# In-Mouth Robotic Bite Transfer with Visual and Haptic Sensing

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.12705 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.12705/

## Key facts

- Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 23 Nov 2022.

## Built on by (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [FeelAnyForce: Estimating Contact Force Feedback from Tactile Sensation for Vision-Based Tactile Sensors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.02048/) (2024)
- [FLAIR: Feeding via Long-horizon AcquIsition of Realistic dishes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.07561/) (2024)
- [FEAST: A Flexible Mealtime-Assistance System Towards In-the-Wild Personalization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.14968/) (2025)
- [Learning Sequential Acquisition Policies for Robot-Assisted Feeding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.05197/) (2023)
- [ProVox: Personalization and Proactive Planning for Situated Human-Robot Collaboration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.12248/) (2025)
- [Robot-Assisted Social Dining as a White Glove Service](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.15767/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Assistance during eating is essential for those with severe mobility issues or eating risks. However, dependence on traditional human caregivers is linked to malnutrition, weight loss, and low self-esteem. For those who require eating assistance, a semi-autonomous robotic platform can provide independence and a healthier lifestyle. We demonstrate an essential capability of this platform: safe, comfortable, and effective transfer of a bite-sized food item from a utensil directly to the inside of a person's mouth. Our system uses a force-reactive controller to safely accommodate the user's motions throughout the transfer, allowing full reactivity until bite detection then reducing reactivity in the direction of exit. Additionally, we introduce a novel dexterous wrist-like end effector capable of small, unimposing movements to reduce user discomfort. We conduct a user study with 11 participants covering 8 diverse food categories to evaluate our system end-to-end, and we find that users strongly prefer our method to a wide range of baselines. Appendices and videos are available at our website: https://tinyurl.com/btICRA.