Armstrong Robotics wants to create general purpose kitchen robots, starting with dishwashing

San Francisco-based Armstrong Robotics has developed a dishwashing robot system using three robotic arms with custom-designed fingers to address staff shortages in restaurants. After five years of development and securing $12 million in funding, the company's robots now operate autonomously 24/7 in multiple restaurants, using 30 sensors and neural networks trained on millions of dish images to handle complex tasks like gripping greasy plates and stacked dishes. The system has evolved from requiring constant supervision to full independence, with staff managing occasional alerts, while displaced dishwashers are elevated to customer-facing roles. Armstrong plans to expand to one installation monthly while adding new kitchen tasks.