Robot bartender no tin can

How quickly they grow up. I remember checking out Yaskawa Electric's wheeled robot bartender SmartPal way back in 2005 when it was little more than a bucket of bolts with an LCD face.

The latest generation, SmartPal V, was announced late last year. Earlier this month it was shown off in a robot fair at the Kitakyushu Innovation Gallery down south. Kitakyushu is a center for humanoid robots in Western Japan along with Osaka.

Though it has been exhibited as a bartender, SmartPal is designed to address the demographic crisis of Japan's low birthrate and aging population by being a viable worker.

The fifth model in the series is 50% slimmer than past versions. It has new moving hand and pelvic units so it can perform more intricate tasks in manufacturing; its arms have seven joints, allowing it the same freedom of movement as a human arm.

But it can also pick up your beer bottle if you drop it, as shown in the pic.