Skip to main content
Rise of the Robots

Up Next

Can Alzheimer's Be Stopped?

Can Alzheimer's Be Stopped?

Season 43 Episode 8
52:51
Operation Lighthouse Rescue

Operation Lighthouse Rescue

Season 43 Episode 13
53:41
Bombing Hitler's Supergun

Bombing Hitler's Supergun

Season 43 Episode 14
53:49
School of the Future

School of the Future

Season 43 Episode 15
1:53:34
Ultimate Cruise Ship

Ultimate Cruise Ship

Season 44 Episode 4
53:09
Building Chernobyl's MegaTomb

Building Chernobyl's MegaTomb

Season 44 Episode 8
52:55
Chinese Chariot Revealed

Chinese Chariot Revealed

Season 44 Episode 9
53:46
Secrets of the Forbidden City

Secrets of the Forbidden City

Season 44 Episode 15
53:32
Killer Volcanoes

Killer Volcanoes

Season 44 Episode 16
54:10
Killer Hurricanes

Killer Hurricanes

Season 44 Episode 17
53:11
Killer Floods

Killer Floods

Season 44 Episode 18
54:10
Bird Brain

Bird Brain

Season 44 Episode 20
53:32
Back to Show
NOVA

Rise of the Robots

Season 43 Episode 6

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. 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.

Support Provided By
Season
A.I. Revolution
53:30
Explore the promise and perils of new A.I. technologies.
NOVA Season 51
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:10
Follow the quest to recover DNA millions of years old for the very first time.
Building the Eiffel Tower
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:29
Explore the engineering behind Paris’s iconic landmark, the tallest structure of its time.
Easter Island Origins
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:17
New evidence reveals the real story of Easter Island and the builders of its stone heads.
When Whales Could Walk
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:31
Giant fossils uncovered in the Sahara Desert reveal new secrets of how whales evolved.
Lee and Liza's Family Tree
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:31
A family turns to science in their struggle to rediscover a history obscured by slavery.
The Battle to Beat Malaria
53:54
Follow the quest to create a lifesaving malaria vaccine.
Inside China's Tech Boom
53:19
The inside story of China’s meteoric rise to the forefront of global innovation.
Ancient Earth: Humans
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:15
How did Earth give rise to humans? See what made our species' existence possible.
Ancient Earth: Inferno
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:45
How did life bounce back after a cataclysmic extinction wiped out some 90% of all species?
Ancient Earth: Life Rising
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:47
See how life made the leap to land, turning a barren landscape into a lush, green world.
Ancient Earth: Frozen
Unlock with PBS Passport
53:46
How did life survive on a planet covered in ice from pole to pole?
Active loading indicator