Parliament debated a motion calling for improvements to working conditions in the mines and Sir Stafford Cripps called for the nationalisation of the industry which came about 10 years later.
Current applications for Superbot are being developed with space exploration in mind, but Shen said the technology could be usefully applied in any environment dangerous to humans such as for search and rescue tasks in mines or underwater -- although the laboratory is still working on a morphing robot capable of swimming.