Robots filmed for the BBC's new series about animals

To be able to remove wild animals in their natural habitat, without disturbing and without confusing them, usually use cameras, which are placed in the habitats of characters show or movie. But the company John Downer Productions, to make a new series for BBC and PBS, has decided to reach a new level. Instead of cameras for filming used robots that look like animals that they talk about in the series.

Production robots for the series Spy in the Wild, engaged experts of the Polytechnic University of Louisiana Department of robotics. In the video posted below, the developers talk about the goals of the new TV show and the creation of two robotic reptiles — the crocodile and the lizard, in front of which is mounted two the camera.

To achieve greater similarity, the appearance of artificial animal were reconstructed very carefully. The mobility and flexibility of the skeleton provide mechanical joints and miniature actuators and robot body made of waterproof material. Now, e-amphibians can smoothly and very realistic move by spying on his «relatives» of flesh and blood, without causing suspicion. These machines are controlled remotely from a distance up to 500 meters.

The First episode of the series dedicated to the monkeys, the langurs. The monkey-robot successfully followed the lives of other monkeys using the built in eye camera. The robot was busy only observation, therefore, aroused the suspicions of one of the primates — he came over and started to bother suspicious langur, and then threw the robot off the branch. Seeing that the fallen monkey does not move, the others sat around the robot and began to mourn the deceased.

The creators of the series believe that this approach will help them learn more about the life of animals, so they are already prepared to shoot lots of different robotic animals. Show Spy in the Wild started to show January 27, 2017.