# An Adaptable, Safe, and Portable Robot-Assisted Feeding System

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.04134 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.04134/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 7 Mar 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [VoicePilot: Harnessing LLMs as Speech Interfaces for Physically Assistive Robots](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.04066/) (2024)
- [GRACE: Generalizing Robot-Assisted Caregiving with User Functionality Embeddings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.17855/) (2025)
- [Robot-Assisted Social Dining as a White Glove Service](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.15767/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We demonstrate a robot-assisted feeding system that enables people with mobility impairments to feed themselves. Our system design embodies Safety, Portability, and User Control, with comprehensive full-stack safety checks, the ability to be mounted on and powered by any powered wheelchair, and a custom web-app allowing care-recipients to leverage their own assistive devices for robot control. For bite acquisition, we leverage multi-modal online learning to tractably adapt to unseen food types. For bite transfer, we leverage real-time mouth perception and interaction-aware control. Co-designed with community researchers, our system has been validated through multiple end-user studies.