A robot puppet which appears to react emotionally to the way it is treated has been bringing out the best - and worst - in children at London's Science Museum.
Heart Robot has a beating heart, a breathing belly, and sensors that respond to movement, noise and touch.
Cuddle him, and he seems to soak up the affection. His limbs become limp, his eyelids lower, his breathing relaxes, and his heart beat slows down.
But give him a violent shake, or shout in his face, and he gets upset. He flinches, his hands clench, his breathing and heart rate speed up, and his eyes widen.
Heart Robot, created by scientists at the University of the West of England in Bristol, was designed to explore what happens when machines interact emotionally with humans.
But he also revealed something about the psychological differences between pre-teen children.
Holly Cave, who helped organise the interactive "Emotibots" event at the Science Museum in which Heart Robot plays a starring role, said: "Heart Robot looks like a cross between ET and Gollum and is about the size of a small child.
"He's half robot, half puppet. You move him around by hand, but he has innate responses that appear emotional.
"Different children react to him very differently. They either want to hug and cuddle him, and look after him like a doll or baby, or they just want to scare him."
Also taking part in the Emotibots event this week is Hexapod, a six-legged metallic spidery robot that tracks people's faces and latches onto visitors who walk around it. If a person holds Hexapod's gaze long enough what it sees is downloaded and projected onto a plasma screen.
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