I don't know how I feel about this, but choking from poor feeding supports is an important source of harm for people with difficulty eating....
Obi is a robot designed to help disabled people feed themselves with less assistance. Created by the robotics firm Desin, Obi features four separate bowls for food and a robotic arm with a spoon that can learn the delivery location after being shown once by a caregiver.
Obi has portion control settings, interchangeable spoons (both the spoons and the bowls are dishwasher- and microwave-safe), and a spill-proof surface for easy clean up. The robotic arm is highly agile; it can scrape the sides of bowls and adjust itself depending on the type and amount of food it picks up, as well as detect collisions.
Commercial robots built by Baxter were some of the first devices to be trained by humans instead of programmed, and now Obi is bringing that same technology into a consumer product. The Obi isn't exactly cheap — at $4,500 it's going to cost a pretty penny, but it's hard to put a price on giving a loved one an increased sense of autonomy. You can purchase the Obi from its website today.
At that price, they must be targeted to nursing homes....