A panel of robotics experts speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science said robots capable of multiple domestic tasks, that can also provide companionship for their owners, will be available within 10 years.

And the scientists claim it is already possible to give robots such “feelings.”

“Emotion plays an important role in guiding attention towards what is important and away from distractions,” said Professor Cynthia Breazeal, one of the world’s leading roboticists based at MIT. “It allows the robot to make better decisions, learn more effectively and interact more appropriately.”

Computer experts at Glasgow Caledonian University have also been working on giving robots emotions. David Moffat, a computer scientist at the university, has produced robots which experience fear to help them evade other robot “predators.”