 |
My Spoon Robot On Full Auto
The My Spoon robot was recently nominated as one of the top ten finishers for the Top Ten Robots listed by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). My Spoon is an assistive technology developed to help people who cannot feed themselves.
(My Spoon autonomous feeding robot)
My Spoon is intended to be used by patients who are partially or completely disabled. It can be used with almost any kind of food (no special food packets are required); solid food should be in bite-sized chunks. (It does require that the supplied tray is used.) It can be tailored for different degrees of disability.
The My Spoon robot is designed for safety. The manipulator is designed so the fork cannot hurt the user; its position is set at the beginning of each meal. Also, the manipulator has very low power.
My Spoon has three modes of operation; manual, semi-automatic and full auto. Manual operation permits the user to make use of a joystick, fully controlling the position of the eating utensil:
- Using the joystick, select the compartment from the included tray which contains the desired food item.
- After the spoon reaches the compartment, use the joystick to fine-tune its position near the item.
- After the spoon is in place, instruct the spoon to grasp the food by using the joystick.
- The spoon will grasp the item and automatically approach the mouth. When the mouth comes in contact with the spoon, the fork will automatically retract.
Although this is a wonderful addition to the assistive technologies now available to people who really need it, I confess that I am also wondering how Americans, the fattest people in the world, might make use of this technology. I'm afraid I can see this being built into a lounge chair; sports fans (and soap opera fans) will only need to press a single button and then keep watching tube while their faces are stuffed automatically.
Although I realize I'm not helping, here are more food-related robotic helpers:
- AIC-CI Cookingrobot Chinese Robotic Chef
Why even expend the energy needed to cook fresh food? - Robot Waiters From China And Canada
Why should you have to bring the food from the kitchen?
Read more about My Spoon.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/4/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion (Back On) ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Food ")
Hungry? Grow Nutritious Insects At Home
'...I balked when my wife served me termites.'- David Brin, 1994.
Iceberg Harvesting Off Newfoundland's Coast
'Five hundred billion gallons worth of Antarctic iceberg had been towed into Santa Monica Bay.'- Pournelle and Niven, 1981.
NASA Supports Pizza Printer
Is it extra with printed pepperoni?
Never Eat Food Again - Just Soylent
'It is nourishment in the only rational form.'- Edward Page Mitchell, 1879
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.
Current News
'Marauder's Map' Created By Carnegie Melllon
'Is that Dumbledore in his study?'
Cheetah Cub Robot From PKD's Android Dreams
'What about an exact electric duplicate of your cat?'
Dead Cellphone? Try Solar-Powered Public Charging Stations
'Then he saw the geek ... leaning against one of the slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...'
Hungry? Grow Nutritious Insects At Home
'...I balked when my wife served me termites.'
Snowboarding On Mars? Heinlein Was Ready
How long ago did Robert Heinlein write about skiing on dry alien worlds?
Orwell's '1984' Hits Bestseller Lists Thanks To PRISM
'There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.'
Roboroach Control? There's An App For That
'A cable, here, from the controller to the interface plug... wires from that to the brain.'
Court OK's DNA Collection Like 'Gattaca'
DNA sampling is not the same as fingerprinting.
Squid Vs. Whale Diorama Liked By Humans, Aliens
'Everything was ready, awaiting the Overlords' pleasure...'
Iceberg Harvesting Off Newfoundland's Coast
'Five hundred billion gallons worth of Antarctic iceberg had been towed into Santa Monica Bay.'
Sony's A4-Sized Flexible Digital Paper Notepad
'...he would plug his foolscap-sized Newspad into the ship's information circuit and scan the latest reports...'
Contact Lens Video Display Electronics Now Transparent
'He realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it...'
Tesla's Supercharge Station Plan
'To recharge the batteries, which can be done in almost every town and village...'
Millimeter-Scale Computing For 'Internet of Things'
'In their megalomania they thought to make the very sand beneath their feet intelligent...'
Your Own Handheld Biosensor
'I'm gonna do a hand-held Boink, real quick,' Littleberry said'
DARPA's Warrior Web
'Earth's scientists solved the problem to some extent by devising rigid metallic clothing not unlike armor...'
