Robots could replace dogs as man's best friend.
Robots could act as alternative pets for humans
A new study has found that people who lived with a pet-like robot for a period of two months had lower levels of stress, similar to the effect of having a pooch.
The team at Jichi Medical University in Japan used a robot resembling a little penguin, which had two feet and the same body temperature as humans.
The bot tracks its owner with a camera and moves its hand to ask for hugs. It is also able to make eye contact and communicate with seal-like sounds.
Experts found that levels of oxytocin, the 'cuddle hormone', were 2.2 times higher in those who owned the robots.
Meanwhile, levels of cortisol - a hormone marker of increased stress - were doubled in those who did not have the bots.
The researchers wrote in the journal iScience: "A robot may have an effect similar to that of animal therapy."