KIPP as seen in the comic Absolute Zero.
KIPP was the name of Dr. Mann's companion robot who joined him on his expedition to Mann's planet.
History[]
Upon arrival on Mann, the eponymous doctor had KIPP conduct much of the ground exploration of the planet's surface. Dr. Mann subsequently dismantled KIPP, booby-trapped his mainframe and used his power cell for the energy of his hypersleep chamber.
When the crew of the Endurance arrive on Mann's planet, they find a dismantled KIPP and Dr. Mann inside his hypersleep chamber. Shortly after, Romilly reveals there is a slight possibility of saving humanity on Earth - by sending a probe to the black hole, just to briefly glimpse the collapsed star inside - the singularity, and relay the data back to Earth.
TARS required components from KIPP in order to improve their chances for success. Once Romilly and TARS were able to re-boot KIPP, the robot began to display the true nature of the planet - data that contradicted Dr. Mann's claims that he found a habitable surface. Sensing danger, TARS urgently orders Romilly to step back. KIPP's mainframe detonated killing Romilly and destroying Mann's compound.
Before the events of the film, KIPP co-stars with Dr. Mann in a short comic book prequel titled Absolute Zero written by Christopher Nolan. Near the end of the comic, Dr. Mann decides not to join KIPP in sending another probe in the hope of finding the planet's surface. Soon after, as KIPP re-enters the compound, Dr. Mann utters the command "bermondsey" which deactivates the robot.
Trivia[]
The name KIPP is most likely derived from famed theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, with an extra "P" in KIPP.
KIPP has a subtle line in the film, "Please don't make-." The cutoff line was "Please don't make me go back outside" in reference to a quote from TARS in the 2008 script created by Jonathan Nolan.
The command "bermondsey" is a district in the south of London, and it’s also where Michael Caine was born.