:00:00. > :00:34.In fact, we've been thinking about them for a lot longer
:00:35. > :00:37.than we've had the ability to build them.
:00:38. > :00:40.But one of the biggest barriers to robots working alongside us
:00:41. > :00:43.in the real world is, well, their lack of ability to cope
:00:44. > :00:54.They can do all kinds of things that robots find really hard.
:00:55. > :00:57.They can balance without thinking about it, they can walk
:00:58. > :01:00.without burning up loads of energy, they can react to pain
:01:01. > :01:07.Now, scientists have given this name.
:01:08. > :01:15.And they're getting interested in building it into bots, too.
:01:16. > :01:23.To find out more, we sent in our very own humanoid.
:01:24. > :01:27.She is one part Scissor Sister, one part robo-fanatic,
:01:28. > :01:37.So we've gone and added a bona fide pop star to the Click crew.
:01:38. > :01:42.Having already documented the greatest robots of all time,
:01:43. > :01:46.we sent her to Italy to find out how machines may soon be pulling moves
:01:47. > :01:55.The world is full of extraordinary creatures with highly specialised
:01:56. > :01:58.abilities that allow them to navigate and thrive
:01:59. > :02:08.And the genius of nature is exactly where scientists are looking to take
:02:09. > :02:15.inspiration for designing the next generation of robots.
:02:16. > :02:20.I have come to Scuola Sant'Anna in Italy where researchers
:02:21. > :02:25.and engineers at the soft robotics lab have been studying the octopus.
:02:26. > :02:29.A highly intelligent and adaptable creature with complex motor skills,
:02:30. > :02:32.a unique method of locomotion, and an aptitude for solving
:02:33. > :02:39.The octopus's highly sensitive and agile tentacles have evolved
:02:40. > :02:44.to move in intricate and sophisticated ways.
:02:45. > :02:46.Yet most of the intelligence lies within the arms themselves,
:02:47. > :02:54.It's this sort of intelligence soft robotics are emulating.
:02:55. > :02:57.Engineering robots with motor function built into its limbs,
:02:58. > :02:59.and without the heavy parts or computer processing that
:03:00. > :03:04.traditional mechanical robotics rely on.
:03:05. > :03:09.Sometimes if you design the soft body well, in the smart way,
:03:10. > :03:12.even with just one movement, I'm pulling the wires,
:03:13. > :03:18.it's just one motor that can do that, you would say a nice grasping.
:03:19. > :03:20.And the materials are such that they can adapt
:03:21. > :03:35.I think that soft robotics can make you imagine new scenarios for robots
:03:36. > :03:38.that can deform, can elongate, like the octopus can deform and pass
:03:39. > :03:43.And another advantage of building robots inspired by nature
:03:44. > :03:46.is that their interactions with humans could become
:03:47. > :03:52.The team here have created this shower head, in effect a giant
:03:53. > :03:55.octopus arm, to assist people with mobility issues
:03:56. > :04:09.A very nice field of application is the biomedical field.
:04:10. > :04:11.Because there one of the big challenges is the interaction
:04:12. > :04:14.with the patient, with the person to assist.
:04:15. > :04:17.So you have a soft robot, of course, a lot of problems are solved,
:04:18. > :04:21.because safety is more intrinsically in the robot.
:04:22. > :04:25.It can bend in any direction and is made entirely by soft
:04:26. > :04:28.materials, and while its movements are complex, the limbs contain no
:04:29. > :04:33.artificial intelligence in the traditional sense.
:04:34. > :04:36.All the movement is achieved, like the octopus, by its physical
:04:37. > :04:38.design, by the special material that it's made from,
:04:39. > :04:41.and their ability to expand and contract, only by changing air
:04:42. > :04:49.And the team is looking to take advantage of this natural
:04:50. > :04:58.This is made from a 3D printed mould.
:04:59. > :05:03.So you get a lot of tiny, tiny, very intricate detail.
:05:04. > :05:05.And just like the larger version, uses pneumatic force
:05:06. > :05:14.Now, what are the applications of this tiny structure?
:05:15. > :05:21.Hopefully your innards don't look like this.
:05:22. > :05:26.But it is not the accuracy of human anatomy we are interested in,
:05:27. > :05:28.but this tiny octopus arm's ability to move around.
:05:29. > :05:31.Keyhole surgeries are a lot safer than open surgeries.
:05:32. > :05:38.Performed by creating multiple small incisions instead of one large one.
:05:39. > :05:41.So, tell me about the advantages of soft robotics in microscopic
:05:42. > :05:48.The idea is to be able to move inside the human body,
:05:49. > :05:51.pass around the organs, in a very flexible way.
:05:52. > :06:04.But when the surgical side is reached, of course the surgeon
:06:05. > :06:10.And these can be enabled by activating these different
:06:11. > :06:17.The entire system undergoes a sort of freezing.
:06:18. > :06:20.So it becomes harder, and that it is able
:06:21. > :06:28.And that is the next phase of this project.
:06:29. > :06:32.To provide surgeons with not only a highly flexible camera,
:06:33. > :06:35.but with a range of flexible surgical instruments that
:06:36. > :06:37.will increase the surgeon's precision and range of motion
:06:38. > :06:40.and decrease both trauma to the body and time of recovery
:06:41. > :06:49.So all hail the mighty octopus and robotics
:06:50. > :06:53.And with an entire world of remarkable animals
:06:54. > :06:57.with exceptional abilities, there's no telling just where robot
:06:58. > :06:59.will take its next inspiration, and where that inspiration
:07:00. > :07:15.Every autumn for the last 11 years, Nottingham plays host to a video
:07:16. > :07:19.games event like none other, the GameCity Festival.
:07:20. > :07:22.Most games events are pretty loud and a little bit flash.
:07:23. > :07:25.They are about selling people something.
:07:26. > :07:32.Most of the new games that are on show here are from much
:07:33. > :07:37.smaller developers, and the whole event has an indie vibe to it.
:07:38. > :07:41.A lot of the action takes place at the National Videogame Arcade.
:07:42. > :07:44.Here members of the public can get their hands on games
:07:45. > :07:46.old and new as well as attending seminars or joining
:07:47. > :07:48.in with interactive experiences like Alistair Aitcheson's
:07:49. > :07:57.One of the biggest developers here are Sumo Digital.
:07:58. > :07:59.They use this event as an opportunity to test audience
:08:00. > :08:11.like unusual adventure puzzler Snake Pass.
:08:12. > :08:14.The games industry is very similar to the film industry,
:08:15. > :08:18.There's a big blockbuster part of it which makes the sequels
:08:19. > :08:21.and they generate a lot of money, but there's also the arthouse,
:08:22. > :08:25.So there are small independent developers making more independent
:08:26. > :08:27.They are making statements about society, actions,
:08:28. > :08:29.behaviours, feelings and thoughts, and telling stories
:08:30. > :08:34.The National Videogames Arcade is the centre of this festival.
:08:35. > :08:36.But there are events spread out all over the city,
:08:37. > :08:39.in different bars and galleries, showing off a whole host
:08:40. > :08:46.If you really, really want to get to grips with what's
:08:47. > :08:50.going on at GameCity, you've got to get out and about.
:08:51. > :08:53.For most of the indie devs here, GameCity is the first time these
:08:54. > :08:57.titles have been played by the public.
:08:58. > :09:04.I am sorry, the connection seems to be failing.
:09:05. > :09:16.I think I can spot a slight Stanley Kubrick influence in here.
:09:17. > :09:20.A space-based zero gravity murder mystery.
:09:21. > :09:23.This particular game took six weeks to make and was completed just hours
:09:24. > :09:31.The chance of critical hardware failure is at 0.05%.
:09:32. > :09:35.So how important are events like this one for you to show your
:09:36. > :09:39.gamesto people and get their immediate feedback?
:09:40. > :09:43.The amount of progress that we've made just in the last two days,
:09:44. > :09:46.making it go from almost entirely non-functional to playable
:09:47. > :09:53.And I don't think we would have been able to do that if it was just
:09:54. > :09:56.myself and my programmer playing it in our rooms.
:09:57. > :09:59.You always think that you've got everything figured until someone
:10:00. > :10:07.Another example of some of the very different sorts of games on show
:10:08. > :10:10.here is the reality bending work of digital fiction
:10:11. > :10:14.Sometimes I sit cross-legged beside her clusters of markings.
:10:15. > :10:25.There are lots of games that I think you could say are probably not
:10:26. > :10:32.And the festival is very much embracing that.
:10:33. > :10:36.All The Delicate Duplicates is very much an interactive reading
:10:37. > :10:43.experience, but it's built very much with a 3D engine,
:10:44. > :10:50.a game engine in it, in order to make it an immersive experience.
:10:51. > :10:52.And to open it up to gaming audiences.
:10:53. > :10:55.And to be part of that is driving the conversation forward
:10:56. > :10:58.and is showing us so much more what games could potentially be.
:10:59. > :11:01.Games as art, games as head scratching murder mystery,
:11:02. > :11:04.and games as crowd pleasing interactive installations.
:11:05. > :11:07.The GameCity Festival continues to challenge what we think
:11:08. > :11:24.That's it for the short version of Click. Next Saturday is
:11:25. > :11:28.international disabilities day and next week's programme is full of
:11:29. > :11:33.technology designed to help people with disabilities, from 3D printed
:11:34. > :11:36.prosthetics to self driving cars. It is going to be great. In the
:11:37. > :11:39.meantime you can watch the full-length version of this
:11:40. > :11:42.programme on iPlayer, or follow us on Twitter throughout the week. And
:11:43. > :11:44.for watching and see you soon.