14/03/2014 Newsround

It's Friday. You're watching Newsround. Robots - they're

increasingly becoming a part of our lives at home. They're helping

people with disabilities... And they're becoming more like creatures

of the natural world. Don't worry - I'm here really, the robot takeover

is on hold. For now. All week we've been talking about the amazing new

wave of robotics - but today on a special Newsround: what robots could

become in the future. So first - some experts say it won't be long

before computers are thinking like us. Scientists are working right now

on making robots that can understand what we say, learn from their own

experiences and even tell stories. We're talking about creating truly

artificial intelligence. The brain is the most complex organ in the

body. It controls everything. Electrical signals send information

along pathways. But now, scientists are using what they know about the

human brain to build a super computer. It is one of the most

advanced in the world. This is a scan of my brain. You're trying to

create a computer based on the same principles? Yes. We want to see if

we can improve our understanding. Some experts say there is concern.

But there is demand. Google are currently developing an artificial

search engine they say will know us better than we know ourselves!

Joining me on the sofa is Dr Gavin Brown from the School of Computer

Sciences at the University of Manchester. What exactly is AI,

Gavin? You're a person and you can do lots of clever things like walk,

talk and think. Scientists are looking, worldwide, to try to get

robots to do those things. What might AI be used for in the future?

There are self-driving cars. They could reduce the number of

accidents. All this week you've been sending us amazing robot designs on

the website. Gavin, tell us what you make of some of these designs.

Here's the first one from Ethan - it's the iSearch, a robot for

finding survivors in disaster zones - these sorts of things are already

with us aren't they? To some extent! This could operate by itself but

they don't exist. At the moment they're operated by joysticks.

Here's one from Daniel who's six - we love this - it's the Norbot 5000,

with the fire alarm ears, and it helps with your homework too! This

is really impressive! It's about computers and humans working

together. It moves towards amplified intelligence. Here's one from

Natasha - an amazing idea, a robotic guide dog for blind people. And it

has a sensor to detect when you're feeling lonely and want a bit of

cheering up! To some extent robots can do that! Some can detect

frowning and so on. Loneliness is much more difficult! It's very

interesting! Don't forget you can head to the website to catch up on

all our robotics reports from this week, and that's also where you'll

find our gallery of your amazing robot designs, and all the day's

other top stories. That's all from me, Newsround's back tomorrow

morning. Powering! Down!