Scientists in the Westcountry are preparing to teach a baby robot how to talk.

Robotics experts at the University of Plymouth will work with a 1m-high (3ft) humanoid baby robot called iCub.

The four-year project, dubbed Italk (Integration and Transfer of Action and Language Knowledge in Robots), aims to teach iCub to speak by employing the same methods used by parents to teach their children.

The researchers will work with specialists in language development who have researched the ways parents teach their children to speak.

They will then conduct experiments in human and robot language interaction. Typical experiments with the iCub robot will include activities such as inserting objects of various shapes into the corresponding holes in a box, serialising nested cups and stacking wooden blocks.

Next, the iCub will be asked to name objects and actions so that it acquires basic phrases such as "robot puts stick on cube".

A consortium led by the University of Plymouth beat off fierce competition from 31 others to win a £4.7m grant for the Italk project, which begins in early March.

The university's partners in the project include the University of Hertfordshire and others from across Europe.

Angelo Cangelosi, Professor in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Plymouth, said: "In particular, the outcome of the research will define the scientific and technological requirements for the design of humanoid robots able to develop complex behavioural, thinking and communication skills through individual and social learning."

The project is believed to be the first of its kind in the world.