The BBC has harnessed the power of AI to build its most advanced animatronic spy creature allowing decoy monkeys to interact with other real primates in the wild.

A new series called Spy in the Troop, will see the man-made models of animals including a Tamarin and a Macaque, engaging with living members of their species.

The animatronic creatures, which have a camera in one eye and computer behind the other, use AI computer learning techniques to ‘enhance’ their ‘ability to communicate’.

Through the technology it will be able to ‘use the same calls and facial expressions as the primates they encounter’.

The BBC has previously used the ‘Spy Creatures’ concept – using animatronic animals – in natural history programmes such as Spy In The Ocean and Spy in the Wild.

But it is understood the new four-part BBC1 series takes the technological sophistication involved in this type of undercover filming to a new level.

The new models will learn behaviour and how to communicate as they go – such as how the animal should respond. 

The camera will be linked to the computer installed in the same animatronic model.

It will also mean there is less need to have a human being in proximity to the model. 

The AI creature can make decisions on whether or how to respond to other animals, rather than be controlled by a human.

The announcement about Spy in the Troop came alongside news of two other new natural history shows.

The BBC is also making four-part series An Hour on Earth, which takes an ‘immersive ride through the busiest moments in the natural world’.

It will also air Matriarch, which looks at the stories of the female chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania. 

This is where Dr Jane Goodall, famous for her expertise on chimpanzees, has carried out pioneering research.

Sreya Biswas, Head of Commissioning, Natural History, at the BBC said: ‘It's so exciting to be announcing three incredible series that showcase a wide variety of natural history.

‘From the amazing camera technology of Spy in the Troop to the compelling narratives of Matriarch to the real-time storytelling of An Hour of Earth, we are so thrilled to be making such a variety of series.’