A CUDDLY and curious robot has become one of the most cherished visitors at a care home in Blackbird Leys taking part in an Oxford University study.

For the past six weeks Paro, a £5,000 'therapeutic robot', has brought peals of laughter and shouts of surprise from residents at Longlands in Balfour Road.

The 48-bed care home is hosting both the seal-shaped automaton and Aggy Petersen, an MA Anthropology student from Denmark, who is exploring the benefits of interaction with a robot on older people and people with dementia.

Activities co-ordinator Angela Lindsay said Paro - affectionately renamed 'Ted' by residents - had received nothing but positive comments so far.

She said: "It has been amazing, and lovely to see the interaction between Paro and the residents, especially the animal lovers.

"Some of the residents that don't speak actually mimic his noises and you can see from their body language and smiles he's reached out to places I haven't been able to."

Paro is an advanced interactive robot developed by AIST, a leading Japanese firm designed to be used in hospitals and extended care facilities.

When approached, touched or spoken to by people Paro responds as if it is alive, moving its head, fins and tail, making sounds and 'remembering' preferred behaviours.

It can also recognise light and dark and when happy or distressed mimics the sound of a real baby harp seal, much to the delight of Longlands residents.

Freda Harris, 88, said: “I love him very much and he is like a real seal. He reacts to me and it is like he knows what I am thinking about.

"I know he is made to react to people if they react to him, but I do love him and he has helped me a great deal."

Miss Lindsay added that Paro, who arrived in mid-August, is going to leave a seal-shaped hole in the care home when he leaves at the end of November.

She said: "Aggy takes him home because he's such an expensive bit of equipment and I have had people ask for him during the day.

"We would definitely love to have one permanently and Aggy has been brilliant as well. Our residents with dementia have interacted more with him."

Ms Petersen said: "The study is still in its infancy stages and we have already observed some encouraging effects on the social interaction of residents at the care home."