Robots are usually built to follow a routine or complete a particular project. But what about a robot that nervously paces? Or is scared of heights?

It could happen. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have been developing robots with neurotic tics to make them act more like humans, Discovery News reported.

"We're trying to make the robot brain more like human brain," said Jeff Krichmar, professor of cognitive science, as quoted by Discovery News. "The brain has incredibly flexibility and adaptability. If you look at any artificial system, it's far more brittle than biology."

Krichmar and his team, who will present several projects at this week's IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Hong Kong, have been experimenting to build robots with various neuroses such as a fear of open spaces.

Using a rodent as a model, the researchers programmed a robot to be afraid of an open room, mimicking the way dopamine and serotonin affect a rat's brain.

"If you put a rodent in a room that is open and unfamiliar, it will hug the walls," said Krichmar, as quoted by Discovery News. "It will hide until it becomes comfortable, then it will move across the room. It will wait until if feels comfortable. We did that with a robot and made it so it was so anxious it would never cross the room."

In other experiments, the team has worked on a robot that has obsessive-compulsive disorder. The emerging field of robots with these human qualities is known as "neurobiological robotics," according to Discovery News.

Scientists hope the robots with more human-like qualities will be better able to steer clear of danger and react to changing situations.

"You will see robots with these capabilities actually doing things in the home or for search and rescue," Krichmar said. "The time is right and it's moving."

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