As Christmas draws ever closer, the University of Hertfordshire's robot residents are celebrating in their own way.

Researchers at the university's Robot House facility work with assistive robots to understand how they can help us with daily tasks.

To mark the occasion, the robots are decorating the house, exchanging gifts and showing off their best dance moves.

The human-robot interaction research specialises in developing care robots for assisted living, testing how they can perform tasks for humans, how people respond to robot companions in their living space, and how robots might be more integrated into our daily lives in the future.

Dr Patrick Holthaus, senior research fellow and manager of Robot House, said: "We thought it was only fair that before we all down tools for the Christmas break, our robots get to do the same and celebrate the festive season. 

"On a serious note, this is a fun way to showcase how robots could become more common in our daily lives, especially for people who need that extra care and support at home.

"If a robot can pass you a cup of mulled wine or play a party game, think what else it could do for you or your relatives."