Last updated at 10:50 07 June 2007

It is not quite as sophisticated as C-3PO from Star Wars or Data from Star Trek, but earth engineers have managed to create a young android.

Watch the baby bot in action...

Covered in a grey putty-like silicone skin the baby bot can roll around and 'speak'. It can even take a few steps if encouraged enough.

Built by Japanese scientists Minoru Asada and Hiroshi Ishiguro (who famously created an android twins of himself), the robot called CB2 weighs 33kg and stands 130cm tall.

It has 197 tactile sensors embedded in its outer layer and 51 compressed air-powered actuators, which allow it to react to touch.

When CB2's shoulders are tapped, it blinks as if surprised, stops moving, and turns its gaze toward the person who touched it. It will also try and grab a toy dangled in front of it.

Future research at the Japanese Science and Technology Agency in Osaka will attempt to improve the body functions of CB2 - whose full name is 'Child-robot with Biomimetic Body.'

They also want to write software allowing it to walk and talk like a three-year-old.