:00:30. > :00:36.It is the end of the year and time to look back on what we've learned
:00:37. > :00:40.in the past 12 months. Above everything else that happened in
:00:41. > :00:47.2015, there's one thing that we all agree has been thing. 2015 has seen
:00:48. > :00:56.the rise of the machines. Kind of... Yeah, they may not be quite
:00:57. > :00:59.ready to take over yet, but I genuinely believe we're starting to
:01:00. > :01:04.see the beginnings of a robot revolution. Machines are starting to
:01:05. > :01:07.understand the world around them, starting to understand what we're
:01:08. > :01:14.talking about and they're starting to be able to build things on their
:01:15. > :01:18.room. Welcome to the Distributive Robotics lab at MIT, where these
:01:19. > :01:25.guys are doing something we all hope we won't have to do in the future.
:01:26. > :01:30.They're building furniture. Really slowly, but it is doing it. It's got
:01:31. > :01:37.the screw in and that's better than me for a start. The grip here is
:01:38. > :01:39.just four rubber bands. As it twists, it manages to grip the table
:01:40. > :01:46.leg properly. Each piece of furniture has a unique pattern of
:01:47. > :01:50.reflective balls. There's a whole array of infrared sensors around the
:01:51. > :01:54.room, so the computer system running this knows where everything is. The
:01:55. > :02:00.computer science and artificial intelligence laboratory is the
:02:01. > :02:06.largest research lab here at MIT and it is also the biggest looking. It
:02:07. > :02:12.looks like Gaudi has had a go at that! Anyway, it is here that we
:02:13. > :02:17.begin our journey. So, the Distributive Robotics lab looks like
:02:18. > :02:23.this. I have no idea what that is. This is the very famous robot, backs
:02:24. > :02:29.-- Baxter. And this garden is full of robotic flowers. It is designed
:02:30. > :02:32.to illustrate some less visually interesting but nevertheless
:02:33. > :02:38.essential computer science to Nick. It is difficult to get some young
:02:39. > :02:45.students, in particular girls, interested in computer science. --
:02:46. > :02:49.techniques. Algorithms that every scientist needs to know, like how to
:02:50. > :02:53.find the shortest path from A to B, demonstrated by the flowers changing
:02:54. > :02:58.colour as the software tries different routes. The shortest path
:02:59. > :03:03.eventually turns green. One of the main missions of this lab in
:03:04. > :03:06.particular is to develop robots that can think for themselves and work
:03:07. > :03:11.together to solve increasingly complex problems, by assembling
:03:12. > :03:12.themselves into complex shapes and even pushing the limits of what we
:03:13. > :03:32.think of as robots. In a tiny basement room at Texas
:03:33. > :03:38.University with hundreds of central American cockroaches. The school is
:03:39. > :03:41.famous for adapting robots to help in disaster zones, but these
:03:42. > :03:46.cockroaches are destined to be cyborgs designed to work in areas
:03:47. > :03:51.difficult for humans to reach, like a nuclear disaster zone or
:03:52. > :03:56.earthquake. The cockroaches are gassed with carbon dioxide for being
:03:57. > :04:01.brought over to be operated on. He is asleep now? Yes and he will stay
:04:02. > :04:10.asleep for about ten minutes. The idea is to work quickly. Oh my God!
:04:11. > :04:16.He has little hairy legs. These acupuncture needles are inserted
:04:17. > :04:20.into the cockroach, into an area of neurons responsible for involuntary
:04:21. > :04:27.movement. People think that's the head. They think we are putting it
:04:28. > :04:36.into the brain. But the finished product. It is just a startling.
:04:37. > :04:42.Some of our viewers might think it is cruel, to put these wires into
:04:43. > :04:44.their brain. I don't think the cockroaches have any feeling for
:04:45. > :04:50.that sort of problem. They don't have a big ring to start with.
:04:51. > :04:58.They're happy, I have no doubt about that. We're not really hurting them
:04:59. > :05:02.or causing pain. The final step in the process is attaching the battery
:05:03. > :05:05.so it can work with the controller. This is a simple remote being
:05:06. > :05:12.modified. It is typically used for a small RC car. I am going to try to
:05:13. > :05:24.make the cyborg cockroach go. Here he goes. Oh my goodness! The white
:05:25. > :05:28.out will just brush off as it calls into the woodchips. These
:05:29. > :05:30.cockroaches will get ready for field testing and the researchers are
:05:31. > :05:40.already looking at other insects they can use.
:05:41. > :05:46.It is one of the leading cancer research hospitals in the world,
:05:47. > :05:56.with a reputation and a name to live up to. Three years ago to mark its
:05:57. > :06:04.Centenary the Dockers invited patients and their families to write
:06:05. > :06:16.messages and tie them to the trees. They have stayed there ever since.
:06:17. > :06:20.But inside they're not pinning the future of brain cancer on hope
:06:21. > :06:26.alone. This is one of the first places in the world to get some new
:06:27. > :06:29.kit that uses robotics. In most cases you are surgeons will try to
:06:30. > :06:36.remove as much of the brain tumour as possible, if it's safe to do so,
:06:37. > :06:40.and crucially that means avoiding damaging healthy bits of the brain.
:06:41. > :06:47.Through a tiny hole made in the Skol, a tube which houses a laser
:06:48. > :06:53.can be fed to the exact spot using a scanner. -- skull. The healthy
:06:54. > :06:59.tissue on the other side is left untouched. This is one of the first
:07:00. > :07:06.patients to use the system. The initial results appear positive. But
:07:07. > :07:13.the man in charge of brain cancer research here doesn't want to stop
:07:14. > :07:17.there. The doctor is going beyond stem and T-cell treatments to help
:07:18. > :07:22.develop special nano particles that attack cancer growth. And he has
:07:23. > :07:27.adapted new equipment, used to help deliver them, straight to the front
:07:28. > :07:32.line. By removing the remaining burnt tumour after the initial
:07:33. > :07:39.treatment, space is left inside the brain for the nano particles could
:07:40. > :07:42.then be delivered. Either drugs or these designer sells them go to work
:07:43. > :07:49.fighting any remaining cancer threat. But tumours often re-emerge
:07:50. > :07:53.after treatment. So, the doctor and his team want to direct their
:07:54. > :08:01.special fighter cells once they are inside the brain. They -- will
:08:02. > :08:06.attach microscopic particles to move the treatment to any area of the
:08:07. > :08:09.brain, simply by using a magnet. Magnet guided treatments are
:08:10. > :08:14.attracting serious attention. Three months ago Google X, the scientific
:08:15. > :08:18.research arm of Google, got to work on a similar idea. The teams expect
:08:19. > :08:39.new treatment in about five years time.
:08:40. > :08:48.This is Hubo and it is about to embark on the toughest test known to
:08:49. > :08:51.robot kind. Next weekend, it is the darker Robotics challenge, where
:08:52. > :08:57.research teams from around the world will show up in California with
:08:58. > :08:58.their bots. The mission is to complete a set of human tasks with
:08:59. > :09:13.minimal human help. Wow! Oh my gosh! Tomorrow, the team pack
:09:14. > :09:15.up and fly out, which means today is the last day of practice around
:09:16. > :09:26.their practice course, which is unbelievably tough. Hubo has defined
:09:27. > :09:30.and close a gas valve, use a drill to cut a hole, Paula Handel, push a
:09:31. > :09:37.button and fight through rough to rain. -- pull a handle. The aim is
:09:38. > :09:40.to complete the course in the fastest time and anything under 30
:09:41. > :09:49.minutes with them in the running to win the $2 million prize. It has one
:09:50. > :09:52.hand on the bar and one on the steering wheel. The robot is driving
:09:53. > :09:56.the car using controls that were made for humans. OK, this is going
:09:57. > :10:03.to be the coolest exit from a car since the Dukes of hazard got in
:10:04. > :10:07.mind. But once out of the car, Hubo reveals he has wheels of his own and
:10:08. > :10:14.in role mode he can travel further faster. -- roll mode. He has got to
:10:15. > :10:19.handle! Handling the drill is an even bigger test. Once it has been
:10:20. > :10:25.identified by the team, it is up to the censors in Hubo's hand to feel
:10:26. > :10:32.it, find the button and apply the correct pressure to cut a hole. The
:10:33. > :10:37.challenge will contain one task which the teams won't know in
:10:38. > :10:42.advance. Hubo will need to analyse the scene, relate information back
:10:43. > :10:46.to the humans and they will need to workshop a solution. Once they've
:10:47. > :10:50.done that in virtual space they will upload the instructions back to the
:10:51. > :10:54.baht. In this case it is pushing a button, which I have to say is no
:10:55. > :11:02.match for this brilliant block of silicon. -- the bot. Is it wrong to
:11:03. > :11:07.say I am ever so slightly in love? What do you mean to excited? It was
:11:08. > :11:13.incredible! And Hubo ended up winning the challenge! Well, that's
:11:14. > :11:15.the end of the short version. Much more in the full-length version,
:11:16. > :11:21.which you can see on iPlayer right now. Next week, another look back at
:11:22. > :11:46.the last 12 months in Tech News. See you soon.
:11:47. > :11:50.Let's see what the weather is up to over the next few days. A very mild
:11:51. > :11:51.Christmas. The Met Office says