The days of the unfeeling, infuriating machine will soon be over. Scientists are now creating computers and robots that can detect and respond to users’ feelings.

The discoveries are being channelled by Humaine, a £6 million program just launched by the EU to give Europe a lead in emotional computing.

The systems depend on scientists’ new-found ability to recognize the physiological expressions of emotions — changes in stature, heart beat, muscle tension, head movement, rate and intensity of computer key strokes, blood pressure and other variables –and create software that allows computers to recognize and respond to these variables.