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Panasonic Invests $60 Million In World's First Laundry-Folding Robot (telegraph.co.uk)

Posted by BeauHD on from the money-well-spent dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Telegraph.co.uk: Panasonic has invested tens of millions of dollars in a robot that can reduce the time it takes to wash clothes by sorting clean items and folding them into neat piles. The electronics giant will pour $60 million into the startup behind the folding robot called Laundroid, which was first unveiled in October last year. The domestic robot has been a decade in the making and is expected to finally be available to buy next year. Created by Japanese company Seven Dreamers, the Laundroid can fold a shirt in ten minutes and sort clothing into types.
Seven Dreamers is yet to say how much the robot, which is around the same size as a fridge-freezer, will cost, but Panasonic is reportedly funding just 10pc of the project. Consumers place clothes in a drawer at the bottom of the Laundroid, which it then identifies, sorts and folds using a combination of image recognition software, advanced robotics and machine learning. It can fold a range of clothing items, including shirts, skirts, shorts and trousers, according to Seven Dreamers. The company plans to release the Laundroid in March 2017, and will unveil more details at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

6 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Fold a shirt in 10 minutes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Does it mean a load of shirts? Haha my kids can fold a shirt in 10 minutes.. Including the time spent convincing them

    1. Re:Fold a shirt in 10 minutes? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Haha my kids can fold a shirt in 10 minutes..

      This single task robot has nothing better to do. It is silly to spend money to make it faster just so it can have more idle time.

      Including the time spent convincing them

      If you want to speed up your kids, unplug the router until all the laundry is folded.

    2. Re:Fold a shirt in 10 minutes? by fiannaFailMan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This single task robot has nothing better to do. It is silly to spend money to make it faster just so it can have more idle time.

      A washing machine has a single task and nothing better to do. So does a tumble drier. Modern appliances speed up and simplify the task of cooking and performing laundry. Labor-saving devices in the home liberated women from a life of domestic servitude. It has been one of the most significant social and economic changes of our time. Nothing "silly" about it.

      --
      Drill baby drill - on Mars
    3. Re:Fold a shirt in 10 minutes? by fiannaFailMan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't understand the idea of making kids do chores.

      YOU chose to have them and they didn't get a say in it - why should they have to work for you?

      Because they are not your customers and you are not their servant. They are your children who have to learn that they are not the center of the universe, that the world does not owe them a living, and that there's no way you'll get by in this life without working. Chores are the first act of learning to be a good citizen.

      --
      Drill baby drill - on Mars
  2. Here's an idea... by moosehooey · · Score: 5, Insightful

    1. Put your shirts on hangers
    2. Buy a bunch of the same kind of socks and just throw them all in a drawer
    3. Pile underwear into a drawer flat
    4. Only have to fold pants and shorts, and that's quick and easy
    5. Way cheaper than this thing will probly be...

  3. Anyone considered buying wrinkle resistant clothes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I guess selling to the wealthy, but really if you have that much money loading and unloading the thing would be beneath you anyway. And why spend money to make the hired helps lives easier ?.

    I mean, I process an entire load of laundry in less than the time it takes this to fold a shirt, really ?.