‘Gadget Buzz’ shifts focus to technology of the future

TV3 series returns for second run to analyse impact that technology has on people’s lives

TV3's technology show The Gadget Buzz's second run is now on air but there have been some changes since the first series, says its series editor Andy O'Donoghue.

“It’s a completely different show, to be honest.”

The initial 10-part series, which is made for TV3 by entertainment and technology distribution company Beaumex Connects, focused more on products, O'Donoghue says, while the new six-part run analyses the impact that technology has on people's lives – for example, tonight's episode looks at how sensor-equipped headbands can help monitor head trauma in sport.

“What we are trying to do is look a little bit into the future and explore what people are likely to be using next year and beyond that,” O’Donoghue says. There are no prizes for guessing that virtual reality is on its agenda.

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Presenter Joe Donnelly has returned from the first series and is joined this time by Dr Fionnuala Conway, a Trinity College Dublin lecturer who is also a musician, composer and multimedia artist: the so-called "maker movement" and wearable tech are among her specialist subjects.

The Gadget Buzz, which goes out on TV3 at 8.30pm on Fridays, has little competition on Irish television, O'Donoghue believes. "Technology gets covered on the news every now and again, but there hasn't really been a show like this since RTÉ's Zero, and you do wonder why."

Zero, incidentally, ran in the late 1980s.

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery is an Irish Times journalist writing about media, advertising and other business topics