Will robots one day be so advanced that they can mimick human emotions?

We've all seen the futuristic films that have robots in them and wonder in amazement if we'll ever live in a world that the characters do. But, with the advancements in science and the ongoing advancements, could we one day live in a world where robots walk the streets beside humans and understand the world as we do?

"The development of an artificially conscious entity may happen within our lifetime." - Robert Pepperall, 2003

i,Robot portrays a world where robots are used by humans for domestic purposes around the home, or even to do jobs that people don't particularly want to do themselves. With the rapid advancements in technology could we be heading towards a world that is exactly like this?

Already on the internet we have chatterbots like A.L.I.C.E and Eliza who engage in conversation with us, even if their answers and questions are slightly limited. There are other examples of these chatterbots online as major companies are starting to use them as customer service advisers. For example, O2 use one called Lucy who advises you on what phone to buy and answers any problems you've got.

However, even though there is Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can talk back to us, we still have not reached the stage where they can feel what we feel or have any sort of human emotions. Most of all, they do not have any empathy.

In i,Robot, we see an example of a robot that starts to experience human emotions and has the ability to question things unlike the others of his generation. He is then able to mimick the wink and understand the meaning of it when he learns about it. He also learns how to keep secrets and understand how important they are. Will a robot one day be created that can do the same? If one was created would it mean that they'd be human or would they still be seen as machines built for a purpose? Personally, when I watched i,Robot and saw how the robot was nearly killed, it tugged on my heart strings because as he was able to know human characteristics I identified with him even though he was not physically human.