I received an ad today from Agilent Technologies. They were advertising their new Agilent Direct Drive Robot. It's a bit odd that they chose this name, as opposed to something glitzier. It's especially odd since their life sciences clientele probably wouldn't understand the implications of a direct drive robot, but what the heck.
It looks like a nifty machine. I wouldn't mind taking one of these things apart and/or discussion the design philosophy with some of their engineers. Might be kinda fun, and I do enjoy these high-tech toys.