The Technical University of Delft is very involved in robot technology, and their mechanical engineering team is one of the front runners in developing two legged walking robots. One of their projects at the moment is to create a robotic arm that can perform its task in a natural way, mimicking an actual human arm as closely as possible.
This piece of technology, in contrast with the walking robot, will be more lightweight and less energy consuming. Smart elements in this robot arm will lead to natural movements and the robot will thereafter learn how to optimize its performance. This improved performance and efficiency will make this robot arm a safer choice than the traditional factory arms, with regard to, for example, food handling and the handling between human and robot.
TU Delft