BBC Two has commissioned a two-part documentary series Six Robots And Us from RDF, a Banijay UK company. The 2×60” order will be a unique experiment exploring the latest innovations in robotics. With science fiction fast becoming a reality, how useful can these robots be in enhancing the lives of ordinary families, not in the distant future, but now?
In a television first, this series will be following six British families with different needs as they welcome robots into their homes, from helping them get fit, to easing the burden of care and from assisting them understand the world, to teaching them how to enjoy it. In Six Robots And Us each Robot is going to help a family with a specific need, but one that millions of us can relate to. How will they react? Will the robots actually work? And will they want to keep them or switch them off at the end of the experiment?
With unprecedented access to ground-breaking technology, the series will reveal the very latest in robotics research; how they are made, how they operate and both the possibilities and limitations of how they interact with humans. Following six families’ journeys from initial meeting to their deepening dependence on a robot, this eye-opening documentary showcases how our lives could dramatically change in the future.
Executive Producer for RDF, Dan Barraclough said about the commission:
“What is fascinating about this project is taking the rarefied world of robotics research and planting it squarely in the rough and tumble of the average British home. How will ordinary families react to their new guest? This isn’t the make believe world of Humans but the world of today’s robots with all their limitations as well as eye catching capacities. What will work and what won’t, and will emotional bonds form that may surprise us and the scientists? This is an experiment and an adventure where none of us know the result. And that makes it slightly nerve wracking but also more exciting”.
Abigail Priddle, BBC Commissioning Editor, said about the commission:
“One day, robots may well become part of our daily lives, so seeing how families from all over Britain respond to them in our homes and our work will be incredibly revealing. Just how long will it be before we start treating them like one of the family?”
Six Robots And Us was commissioned by Abigail Priddle, and is Executive Produced by Dan Barraclough for RDF Television. The series aired in early 2018.
Press Release: Monday 4th December, 2017