Reporter battles a robot ... at paper, scissors, stone

Today I battled a robot on behalf of mankind - and won.

We came face-to-face at dawn at the Science Museum, me against a robot named Berti in that gladiatorial showdown: paper, scissors, stone. The rules are simple, paper defeats stone, scissors beats paper and stone triumphs over scissors.

We began by sizing each other up. Berti (which stands for Bristol Elumotion Robotic Torso One) remained implacable as I told him I had practised for this match for some days, and just the night before had defeated my five-year-old daughter - who having lost still refused to tidy her bedroom.

Berti, meanwhile, had arrived in town overnight, taking up residence at the Science Museum, part of a half-term exhibition on robotics. Made of metal, plastics and carbon fibre, Berti has been built to mimic gesturing, a key component of human communication and in the process taught to play paper, scissors, stone.

Berti nodded and the game began - a best of five battle royale between a £200,000 robot with nine motors in each carbon-fibre hand and a 42-year-old human with slightly stiff fingers.

I slipped on the special glove containing sensors that allows Berti to see the formation I was making. With Berti's creators looking on, like proud fathers at a sports day, the battle began.

I counted to three and revealed my opening gambit, a masterful stone that caught Berti out as he plumped for scissors. "You win," conceded Berti, slightly crest-fallen. One-nil to the human. Round two, I stuck with stone, but Berti, sensing my double bluff, went "paper". "I win," said Berti, his face unmoved but his voice sounding slightly pleased with himself.

Rounds three and four were drawn, both of us choosing scissors followed by paper. And then a breakthrough. I went two-one up with scissors cutting Berti's paper, which he followed with a win by drawing a stone, leaving us tied at two-two.

Berti stared at me. I stared down at Berti - just 3ft tall, but standing on a table. My mind racing, I tried to think like a computer. Berti had opted for "paper" and "stone" in the previous two rounds.

I went "stone", Berti went "scissors" and the contest was mine. Three-two. Not quite a giant leap for mankind, more a gentle shake of the wrist, but victory nevertheless.