The Rise of the Robots

Today on Far Future Horizons we present another exciting episode of the award-winning PBS documentary series NOVA ~ Rise of the Robots, which aired on February 24th, 2016.

How will human-like robots change our future and how we see ourselves?

Robots fight it out in the Darpa Robotics Challenge

Machines are everywhere. They run our factory assembly lines and make our coffee. But humanoid robots—machines with human-like capabilities—have long been the stuff of science fiction. Until now.

Can a Robot Do Your "Creative" Job?

Fueled by an ambitious DARPA challenge, the race is on to design a robot that can replace humans in disaster relief situations. Follow the robots and the engineers that program them as they strive to make their way out of the lab and into the real world.

Pingpong-playing robot "Topio". The bipedal humanoid robot is designed to play table tennis against a human being.

But how capable are they, really? How close are we to a future where humanoid robots are part of our everyday lives? And what will the future look like with robots that can do a human’s job?

This instalment of NOVA investigates the cutting-edge technologies that are advancing robotics and the enormous challenges that robots still face in operating in the real world outside a laboratory setting.

This episode of NOVA can be purchased on DVD from PBS Home Video.  

PBS NOVA - Rise of the Robots
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