Their work could lead to the development of humanoid robots which learn, think and talk.

A consortium led by the Plymouth University beat competition from 31 others to win a £4.7m grant for the Italk – Integration and Transfer of Action and Language Knowledge in Robots – project.

The four-year project which begins next month – the first of its kind in the world – will see delivery of the 3ft-high baby humanoid robot "iCub" to the university, which is a world leader in cognitive robotics research.

Plymouth's partners in the project include Hertfordshire University and others from across Europe.

The Italk project aims to teach the robot to speak by employing the same methods used by parents to teach their children.

Robotics experts will work with specialists in language development as well as 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 – which arrives in Plymouth next March – will be asked to name objects and actions so that it acquires basic phrases such as "robot puts stick on cube".

The scientific and technological research developed during the project will have a significant impact on future generations of interactive robotic systems, a university spokesman said.