The Future of Gifts: The cutting-edge tech you could be gifting in 2025.

In this special episode of Third Angle, we’re looking back at some of the innovative tech, toys and gadgets we have featured on the podcast. From model kits that contain life-like details of fighter jets, to ear buds with 360 degree spatialized sound, to top-of-the-range electronic keyboards, to interactive robotic toys, we are celebrating the future of gifting.

We head to Copenhagen to talk to Morten Urup, the VP of Consumer Devices at communications company Jabra, then to the HQ of consumer electronics company Casio in Wembley, London to hear some beautiful music from their latest Privia keyboard range. We then hop across the pond to Rhode Island for an inside look at the magical world of Hasbro and their innovative Furby toys, and finally to Airfix’s HQ in Kent, UK, where Product Designer Chris Joy tells us about the work that goes into their model kits.

Find out more about Jabra here.
Find out more about Casio here.
Find out more about Hasbro here.
Find out more about Airfix here.

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and X for updates.

This is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Clarissa Maycock. Location recordings by Lærke Sivkjær, Hannah Dean and Georgia Wright. Music by Rowan Bishop.

Transcript

Happy New Year and welcome to Third Angle.

I'm your host Paul Hames from industrial software company PTC. In this podcast we share the moments where digital transforms physical and meet the brilliant minds behind some of the most innovative products around the world, each powered by PTC technology.

Were there any exciting tech products in your stockings this holiday season? Maybe some headphones with spatial 360-degree audio? Or a keyboard that can produce the sounds of thousands of instruments? Or maybe even a lifelike aircraft replica for the model enthusiast? If so, then you may have experienced some of the innovations we've covered here on The Third Angle.

In this special, we are revisiting some of the most pioneering toys, tech, and treats that make the holiday season so special. First up, we're heading back to Copenhagen and the headquarters of Jabra where we meet Vice President of Consumer Devices, Morten Urup. Jabra is an audio and communications company who develop state of the art audio devices like wireless earbuds, headsets, and intelligent hearing aids.

Morten tells us all about their latest leap forward in audio innovation. He even takes us into an anechoic chamber, which cancels out external sound completely for a fully controlled audio environment.

My name is Morten. I am the Vice President of Consumer Products here at GN. I've been working here for a number of years. And I've been working with product development for the last 25 years or so.

I thought I would, um, show you the, uh, the laboratories that we have. It's, it's one of the things that you can say it's, it's actually, uh, not common knowledge, what it takes to develop, uh, particularly high-end devices. And, uh, some of the labs are, are pretty advanced. So I thought I would just take you on a bit of a tour to see at least two of those.

And here we have, uh, Holger waiting for us to, uh, show us the, uh, one of the, uh, sound labs that we have. There is a, let's say, different equipment in there, but we can take a look at it when we get in. Hi Holger! 

Holger: Hi!

Morten: Basically, we're in a, we're in a square box. We're standing on a, on a wire grid, so it's a, it's a little bit flexible. And basically all around us, wherever we look, there are these kind of triangular, white triangular shapes. So it's a, yeah, it's a, it's a pretty special experience. And then part of it is, of course, being in here.

And if it wasn't for my voice, there would be total silence. And that is, uh, that's quite unique, because wherever else you go, uh, you will have some sort of a background noise. And this is one of the places where you can actually do measurements of whether it's, you can say, uh, uh, internal noise in, in, in devices, and you can, you can basically remove everything else.

And that is, uh, that, that's quite rare. 

I think I need to drop the headphones for a moment. 

Yeah, you should. It's pretty weird. 

Yeah.

One of the later innovations within sound technology is then the fact that you can create 3D sound or spatialized sound as it is also called. Think of a center line down the middle of your face. That is where the music from standard stereo earbuds meet. That is kind of where it sounds like it is. So in the middle of your head, that is where the sound is.

Spatialization, uh, or 3D rendering of, of, of sound, then means that you get the feeling that you're actually pulling your speakers out of your ears, and you're starting to hear the sound, the music, coming from around you instead. It is, uh, it is actually, let's say, proven through various studies that that is a more natural way of listening.

Just like you would be if you were listening to, whether it was external speakers or a band playing. It is, externally, it's not coming inside your head. So, there is, in terms of the technology, it is to, uh, externalize the sound or spatialize the sound. Pulling it out of your head in, in, in that sense, um, and making it a more natural, uh, listening experience.

That was Morten Urup from Jabra. Now, one of the best parts of the holiday season is the music. And since 1980, the electronics company Casio has made it possible for all of us to play seasonal tunes at home on their portable electronic keyboards. To find out more, our producer Hannah Dean traveled to Casio's office in Wembley, London and met with Neil Evans, who heads up the electronic music division of Casio in the UK and Ireland. He told her more about the company, and, of course, played her a few tunes on a PXS7000 model from the Casio Privia range. 

Casio has made many, many different products in lots of different fields over the years.

It was in the 70s that they started to make electronic watches, but the journey From that very first calculator, uh, has included things like digital cameras, we were first to market with the first consumer digital camera. And then it wasn't until 1980 that started the journey into musical instruments.

And one of the brothers had a real passion for music in 1980 for musical instruments. At the time you could either buy very complicated big synthesizers or big bulky home organs with two manuals and pedals. So the idea with the first keyboard was make something small, compact with a speaker built in that anybody could use. And it was a really simple operation that was called the CT 201, the Casio 201. And that was in 1980. And then since then, we've sold over 100 million instruments, and they've taken various different shapes and sizes over the years.

Okay, so we're sat in front of the PXS 7000. This is the latest in our Privia range. It's a very modern and contemporary looking piano. And you'll see we have the full 88 black and white keys here. It's a very short and slim design and the control interface is completely touch just like on a tablet or an iPhone.

Yes, there's many, many different piano sounds on the PXS7000 and they all have slightly different characteristics. Some are mellow, some are brighter. Some have some effects on them. So they all vary and I'm sure you can find something that suits your own personal preference, but I'll play this standard piano here that when you turn it on, it defaults.

I would say that that particular piano sound sort of sits in between, it's not too bright and it's not too mellow. I can give you an example of, uh, A brighter piano sound. So we'll play something a bit more upbeat. 

So the fundamental principles of either electronic keyboard or electronic piano is how it produces sound or reproduces sounds. Now in the very early days, the sounds that were produced from keyboards or pianos were synthesized. So they were artificial and the microchips and all the wizardry behind it was creating a sound to emulate the sound of another acoustic instrument.

So you would try and get as close to a piano sound as possible, or you would try and get as close to a violin sound as possible, but it was synthesized. And over the years technology has developed significantly, and we've moved onto what we now refer to as sampling. So this is the very high quality digital recording of acoustic instruments. So, rather than trying to artificially generate it, what you're hearing now on our electric pianos or our keyboards is a digital recording of that instrument. So it's a real, audio performance of what was going on on that instrument at the time of recording. So it really is quite remarkable.

So for instance, on a piano, we'll take a very, very high quality microphone. We will go in and we'll record every single note individually. But then we'll record them at different volume levels. So very, very quiet, a little bit louder, loud, very loud. And then almost as hard as you can hit it. And that reproduction and the detail in terms of sampling is one of the major shifts that's happened over the last 35, 40 years.

So what you're hearing now is much more. convincing. It sounds like a piano or any other instrument they are sampling, and it means that the user experience is just on another level. 

Neil Evans there from Casio. From Mr. Potato Head, to Monopoly, to the breakthrough release of Furby in 1998, Hasbro has been behind some of the biggest names in toys.

And did you know that when they first released the Potato Head in 1952, you were supposed to use a real potato? The technology has become a bit more sophisticated since then. In their HQ in Rhode Island, we uncovered how LCD eyes and voice recognition technology are making the latest Furby toys more interactive than ever,

If you were around in the nineties, I know I had, I had, when I was, I was eight years old when these came out, I had one under the Christmas tree, uh, that year as, as did my sister, uh, it was the hot toy. We sold a ton of them and there were, I remember news stories about the Furby craze, uh, and that really kicked off the entire kind of robotic toy space.

So yes, the Furby, the 2012 Furby and the 2013 Furby, uh, um, both had a significant departure from the earlier Furbies in that we included LCD eyes. Uh, so they were very expressive. We could create all different types of eye, you know, eye effects, uh, all, all different kinds of animations inside the eye.

And it really brought this to life. Um, and again, it communicated with the app and the eyes were pretty critical in that communication link. Um, it actually used what we call audio watermarking to talk to the app. Uh, so it wasn't Bluetooth or anything like that. It was still too early for things like that to have come down into the toy space.

Uh, so what it does is it actually sends a bit pattern and really, really high ultrasonic chirps that in theory humans can't hear, but that was the most efficient way to get the communication with an app.

The real aim of Furby and kind of the essence as we went through multiple iterations of concepts and then tested those concepts was, we really wanted this Furby to be the most interactive best friend you could have. Um, so this thing's basically a party in the box. It's, it's fully loaded. It's got lots of different cool music, sound tracks that were sung by Furby. Um, it's got the lights, it has the motor movements, and it really has so many different interaction points that allows the child to interact with Furby in a really meaningful way. 

I think one of the big features is the voice recognition piece, which allows the kid to talk to their Furby and unlock new modes of play that you wouldn't be able to access otherwise.

Hey Furby!

Furby hear you. Now we best friends forever. Ok bestie, let’s play! Press heart gem and say “Hey Furby!”

Hey Furby!

Now say “Dance party!”

Dancy party.

Hey furby!

Yeah, so one of the cool features about Furby is the copycat mode, so Hey Furby! Copycat! 

Say something to Furby, and Furby say it back! 

I love the Third Angle. 

Space cadet! I love the Third Angle. Pat Furby head. Chipmunk. I love the Third Angle. Shake Furby to record again. Robot. I love the Third Angle.

So we actually unlock new the content with Furby. So the more that you play with Furby, then you're gonna get additional phrases. So it really encourages the child or consumer to keep coming back to Furby so you can get some newness.

That was Chris Whipple and Justin Pringle from Hasbro. Now we're swapping a magical world of toys for a hyper-realistic one. Many of us will have nostalgic memories of building Airfix model kits of planes as a child. We visit the Airfix HQ in Kent, UK, to find out about the artistry involved in putting together model planes, including making the outside look weathered and beaten, and how computer-aided designers help models to evolve over the years. 

So this corner of the showroom, we have the display of some of our newer, simple sort of starter kits, ones that we want to try and encourage people into the hobby with. So we've got a range of kind of supercars from modern stuff, like older stuff to modern stuff.

So we've got a Jaguar E Type, we've got an Aston Martin DB5, up to like a Bugatti Chiron. Below that we've got some of the classic jets like the Spitfire and some of the modern jets like the new F35. All at the part of the starter range. And we've got some tanks and even the old Mary Rose warship. 

So this is our visitor centre. We opened this probably 15 years ago. Um, so this just takes you through sort of the history of each of the brands. Um, sort of how the various different brands started off. Lots of people come in here and, oh, I remember this, or I've got one of these still up in my loft, yeah, in its box, I used to have this as a child, and my grandfather bought this for me and everything, so there's always a lovely warm story about these types of products and I think that's why people are drawn to our products, it's that nice sort of warm fuzzy feeling that you had playing with this as a toy, and then later on in life you then start to want to get back into into the hobby and then it becomes a hobby and a passion and you start building some sort of really complex layouts. You'll see later on we've got some some lovely big layouts in our museum here.

Here we have actually Airfix's sort of newer range of product called Quickbuild. Airfix is a a product that a lot of people probably have some experience with but maybe the last time they bought it was some time ago. You know, we have a fantastic, really dedicated community of people in the hobby who are encouraging and like love the stuff that we do and we love getting interacting with them, but it is a product that we need to get back into the hands of the of kids. It’s something that's physical and not digital like actually engages, something different than just sitting on a screen, you know.

So we've been working on product like, uh, Quickbuild, which is a, uh, sort of quick, clipped together type kit. But you end up with something that is a real representation of an actual product.

When we're choosing what subjects to go with, obviously, everything we do has to be based in history. And there's such a range of options for us, but the things that, do, like, tried and tested that do always so well is, is still World War II and Cold War stuff. Now we're standing in front of a display that, uh, holds the three V Bombers, which are the UK's RAF's answer for, like, what could carry a nuclear bomb if that was necessary.

So these three aircraft kind of have a bit of a mysticism to them, because they obviously never, uh, actually participated in that sort of warfare, thankfully. But they were really cutting edge for the time. We've recently redone all of these. So, Airfix is an old company. We've been creating products for a long time and some stuff that we made in the 70s can still be sold today, although the quality isn't quite the same.

You know, the moulding techniques have improved, the CAD software wasn't existent back then, so we can get the detail better. So we've recently redone all three. It's interesting to see, this is the original one. Even for them, you've got details like the, the cannon bay, uh, hatches are open, so you can see through them the cowlings around the engines come off and you have an engine in there.

So it's, it's like it's a nice kit, they've done something great with it, but, um, next to it is the new kit that we've just been developing and hopefully, you can see an improvement. Something that's quite attractive with these models is just the sheer scale of it. I was lucky enough to be involved with the design of the Vulcan.

And for all of these kits, we try to go and see at least one example in real life to get measurements and photographs. And I was fortunate to get to stand on top of the wing and climb around it. And it is just enormous on the outside but when you get into the cockpit it's still incredibly tight and cramped and I just feel for the pilots who have to spend hours in these things.

I love seeing these kits painted. I might spend a year or two working on it and knowing it in absolute detail, but it's always gray, you know, on the, on the computer, it's gray and in the plastic that I build these test shots, it's still gray. And so when seeing it after a skilled modeler has painted it and weathered it and put their attention to the detail it suddenly comes alive and looks like a whole different thing. Um, and that's part of the joy of this product that we, we let it go half-finished, in a way. You know, the thing you get in the box isn't, isn't a finished product. You've got to finish it. You've got to put it together and paint it and make it yours.

And so no two will ever actually finish identical to each other. And it's always got a little bit of the modeler. How do they picture it? How do they see it? Like how much weathering do they want to add to it? Uh, all that sort of thing. It is a wonderful experience to see.

That was Chris Joy and Jamie Buchanan there from Hornby Hobbies, the parent company of Airfix. As always, thank you to all the inspiring people and companies we've featured on The Third Angle. I hope you've enjoyed listening and have a very happy New Year. We'll be bringing you more exciting stories of innovation in 2025.

But if you haven't already, why not listen back to our catalogue of previous episodes, available on the PTC website or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jackie Cook, sound design and editing by Clarissa Maycock, and music by Rowan Bishop.