Sandminer robot The society in and around Kaldor City on the planet Kaldor was apparently almost wholly dependent on humanoid Sandminer robot s manufactured by the Kaldor City Company for servants and manual labour . The sandminer s , which made a major contribution to Kaldor ' s economy , were almost entirely crewed by robots of this type . Although superficially similar ( all were designed to be aesthetically pleasing ) , the robots were constructed in several varieties which differed in their intelligence , autonomy , and ability to communicate . History . The robot s had become fundamental to Kaldorian society by the time of the Fourth Doctor ' s first visit there . The society itself was threatened when a disguised Taren Capel began to reprogram the robots on one sandminer to murder the human crew — civilisation would collapse if the citizens lost their faith in the robot workforce . The Doctor subtly altered Capel ' s voice pattern , and , not recognising him , his own robot followers turned on him and killed him . All the modified robots were destroyed shortly afterwards . ( TV : " The Robots of Death " ) The murders on " Storm Mine 4 " were covered up and plans were made to introduce a new , more humanoid robot . However , the prototype SASV - 1 believed it was Taren Capel and reprogrammed robots as killers . SASV - 1 was destroyed by the Doctor and the new class of robots were abandoned . ( PROSE : " Corpse Marker " ) As was eventually discovered , Capel ' s plan also had a second phase that was activated after his death . It concerned the transmission of a specially designed program to modify the robots ' basic operational software in order to turn them into murderers . ( AUDIO : " Taren Capel " ) The practice of putting a human crew on a sandminer was discontinued . Attempts were still made to improve robot design , such as the Ultra - Voc prototype robot . However , on its first assignment the UV disappeared . It had realised its status as a slave and rebelled against human control . It contacted other sandminers and " converted " the Super - Vocs on board to its cause . It was destroyed by a human investigator before its plans proceeded too far — but the investigator did not live to report his findings , being accidentally " disassembled " by Vocs who believed him to be a malfunctioning SV . ( COMIC : " Crisis on Kaldor " ) Alternate timelines . In an alternate dimension in which the Doctor ' s adventures existed as a fictional TV show called " Doctor Who " , a fan dressed as a Sandminer robot was present at a " Doctor Who " convention which the Eleventh Doctor visited with Ally in 2013 . ( COMIC : " The Girl Who Loved Doctor Who " ) Technology . The robots were physically stronger and more durable than most human s . It was generally assumed that fundamental protocols in the brains of the robots made it impossible for them to knowingly harm humans , although a robotics genius such as Taren Capel could override this precaution . The robots recognised their authorised controllers via their voice prints . A change in the controller ' s vocal pattern could result in apparently rebellious behaviour and non - compliance from a robot . All robots were identified by their class letter and a unique number ; for example a Voc might be " named " V7 . ( TV : " The Robots of Death " ) Standard robot classes . Dum . The majority of the robots were D - class Dums , built without the ability to speak . On a sandminer , the Dums mostly kept to the engineering decks , away from the human crew , making them appear less common than was the case . Dums wore black tunics . D84 , a highly sophisticated Super - Voc class robot , was disguised as a Dum . ( TV : " The Robots of Death " ) Voc . More able were the V - class Voc robots , who had the power of speech . In the absence of humans , Vocs performed essential control deck duties on a sandminer and were capable of running the vehicle without supervision . They could give back massages to human crew . They wore green tunics . ( TV : " The Robots of Death " ) Super - Voc . Each sandminer ' s complement of robots included one SV - class Super - Voc , which had enhanced decision - making and organisational skills . The Super - Voc was effectively the leader of the robots , though still subservient to any of the authorised human crew . The Super - Voc wore a silver tunic . ( TV : " The Robots of Death " ) Unique robots . Ultra - Voc . Only one UV - class Ultra - Voc was ever manufactured , an even more intelligent and autonomous version of the standard SV . It is not known what colour it was designated . ( COMIC : " Crisis on Kaldor " ) SASV1 . SASV1 was another unique robot , an attempt to improve on a specialised SV class unit numbered D84 . However , SASV - 1 was based on plans drawn up by Taren Capel and proved mentally unstable . ( PROSE : " Corpse Marker " )