This is an interesting prototype. The hand has enough control to pick up glasses and the device is mounted on a rail that extends the length of the counter.
The device is controlled by a camera mounted over the arm. Take a look at this short video of the dish washing robot arm in action.
I'm in favor of any robots designed to perform tasks like dishwashing, even though they aren't full humanoid bots like ARMAR the kitchen robot, for example.
Fans of Robert Heinlein may recall the plans that he had for Flexible Frank, one of the robots from his 1956 novel The Door Into Summer, which had a Thorsen Memory Tube
...you need cause Flexible Frank to clear the table and scrape the dishes and load them into the dishwasher only once, and from then on he could cope with any dirty dishes he ever encountered.
Better still, he could have an electronically duplicated Thorsen tube stuck into his head and could handle dirty dishes the first time he ever encountered them . . - and never break a dish.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.'
Deflector Plasma Screen For Drones ala Star Wars
'If the enemy persists in attacking or even intensifies their power, the density of the plasma in space will suddenly increase, causing it to reflect most of the incoming energy like a mirror.'