Robotic Arm Inspiration

For all those out there who are having a little trouble thinking about what a robotic arm is supposed to do, here is a perfect example:

Although it is remote controlled, it gives a perfect sense of what the judges are looking for in the Robotic Arm contest.

1. Start off by noticing the end effector(the grabber). It has been designed so that it can squeeze an object to grasp it tightly. Also notice the parallelogram beams in the end effector. Right off the bat, this robot looks like one with industrial uses.
2. Next, notice the number of DoF's (degrees of freedom). Although I personally have not counted, it would do you good to try and replicate the number of DoF's.

Hope this was inspiring, even though it is close to the contest end.