This Home Robot Automatically Cleans Tables and Fills the Dishwasher

Memo may not be the fastest barista around, but it certainly impresses—especially for a robot.

I recently observed Memo, a new home robot developed by Sunday Robotics, preparing coffee in an open kitchen in Mountain View, California.

Memo resembles something from Wall-E, featuring a shiny white exterior, two arms, a cheerful cartoon-like face, and a red baseball cap. Instead of legs, Memo moves on a wheeled platform and adjusts its height by sliding along a central column situated atop that base.

When asked for an espresso, the robot rolled over to the countertop, methodically using its two pincer-like hands to complete every step necessary to operate the espresso machine. It filled the porta filter with coffee grounds, pressed them down, positioned the porta filter correctly, set a coffee cup beneath it, pressed the required buttons to start the machine, and finally collected the steaming drink.

“Our goal is to create robots that relieve people from laundry, dishes, and all daily chores,” stated Tony Zhao, cofounder and CEO of Sunday Robotics, as the robot delivered the coffee to the requesting individual.

While brewing a cup of espresso may not seem extraordinary, the task is incredibly challenging for a robot in a real, messy kitchen. It necessitates the capability to recognize various objects, determine how to grasp them securely, and utilize them appropriately. Sunday Robotics is not only creating its own hardware but also training the models that enable its system to learn. “We believe that the best way to develop a home robot is to be full-stack and vertically integrated,” Zhao remarked. “It’s a very ambitious endeavor.”

Courtesy of Sunday Robotics