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Arts & Culture

NOVA: Rise Of The Robots

Team Metal Rebel's HUBO turns a valve.
Courtesy of DARPA
Team Metal Rebel's HUBO turns a valve.

Airs Wednesday, June 7, 2017 at 9:30 p.m. on KPBS TV

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

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.

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Courtesy of NOVA / PBS
Give $25 a month or $300 all at once and we'll send a great gift combo including a NOVA cap, tumbler and PBS t-shirt! This gift includes a KPBS License Plate Frame (if you're a new member). Also enjoy access to KPBS Passport and myKPBS Film Club. The "Rise of the Robots" DVD only or a NOVA logo cap only is available at the $120 level. At the $240 level you'll get a NOVA logo cap plus a NOVA tumbler.

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

In "Rise Of The Robots," NOVA investigates the cutting-edge technologies that are advancing robotics as never before…and the enormous challenges that the robots still face.

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