Research from Canterbury University suggests people regard robots more as living things than objects.
The study shows subjects visually responded to pictures of robots in the same way they do for humans.
Author Christoph Bartneck said a programme is being developed that turns a small humanoid robot into an interactive maths tutor, which can pose problems and recognise whether a spoken answer is correct.
Mr Bartneck said because people recognise robots as living things, they are more likely to create a social bond, which makes the maths robot a better teacher than an educational computer programme.
