Robot wars test 'survival of the fittest'

Advances in artificial intelligence are being put to the test in a series of trials which will see robots fight to survive in adverse conditions - testing the principles of natural selection.

Robots, designed with the capacity to learn and evolve in their thinking, will fight over limited supplies of the electricity they need to survive in a display at the Magna science centre in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

The successful two robots who survive the test will then 'breed' to create a super robot. The breeding involves the splicing together of their key components, the chips which record their actions and store their learned intelligence.

Audiences will be encouraged to cheer on their favourite robots in the cyber death matches when the exhibition begins on 27 March.