BBC will make big changes to David Attenborough's nature documentaries in hopes of cutting costs and competing with streaming giants

David Attenborough's nature documentaries are about to undergo a major change as the BBC's film crew are replaced by artificial intelligence technology.

The new robotic cameras will independently read the animals' behavior and record key scenes.

The cut in film crews comes amid rising costs and competition from streaming channels.

The BBC's head of natural history, Sreya Biswas, has announced the corporation's first high-tech natural history programme, called Spy in the Troop.

AI computer learning techniques have been incorporated into existing creature spy cameras, which are disguised animatronics that move between groups of animals.

The new robotic cameras will independently read the animals' behavior and record key scenes. The cut in film crews comes amid rising costs and competition from streaming channels

The gadgets will examine the calls and facial expressions of a troop of monkeys to read their feelings and build a catalog of images.

The new cameras will not only save the BBC money, but will also save camera crews waiting hours in difficult conditions to capture the best action shots.

Alex Vail, cameraman on Sir David Attenborough's Blue Planet, said: “I recently did a shoot where we waited six weeks from sunrise to sunset every day just waiting for this kill to happen in the jungle.

'You have to listen carefully the whole time because you know this is only going to last ten seconds and you just can't miss it.

“In the end, the event we had been waiting so long for unfortunately didn't happen, which was quite devastating to be honest, but that's just part of the job.”

The BBC chief added that robotic cameras will be the most advanced technology ever used in natural history.

She added: “Our milestones are varied these days and we are trying to turn the wheel.”

Last year, BBC cameraman Hamza Yassin claimed that scenes from TV wildlife documentaries are often faked to make viewers feel more “emotional” about threats to the natural world.

The Strictly Come Dancing winner said dramatic moments are invented and scenes are manipulated to encourage viewers to “do something” about environmental issues.

The new cameras will not only save the BBC money, but will also save camera crews waiting hours in difficult conditions to capture the best action shots.

BBC bosses said robotic cameras will be the most advanced technology ever used in natural history

But the revelation is far from the first time that the corporation has stood out for inventing or tampering with scenes in nature documentaries.

The BBC has faced a series of false arguments in recent decades – the most famous of which was in 2011, when scenes in Frozen Planet were revealed which apparently showed a polar bear giving birth in the wild were actually filmed in a Dutch zoo.

She also recreates sound effects in her wildlife shows in a studio, but insists this is an industry-wide practice and occurs because it would otherwise be difficult for viewers to hear the animal sounds above the rest of the ambient noise. in a landscape.

The 2011 polar bear scene was in episode five of the £16 million BBC series Frozen Planet, which featured little polar bears meowing and cuddling together in search of their mother's milk.

Eight million viewers believed the scenes were filmed by cameramen who endured subzero temperatures in an underground cave in the Arctic desert.

The scenes, however, were filmed in a simulated cave made of plaster and wood and in a zoo in the Netherlands using fake snow.

The filming was defended at the time by presenter Sir David, who compared nature documentaries to 'making films'.

Last year, BBC cameraman Hamza Yassin claimed that scenes from TV wildlife documentaries are often faked to make viewers feel more “emotional” about threats to the natural world.

The Strictly Come Dancing winner said dramatic moments are invented and scenes are manipulated to encourage viewers to 'do something' about environmental issues

But the following year, when the Africa documentary series was released, the BBC made it clearer when the footage had not been filmed in the wild, with warnings that “controlled footage” had been used.

Although the polar bear footage was the most famous incident of its kind, it was not the first time BBC programs had been the target of false accusations.

In 1997, in the most memorable scene from Polar Bear, a mother bear was filmed giving birth and cuddling with her newborn cub.

Viewers were led to believe the scene took place in the Arctic. It was actually filmed in a Frankfurt zoo.

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