BBC to bring back classic ‘Robot Wars’ TV show

By Jon Martindale January 13, 2016

bbc plans to reboot robot wars in 2016 razer — Image used with permission by copyright holder

People love to watch robots fighting. Whether it’s in movies, games, or the real world; there’s just something awesome about watching two machines built by human hands duking it out to see who’s the baddest. Which is why it’s so surprising that it’s been more than a decade since the Robot Wars TV show ended. But now it’s coming back.

The show is being produced by Mentorn Scotland, the production company behind the latter series during its original run, and will be shown on BBC 2, as was the original show back in the late ’90s and early ’00s. It has been commissioned to run for six episodes, presumably to gauge interest, but already it’s building.

The new show will come with a lot of additions and revamps, with a new tournament structure, new robots and perhaps most interestingly, “more science,” according to the BBC. That may mean that we’ll get a more technologically in-depth Robot Wars than we had in the past.

The technology inside the robots will certainly be more advanced than we saw a decade ago. Micro computers like the Raspberry Pi (along with its sequels and contemporaries) offer huge computational power in a package far smaller than was possible back in the day. New sensors and detectors could allow for some really interesting robots with some unique abilities — perhaps even an A.I. routine or two.

The original Robot Wars arena was sold for scrap back in 2005, so there will be a brand new one for the rebooted season. A brand new, purpose-built facility will be created in Glasgow, utilizing glass and other materials to make the battle area completely bullet proof. It will also allow the audience closer than ever before, and will feature “state of the art,” cameras to record all of the action from unique perspectives and angles.

One interesting note came from Kim Shillinglaw, controller of BBC Two and BBC Four, who said that the “new technological advances [will make] for an even more exciting and immersive experience”. That has us wondering if she’s hinting at Virtual Reality included in some fashion. What do you think?

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