 Many of the studio sequences filmed in rooms with entirely black  walls and floors, in the middle of which various minimal set  elements would be arranged, were shot in the studio classrooms of  the iEAR (Integrated Electronic Arts at Rensselaer) at Renssalear  Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, near Albany. RPI  students also constructed the prototype "Mars rover" shown in one of  the episodes speculating on robotic exploration of other planets.