In an exhibition far, far away... Star Wars icon to visit the V&A.

One of the movie industry’s bestknown and instantly recognisable icons is visiting city as part of V&A’s Hello, Robot exhibition

An original R2-D2 prop from the first Star Wars film will be one of the main attractions at an upcoming V&A Dundee exhibition.

The Hello, Robot show will feature the 96cm high iconic robot from 1977 movie Star Wars, later retitled as Episode IV — A New Hope.

The droid will be on loan from the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which was founded by series creator George Lucas.

The mechanical character was played in the main by British actor Kenny Baker, who was literally inside the contraption, although in some scenes, it was moved by remote control or – in later movies – computer animation.

It is not the first time the museum has featured a piece from the Star Wars saga. A dress created by Scottish designer Trisha Biggar and donned by Natalie Portman in Episode II — Attack Of The Clones, featured in the Scottish Design Galleries.

The Hello, Robot exhibition will explore how robotic design has changed over the years.

Other memorabilia coming to the exhibition includes a 1927 poster for Fritz Lang’s influential science-fiction film Metropolis and androids used in the music video for Bjork’s song All Is Full Of Love.

Visitors will also get the chance to see a working YuMi dualarm industrial robot, which is designed to labour side-by-side with humans.

Billed as the world’s first collaborative robot, it can ease the physical impact on the human operator working alongside it.

Toys from the past six decades will also demonstrate how the concept of machines has changed over the years.

The exhibition ends by showing how the boundaries have blurred between humans and robots, from hi-tech fashion that can sense danger and put up a physical barrier to the idea of robotic architecture and smart cities.

Kirsty Hassard, V&A Dundee curator, said: “Robots are part of our everyday and not a moment goes by without new developments in robotic technology.

“How and where we encounter robots, the sort of relationships we form with them, and how we interact with them — or they with us — is no longer the exclusive domain of engineers and IT experts. Designers are now often at the centre of these decisions.”

The new exhibition marks the first time V&A Dundee has worked with an international partner on a major show.

Hello, Robot is the work of the Vitra Design Museum, in Germany, as well as MAK Vienna and Design Museum Gent.

Dundee will be the show’s only UK venue. The exhibition will run from Saturday November 2 until Sunday February 9.

Above: This is the droid you are looking for – R2-D2 is coming to Dundee. Below, from left: More exhibits including bionic ants, androids used in Bjork’s 1999 music video All Is Full Of Love and a robotic arm with a baby bottle.