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After you teach it the motions, this robotic arm can do anything from drawing pictures to stirring your coffee

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Need a helping hand? Well look no further — the uArm is a desktop robot that can act as your personal assistant … kind of.

As a smaller, sleeker version of the company’s original arm, the uArm Swift is an Arduino-controlled robot arm inspired by massive industrial robot arms often found in factories. Creator uFactory is running an Indiegogo campaign for it right now, and has already passed its goal with one month left to go.

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By programming the uArm Swift, you can make it do all sorts of things, like picking stuff up assembly-line style, playing games with you, or even laser engraving. And programming it doesn’t require you to know how to code — according to UFactory, uArm will have a function that allows the device to record movement for later playback. Software also comes with the device, uArm Studio, for easy, Blockly-based programming. A mobile app allows for users to control their uArm Swift remotely—but it’s only ready out of the box on uArm Swift Pro devices, as they come with built-in Bluetooth.

uArm Swift and Swift Pro On IndieGoGo 2017

uArm Swift uses suction cups and gripping mechanisms to pick stuff up. The device is on Indiegogo now, with a series of different reward tiers that scale up depending on what you want to do with uArm. It starts at $209 USD and heads upward from there.

Delivery on the device is expected to begin in April 2017, with all pledges shipped their uArm Swift by May 2017. UFactory’s first robot arm successfully hit its goals on Kickstarter three years ago, and the company is optimistic to hit these, too—especially since they’re already created the device and are doing internal testing.

The new, lightweight model is a serious upgrade when it comes to aesthetics and movement. uArm Swift wouldn’t look out of place on any sleek, minimal desk, while the Pro version guarantees the smoothest movement possible. The $209 price tag makes the uArm Swift even more affordable than it was before.

Nicole Carpenter
Nicole Carpenter
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Nicole is a freelance video game and tech writer from Massachusetts. She has a cat named Puppy.
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