Roboman Robomen were human s converted by the Dalek s into wholly obedient slave s during 2025 ( AUDIO : " Energy of the Daleks " ) and the 22nd century Dalek invasion of Earth . The Daleks captured prisoners and operated on their brain s in a surgical procedure called the transfer , fitting them with large , helmet - like headsets . The Daleks ' mind control technique was unstable , and would eventually wear off . However , instead of reverting , i . e . becoming human again , the Robomen would go insane and commit suicide . ( TV : " The Dalek Invasion of Earth " ) History . In 2025 , Robomen were used as security guards . ( AUDIO : " Energy of the Daleks " ) During the 22nd century Dalek invasion of Earth , the Daleks used Robomen . These surgically modified captives were armed with machine guns and used for patrols and overseeing other slaves . The Robomen were needed because there were few Daleks on Earth . ( TV : " The Dalek Invasion of Earth " , AUDIO : " Masters of Earth " ) In 2158 , the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa encountered a Roboman in Kansas who had been a sheriff . He and a Dalek believed them to be escaped prisoners from a work camp and tried to capture them , but they escaped in the TARDIS . The Roboman and the Dalek returned to their commander to report their failure . ( AUDIO : " The Mutant Phase " ) In 2163 Robomen of the Roboman Elite were able to break their conditioning and rebel against the Daleks , but they had their own plans for converting humanity into Robomen and conquering the galaxy . The Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown encountered them and defeated them . ( AUDIO : " Masters of Earth " ) When the Daleks invaded again in the late 2190s , they once more used Robomen to patrol Earth . ( AUDIO : " Lucie Miller " ) The Daleks used Robomen during the Battle of Pejorica against the Jariden . ( AUDIO : " The Four Doctors " ) On the Dalek occupied planet Nixyce VII , the Daleks used Robomen to patrol and regulate work in the mines . The Robomen on Nixyce VII were ordered to find Liv Chenka who was needed to assist with an emergency in the Dalek mines . The Doctor and the freedom fighters Kavel and Aldin all pretended to be fully converted Robomen to evade Dalek capture . ( AUDIO : " The Traitor " ) In the aftermath of their invasion of Mutter ' s Spiral in 4162 , the Daleks used a more sophisticated implantation technique . Rather than fitting their subjects with grafted positronic discs and communication devices , the circuitry was placed inside the brain and the Robomen retained independent thought . These Robomen were much harder to detect and far more dangerous . Orders from their Dalek masters would be filtered through normal thought processes , the subject seemingly unaware of the disc implant . One such roboman was Gordon Pellan , who was gunned down by Earth Alliance forces . ( AUDIO : " The Human Factor " ) Mirana , another of these newer , more sophisticated Robomen , was linked directly to the Dalek Emperor ' s mind . She was unaware of the linkage and when told of the implant , she was confused . The implant itself was deemed impossible to remove without killing the subject , but it could be disabled . Mirana ' s implant was disabled surgically , though she could still receive transmissions from the Dalek command net . The remnants of the Earth Alliance used her to track a small battalion of Daleks on Lopra Minor . ( AUDIO : " Project Infinity " ) A number of Robomen , similar in appearance and sophistication to those used in the 22nd century , were captured by Space Security Service agents when they retook the planet Caridos from the Daleks in 3994 and brought to Station 7 for study . The Robomen remained on the Station into the early stages of the 41st century and were completely inert until a Dalek task force invaded , reactivating them to fight from within . They were all killed in the subsequent battle . ( COMIC : " The Only Good Dalek " )