Abstract: The invention is a system for cleaning an article comprising: a static nozzle to spray a fluid, wherein the position and the orientation of said nozzle remains unchanged; a robotic arm to grasp and move said article so that said fluid is sprayed on said article; a camera to acquire an image of said article; a processor to execute an algorithm based on said image to determine a cleaning protocol, wherein said cleaning protocol lists time sequence of a plurality of robot positions; whereby said article is cleaned thoroughly in real-time.

Abstract: A system and method for perceiving a dish, planning its handling, and controlling its motion, comprising: capturing at least one image of a region disposed to comprise said dish using at least one camera; classifying said image using a dish detection model to determine the presence of a dish; classifying said image using a dish identification model to determine the type of said dish; estimating the position and orientation of said dish using a dish localization model; picking up, holding, or dropping off said dish securely using said type, position, and orientation of said dish with a robotic arm, whereby said dish is detected, identified, and localized to securely move it from one location to another.

Abstract: A system and method for handling a dish, comprising: inserting a tapered finger between said dish which is stacked together with another dish; gripping said dish using an end effector having at least two fingers, wherein the distance of separation between said two fingers is configurable; moving said end effector to a plurality of locations using a first rotary arm connected to a second rotary arm, wherein said second rotary arm is connected to said end effector, and said first and second rotary arms rotate about axes that are parallel to each other; moving said first rotary arm at two or more heights using a height arm connected to said first rotary arm, whereby said robot can pick up, hold and drop off said dish.

Abstract: A system and method for cleaning a reusable dish, comprising: picking a dirty dish from a load module disposed to contain at least one dirty dish with a robotic arm, wherein said dirty dish is stained with material that needs to be removed prior to reuse; transporting said dirty dish from said load module to a wash module with said robotic arm; cleaning said dirty dish in said wash module having the means to transform said dirty dish into a clean dish, wherein said clean dish does not exhibit any material that needs to be removed prior to reuse; transporting said clean dish from said wash module to a store module with said robotic arm; and dropping off said clean dish in said store module, wherein said store module is disposed to contain at least one clean dish, whereby each dirty dish is cleaned thoroughly and efficiently with individual attention in real time.

Abstract: A system and method for cleaning a dish, comprising: illuminating said dish with a light source; capturing an image of said dish with a camera; inspecting said image to determine if said dish is clean; and estimating locations of dirty regions on said dish; spraying a fluid with a first nozzle on said dish with a predetermined spray distribution, wherein said first nozzle can reorient or relocate to spray said fluid on any region of said dish visible in said image; and spraying a fluid with a second nozzle on said dish with a spray distribution having a smaller coverage than that of said first nozzle, wherein said second nozzle is relocated or reoriented such that the fluid reaches said dirty regions at said locations on said dish; whereby dirty regions of said dish are targeted for a fast and efficient cleaning of said dish.