Robot helpers

Robots carry trays of food at a restaurant in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, China, May 18, 2015. The restaurant, which opened on Monday has two robots delivering food for customers. REUTERS/Stringer

A waitress places dishes on a tray carried by a robot couple at a restaurant in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, China, May 18, 2015. The robots were designed as a couple, Xiaolan and Xiaotao, according to local media. REUTERS/Stringer

Visitors look at a kimono-clad android robot (L) named Aiko Chihira, developed by Toshiba Corp., at the reception desk of Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo, April 20, 2015. The robot can use sign language and introduce itself. It is...more

A robot bartender named "Carl" gestures to guests at the Robots Bar and Lounge in the eastern German town of Ilmenau, July 26, 2013. "Carl" prepares spirits for the mixing of cocktails and is able to interact with customers in small conversations. ...more

A robot cooks a crab soup at the world's largest industrial technology fair, the Hannover Messe, in Germany, April 13, 2015. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

A man puts dishes on robots for delivery at a restaurant in Hefei, Anhui province, China, December 26, 2014. The restaurant has a total of 30 robots to cook meals, deliver dishes and welcome customers. REUTERS/Stringer

A doctor operates on a patient with a surgical robot in Hefei, Anhui province, China, September 24, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

The DEKA Arm System, a robotic arm for amputees named for the "Star Wars" character Luke Skywalker, that can perform multiple, simultaneous movements. REUTERS/DARPA

The Asimo humanoid robot pours a drink into a cup during a presentation near Brussels, July 16, 2014. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

Robonaut 2 in the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory during a round of testing for the first humanoid robot in space, January 2, 2013. Ground teams put Robonaut through its paces as they remotely command it to operate valves on a task...more

A care-O-bot service robot carries a package of juice during a demonstration in Stuttgart, Germany, March 15, 2013. The robot can pick up and bring objects such as drinks or open the door for paramedics. The SRS robot can move autonomously but it...more

Humanoid robots dressed in the colors of Germany's and Brazil's national soccer team jerseys at the University of Bonn, June 18, 2014. . REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

Denso Corp's robot arm "Denoute-san" plays Japanese chess, also known as Shogi, east of Tokyo, April 26, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

Honda's Asimo robot demonstrates its ability to hop during a demonstration for the media at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York, April 17, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

A cook stands behind a robot as it process food at the kitchen of a restaurant in Hefei, Anhui province, China, December 26, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

A robot performs during the "Robot Ball" scientific exhibition in Moscow, May 17, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

A "Nao" humanoid robot sits in a corner while its batteries are being charged during a presentation at a branch of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in Tokyo, April 13, 2015. Upon request by a customer, the robot offers basic information about banking...more

SoftBank's human-like robot named "Pepper" gestures as it introduces Nestle's coffee machines in Tokyo December 1, 2014. Nestle started to use robots to help sell its coffee makers across Japan. REUTERS/Issei Kato

A robot delivers food at a restaurant in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, China, May 18, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

A robot designed to prune vines is seen in the Pouilly Fuisse vineyard in France, October 12, 2012. The robot will be able to prune up to 600 vines per day, says his inventor, French engineer Christophe Millot, who had been working on the project for...more

A humanoid robot during a demonstration in Beijing, April 29, 2015. The android was produced jointly by China's Shanghai Yangyang Intellegent Robot Science Service center and Japanese professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, with the aim of popularizing robotics...more

A woman reaches out to shake hands with a robotic hand at the world's largest industrial technology fair, the Hannover Messe, in Hanover, April 13, 2015. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay