How to Build a 'Spy Creature' with Animatronic Designer John Nolan

Inside NATURE on PBS

What does it takes to make a 'spy creature' come alive? In this episode of the InsideNATURE podcast, we speak with animatronic designer John Nolan, who, along with his hardworking team, created the 30 plus robot spy creatures featured in upcoming NATURE mini-series Spy in the Wild (airing Feb 1st thru March 1st on PBS). The creatures range in size from a small worm-like grub to a full-size, fully-expressive orangutan. And while they all look very different from each other, they have two things common: their movements are believable enough to fool the real thing and hidden inside each one is a camera designed to capture intimate, close-up shots of animal behavior in the wild. Listen to the full episode above, recorded in WNET's studio in New York.