Fearful "Phobot" wins at Amsterdam robot conference

The "Phobot," a robot designed by a team of students from the University of Amsterdam, was voted the public's favorite at a conference on human-robot interaction in Amsterdam on March 15.

The Phobot won the crowd over with antic displays intended to mimic human phobias.

When first exposed to a fear-inspiring object — in this case a menacing larger robot — the Phobot retreats and then spins in circles in apparent panic.

Later, the robot is able to overcome its "fear" by first being exposed to small robots and working its way up to larger ones, and mimicking the psychological principle of "graded exposure."

A total of seven teams from around the world attended the competition.