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Technology now has the power to sexually arouse us, as it appears that groping a robot's private parts turns humans on.

Fondling the bottom or "genital area" of a humanoid robot triggers physiological arousal in humans, a study has found.

The bot, whose resemblance hovers between C-3PO and Wall-E, was nonetheless found to offer sexual stimulation as it was programmed to verbally instruct participants to touch 13 parts of its body.

The study echoes reports which said sex robots could be biggest trend of 2016 .

Stanford University scientists used Aldebaran Robotics' NAO human-shaped robot for the study.

(Image: SWNS)

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Human participants were fitted with an Affectiva Q-Sensor on the fingers of their non-dominant hand which measured skin conductance, a sign of physiological arousal , and reaction time.

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When instructed to touch the robot in areas that people usually do not touch, like the eyes or the buttocks, they were more emotionally aroused when compared to touching more accessible parts like the hands and neck.

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They were also more hesitant to touch the intimate parts, based on the response times.

Past research in communication has shown how touch is used as a social "glue" between people - building relationships and influencing trust.

(Image: SWNS)

Researcher Jamy Li of the Human-Robot Interaction and Virtual Reality Labs said: "Our work shows that robots are a new form of media that is particularly powerful.

"It shows that people respond to robots in a primitive, social way.

"Social conventions regarding touching someone else's private parts apply to a robot's body parts as well.

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"This research has implications for both robot design and theory of artificial systems."

The study will be presented at the 66th Annual International Communication Association Conference, Fukuoka, Japan, in June.