ROBOTS which can evolve and function by themselves may seem like the stuff of Science fiction films.

But a York research team is at the forefront of a project which aims to make this previously far-fetched dream a reality.

Professor Andy Tyrell is heading an EU-funded project aiming to boldly go where no research team has gone before - by creating "living" electronics.

The head of the department of electronics at University of York, Prof Tyrell has been given more than 555,000 euros (approximately £360,000) to develop circuits which have the capability to learn, fix themselves and even become immune to faults.

If successful, the project, which is also being pioneered in Glasgow, Switzerland and Spain, will be a breakthrough in the hitherto fantasy world of Artificial Intelligence.

In layman's terms, the whole research project revolves around a bunch of chips. But, if things go to plan, these simple circuits will have the ability to learn and change their functions.

Space chiefs at NASA will be keeping close tabs on the research. They are considering whether the results could, in the future, be a way of furthering space exploration into areas currently inaccessible to human beings.

Speaking today, Prof Tyrell said it was important not to get carried away. But he added that he was very excited about the project's potential. We are taking about Artificial Intelligence and if this can be achieved, it will be quite revolutionary," he said.

"In the future, what we could be talking about is truly intelligent autonomous robots. At the moment, however, it is all about basic functions such as the ability to grow and the ability to self-repair.

"Although it looks like a load of chips, to put it simplistically, the ability to detect faults and attempt recovery and to produce evolvable hardware is at the cutting edge.

"Obviously, there are also implications for long-term space missions if this project is successful.

"We don't want to get carried away or make the research sound like a wacky science fiction project. It is interesting fundamental research. The circuits will develop an inclination for tasks that were never part of their original function. It is an exciting project."

Updated: 12:33 Wednesday, November 14, 2001