The robotic arm that will feed you dinner

The University of Washington is currently working on developing a robotic arm system that will help people eat their meals that may currently be unable to do so without assistance. The system created has been named the Assistive Dexterous Arm or ADA for short! The aim of the research project is to create a system that is able to help some of the estimated 1 million adults living in the US that need help eating. The biggest problem with the current systems available is that they don't take into account the texture and consistency of the object being selected. ADA uses a range of different sensors such as vision, force and other tactile sensors with an object detection algorithm to constantly adjust the force being used when picking up the item of food and then directing it safely to the person's mouth.  Although the solution isn't perfect and is still very expensive it's another step towards helping people live their lives independently thanks to the constant evolution of technology.