Trekkies will recall Data from the Next Generation who could switch his emotion chip on and off at will. When on, he would constantly try to learn these complex human emotions which he could never figure out. Unable to get his timing right he always wondered why the exact same words could be insulting in a particular situation while funny in another. British Scientists are now beginning a project worth 2.3 million Euros which will last over the enxt 3 years with the aim of creating robots that "learn from humans and respond in a socially and emotionally appropriate manner".

The robots will keep learning based on the feedback which they will absorb from cameras, audio sensors, contact sensors as well as ones which lets the robot know the distance (emotional contact is also very much based upon distance, humans are extremely particular about their personal space and only allow a chosen few to enter that barrier).

At the end of the project two robots will be built which integrate the different aspects of the machines being developed across Europe.

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