Robot plays 'rock, paper, scissors'

A British robot proves his wits and manual dexterity in the game 'rock, paper, scissors' at London's Science Museum but could one day help sufferers of stroke or Parkinson's disease.

BERTI is designed to make human scale gesturing, meaning he shrugs his shoulders, waves his arms and opens and closes his fingers just like a human does when speaking.

While many robots can talk and move, it is difficult to get them to move similar to a human skeleton.

However, BERTI's torso has 36 degrees of motion, such as an elbow joint. There are nine in each hand alone, meaning the mechanics are hugely complicated.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PAUL BREMMER, BRISTOL ROBOTICS UNIVERSITY, PHD STUDENT WHO PROGRAMMED BERTI

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CRAIG FLETCHER, CO-DIRECTOR ELUMOTION, WHO BUILT BERTI ROBOT