Now, a robot that can fall in love

Scientists have developed a robot which can fall in love with its owner.

London: In what could bring some solace to the millions of lonely hearts worldwide, scientists have developed a robot which they say can fall in love with its owner.

Invented by German designer Stefan Ulrich, the bizarre blob like Funktionide has special sensors that react to human touch to show when it is happy -- or in love. It can also wrap around its owner and even give them a cuddle, The Sun reported. According to Stefan, his invention could one day completely replace the need to have a boyfriend or girlfriend. He said: "The products of the future will, in effect, be alive. "People already bury themselves in possessions and shield themselves from real life with technology. "So if robots and objects can fulfil all their emotional needs as well, why do they need other humans?" According to Stefan, the robot uses state-of-the-art research in artificial muscle technology and has micro-sensors under its skin that react to pressure, skin temperature and colour to produce a response like a human reaction. Earlier this year, Japanese inventor Hiroshi Ishiguro created a bizarre robot called the Telenoid R1. It was the size of a small baby but had no arms or legs and was meant to be a communication device. Hiroshi`s idea was that it could be used so people could chat even if they were long distances away. A webcam picks up the user`s movement and features and made the robot copy it. During its launching, Hiroshi had said: "If a friend speaks from the telenoid, we can imagine the friend`s face on the telenoid`s face. "If we embrace it, we have the feeling that we embrace the friend." PTI