discovery opens the potential but robust to client difficult to access services such as the blades of wind turbines or beholds of ship. this is touched with a bit like rugby but that we tackle players i touched to get control of the ball. if the defendants have not intercepted after six touches, they get the attackers. it is fast and the rap has to be everywhere at once. and deal with things like this. , , ., ., ., this. yes he is. how far longer itched this. yes he is. how far longer pitched you — this. yes he is. how far longer pitched you want _ this. yes he is. how far longer pitched you want him - this. yes he is. how far longer pitched you want him to - this. yes he is. how far longer pitched you want him to go? l pitched you want him to go? after make a decision against them — after make a decision against them which resulted in a penalty— them which resulted in a penalty and the player continued the conversation with the referee was not resulting in another penalty. the referee would — in another penalty. the referee would look back on this and not be particularly happy with the interaction with the player.

referees are professional developing courses here can look back at positions thanks to the sum familiar looking technology that has been repurposed. aha, technology that has been repurposed-_ technology that has been re--urosed. ~ , . ., ,': ~:: repurposed. a standard 360 camera. repurposed. a standard 360 camera- it _ repurposed. a standard 360 camera. it sits _ repurposed. a standard 360 camera. it sits on _ repurposed. a standard 360 camera. it sits on top - repurposed. a standard 360 camera. it sits on top of- repurposed. a standard 360 camera. it sits on top of the j camera. it sits on top of the head, straps around the back and step underneath.- and step underneath. a360 camera works _ and step underneath. a360 camera works by _ and step underneath. a360 camera works by using - and step underneath. a360 camera works by using two| and step underneath. a360 l camera works by using two or more lenses to capture a 360 degrees view of everything around it. it will then stitch the shots together to make spherical image. when displayed into 2d, the viewer can move around all of the space captured. around all of the space captured-— around all of the space captured. around all of the space ca tured. . ., ., around all of the space catured. . ., ., , captured. once we have to put it then gives — captured. once we have to put it then gives us _ captured. once we have to put it then gives us is _ captured. once we have to put it then gives us is how - captured. once we have to put it then gives us is how our - it then gives us is how our decisions are landing, how our interactions are landing with players for that we can see what is happening behind us, perhaps we missed decisions. and you are getting a much more immersive experience and learning things about the game

that you may not have seen in real—time. that you may not have seen in real-time— real-time. exactly. of our assessments _ real-time. exactly. of our assessments in _ real-time. exactly. of our assessments in order - real-time. exactly. of our assessments in order to l real-time. exactly. of our - assessments in order to develop assessments in order to develop as a referee is taken from people on the sidelines but the referee sees it very differently and we know from looking into research that looking into research that looking at things in different angles produces different decisions.— angles produces different decisions. ~ , decisions. when the battery sits down — decisions. when the battery sits down with _ decisions. when the battery sits down with their - decisions. when the battery sits down with their coaches after a training session, the technology take the post match analysis to a whole new level. as a coach, i cannot hear what the breviary are saying and i don't have their point of view was with this technology, can see what the peppery assay, how the battery is speaking to the players but can also use this technology to pan around and look at what the referee is not seeing what they are missing so we can talk about areas of improvement.— we can talk about areas of improvement. we can talk about areas of imrovement. ~ , ., , ., improvement. when you sit down and review _ improvement. when you sit down and review with _ improvement. when you sit down and review with the _ improvement. when you sit down and review with the coach, - improvement. when you sit down and review with the coach, you i and review with the coach, you can look— and review with the coach, you can look at _ and review with the coach, you can look at positioning and we should — can look at positioning and we should have been verses where you were — should have been verses where you were-— you were. having this technology _ you were. having this technology means - you were. having this technology means i i you were. having this i technology means i can you were. having this - technology means i can say my power, that is what i am talking about and that is what

we need to to change or structured differently. the technology _ structured differently. the technology is _ structured differently. the technology is being used to coach referees in the run—up to the world tudge championship is taking place injuly. duncan hopes that can have a lasting impact was we always use video technology and self reflection to help officials. but technology and self reflection to help officials.— to help officials. but this technology _ to help officials. but this technology allows - to help officials. but this technology allows us - to help officials. but this technology allows us to l to help officials. but this - technology allows us to take that another level up. in technology allows us to take that another level up.- that another level up. in any refereeing. _ that another level up. in any refereeing, it _ that another level up. in any refereeing, it is _ that another level up. in any refereeing, it is proximity i that another level up. in any refereeing, it is proximity toj refereeing, it is proximity to be refereeing, it is proximity to he try— refereeing, it is proximity to he try or— refereeing, it is proximity to be try or fail or whatever is happening. the closer you what's _ happening. the closer you what's better. go to the position— what's better. go to the position and ripping yourself into position to make those decisions is really important. it will— decisions is really important. it will help do that for me. this is the buckthorne cutting nature reserve, home to dozens of species of plants, insects, and animals. it's hard to believe it's just a few kilometres from the very

centre of london, and a technology hot spot. it's a haven of calm and serenity — until this happens. love a train. the area here is based on previously unmanaged network rail land, the body responsible for most of the sprawling railway network in great britain — over 52,000 hectares. they're using a mixture of traditional technology alongside machine learning to identify and monitor wildlife using the space here. the obvious question as you think of network rail and step

aside, railways, trains, why are they not interested in biodiversity? we've got a massive estate across the whole of britain. it's 52,000 hectares which, if you squash it all together, is the isle of wight—and—a—half. and that estate, that network goes through every sort of habitat that you can possibly have. and so, we've got that biodiversity on our estate, and we can manage it and work with it whilst we're running trains. so i guess, with the kind of information that you're collecting, the research that you're doing, how is that beneficial to network rail as a company? what kind of things can you do with that information that you find out? it helps us monitor the condition of the habitats that we've got, so we can use that when we're trying to achieve our biodiversity targets. but it also lets us see what species are using those habitats. and if we know what's there before we come in and do any work, then we can start mitigating for that. we can start doing the work at the right time of year or at the right time of day, so that we're less of a disturbance on those species. the monitoring is being carried out by zoological society of london — or zsl.

they're using motion—sensing camera traps to help identify some of the animals. this is a camera trap, and we use this for monitoring wildlife. typically things that move, that are kind of larger—bodied, and that move along the ground. so we'll typically put it kind of on a tree, around this height — and there's a camera here and there's a sensor. so, if a warm—bodied animal moves past, it will trigger a number of photos. oh, look, that's us — hello! in the uk, we're using it largely for ground—dwelling mammals — so like, foxes and badgers and squirrels. also hedgehogs which is primarily the focus. we also -et primarily the focus. we also get birds _ primarily the focus. we also get birds that will stop in front— get birds that will stop in front if— get birds that will stop in front if they are on the ground _ front if they are on the ground. if we use them but more special— ground. if we use them but more special circumstances we can -et special circumstances we can get smaller things like small rodenls— get smaller things like small rodents and things but it will depend _ rodents and things but it will depend on where you place them for what — depend on where you place them for what you will be targeting it because you can also put it up it because you can also put it up in — it because you can also put it up in branches if you something

a lioreal— up in branches if you something a boreal but...— a boreal but... you won't get much boxes _ a boreal but... you won't get much boxes up _ a boreal but... you won't get much boxes up in _ a boreal but... you won't get much boxes up in the - a boreal but... you won't get much boxes up in the trees. | much boxes up in the trees. exactly. as well as camera traps, the monitoring team also use specially—designed acoustic monitors to capture audio from birds, bats, and rodents. we can listen to all sorts of things for the bats vocalise an ultrasound. we cannot hear it but can record it on this and visualise the sound afterwards. it is very cool. the same with dormice, they also vocalise an ultrasound.— dormice, they also vocalise an ultrasound.- they i dormice, they also vocalise an l ultrasound.- they sound ultrasound. really? they sound like a whiny _ ultrasound. really? they sound like a whiny teapot, _ ultrasound. really? they sound like a whiny teapot, it _ ultrasound. really? they sound like a whiny teapot, it is - like a whiny teapot, it is really cool.— like a whiny teapot, it is really cool. like a whiny teapot, it is reall cool. �* , really cool. and this picks it u - ? really cool. and this picks it u-? it really cool. and this picks it up? it picks _ really cool. and this picks it up? it picks it _ really cool. and this picks it up? it picks it up _ really cool. and this picks it up? it picks it up and i really cool. and this picks it up? it picks it up and we i really cool. and this picks it i up? it picks it up and we also use it to _ up? it picks it up and we also use it to hear _ up? it picks it up and we also use it to hear them _ up? it picks it up and we also use it to hear them right i up? it picks it up and we also | use it to hear them right now. while the method of collecting the data may be relatively low—tech, what happens with it afterwards is very much cutting edge. zsl�*s initial pilot project captured 35,000 data files — or 3,000 hours of audio — from just 33 acoustic monitors placed across network rail�*s estate in south london alone.

they needed a way to efficiently analyse such large volumes of data — which is where our old friend ai comes in. zsl worked with google, using cloud storage and pre—trained machine—learning models, to identify and map species to the network rail estate. back at zsl hq, i sat down with lydia to see some of the results of the analysis. in some cases, there are some really good machine—learning models already trained — so for instance, for birds and bats, there are some excellent models out there. and essentially, they use these spectrogram images that i'm showing you here — these are really distinctive images — they basically learn these images which are associated with these different species. the ultimate aim for this research is to understand the true scale of the biodiversity around network rail�*s 20,000km of railway corridor. and advances in technology like this make that more achievable.

spencer: and that's it for the short cut of click this the scale is enormous. know when you get the whole thing was it using a variety of different tools in combination. satellite remote sensing is the obvious full scale approach and the user to lookup habitat. and this is how we can add additional layers of information.- additional layers of information. . ., ., information. that was paul and that is all _ information. that was paul and that is all we _ information. that was paul and that is all we have _ information. that was paul and that is all we have time - information. that was paul and that is all we have time for. i that is all we have time for. thanks for watching and we will see you soon. thanks for watching and we will see you soon-— hello there. it was another day of contrasts across the uk on friday, with some of the bluest

of the skies, the highest of the temperatures across northern scotland — 21i celsius in altnaharra. compare that to just 13, 1a degrees for some north sea—facing coasts, plenty of fret and haar lasting for much of the day and a cool onshore breeze, too. now, there will be more mist and fog forming through the weekend, a weekend of sunny spells and some showers. but there will be plenty of dry weather, with a large area of high pressure out in the atlantic starting to nose in. low pressure over the near continent, and that's going to send some rain tracking westwards across southern england as we head through saturday morning. otherwise, a dry start to the day. it's mild. there'll be plenty of mist and fog, general murk and some sea fog, too, out towards those north sea coasts. now, all of that is going to be burnt back by the warm, strong may sunshine. plenty of that throughout the day, lots of dry weather, too. the rain in the south will gradually clear away, but some heavy, thundery downpours perhaps developing for western areas. more isolated showers further east. here, it should stay largely dry.

and it's cloudier and cooler across northern ireland and northern scotland. still cool again for those north sea—facing coasts, maybe 21i degrees for the central belt of scotland. otherwise, temperatures just slightly above the seasonal average — high teens, low 20s. and all of that mist and murk, sea fog willjust reform again as we head through saturday night into sunday morning, a slightly fresher feel to the morning. and again, that mist and the fog first thing is going to start to burn back with all of the sunshine developing. again, it's quite cloudy, i think, towards parts of northern scotland. some of that mist and fog could gradually sink southwards down towards parts of northeast england as we head throughout the day. but there will be a lot of sunshine around, a scattering of showers again, perhaps towards the south of england and again across southwest scotland. once again, it's cooler and cloudier for northern scotland. should be some sunny spells developing across northern ireland. monday is looking largely dry for most. again, some mist and fog, some isolated showers, but then this area of low pressure is going to start to move in from the near continent as we head

through tuesday and wednesday. so through the middle parts of next week, it could turn rather unsettled and a little cooler again, but temperatures building again perhaps by the end of the week.

live from washington. this is bbc news. israel's military says it recovered the bodies of three hostages abducted from the nova music festival on october 7. the us military confirms the first deliveries of aid have arrived into gaza via a new temporary floating pier. with heavy fighting in ukraine's north east — we have a special

report from the frontline. ukraine is just about holding the front here in the kharkiv region while the russians have launched this fresh assault. thank you forjoining us. israel says it has recovered the bodies of three hostages from gaza. israeli defence forces says it believes they were killed during the october seven attacks with around 1200 others. the victims are shani louk, amit buskila and itzhak gelerenter, seen here from left to right. until now it was hoped that amit buskila and 7 7metamacro were hoped that amit buskila and ? ?metamacro were still alive. they were among more than 250 hostages taken into gaza of which roughly half are still unaccounted for. the idf

expressed condolences to the families of the victims. {lilli families of the victims. our hearts go — families of the victims. our hearts go out _