It's not the first time scientists have promised us a robot which can do the housework.

But that's exactly what's expected from a new prototype designed specifically with the elderly and disabled in mind.

Sue Nelson reports live from a London basement

A British company is developing a robotic arm, which fully mimics a human hand. Within a year, it's hoping to train it to fetch a drink.

Our Science Correspondent Sue Nelson, went to meet the Robot's inventor in a north London basement to find out more.

click here to watch Sue Nelson's live report in full

Richard Greenhill told Breakfast that the arm has been in development since 1982.

That's when he began work on an "air muscle" which mimics the activity of 40 muscles in the arm and hand.

The aim is to create a machine which can fetch a glass of water for an elderly person in the middle of the night.

That means the robot must be mobile and capable of navigating around a house, as well as able to pick up a fragile object like a glass.

The Shadow Robot Company has been given a grant of �75,000 to help develop idea the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta).

But disabled campaigners are saying that a robot is no replacement for flexible, human, personal assistance.