Scientists at Staffordshire University (UK) have developed a robotic arm that is fully mobile and relatively cheap (€65,000). The Flexibot can do the work of several fixed robots already used in the food production industry, for example for picking individual compounds out of the hundreds of thousands that may be storied in a compound library.

It has been tested in the healthcare sector where it can come “handy” to enable people with severe disability to achieve greater levels of independence in their lives, as it can assist them to eat, drink, shave, apply make-up and dental hygiene.

Using a network of sockets built around a room, the robotic arm can navigate and travel at will, even going up stairs and across ceilings, or hopping on automated guided vehicle.

Demo movies.

From Food Production Daily.
Also in The Scientist.