Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

Rise of the Robots: Remote Robots (2000x3)

Air date: Dec 28, 2000

Humans may be intelligent and adaptable but there are environments which are simply too dangerous for the human body to cope with. There are some procedures which are too complex for us to perform or need a level of precision which humans just don't possess. Clearly, in these situations robots are our best allies. But there is a new breed of robots, which not only venture into these environments but work tirelessly and precisely, hour after hour. In Remote Robots we meet the robots that can defuse bombs, travel to distant planets or perform complex surgery on a patient on the other side of the world. We also link, live via satellite to the virtual reality assisted robot astronaut which will control space shuttle missions in the future.