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CES Was Full of Useless Robots and Machines That Don’t Work

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Re: CES Was Full of Useless Robots and Machines That Don’t Work

#141

Post by itronitron »

sixdimensional wrote: post #118
bane wrote: post #5

Here's what I want robots to do: 1) Wash my dishes, dry them and put them away completely automatically. 2) Wash and dry my clothes, fold them and put them away completely automatically. These two things would save me hours of work per week. FoldiMate simply isn't even close to being good enough, but I'd be willing to spend about that much for a robot that could do #2. I can vacuum my floor by myself and greet people…

Actually, I'm not a product designer or engineer, but I feel like I have an idea for #1, and I'm interested in doing it, even for myself. Maybe it's something like "dishwasher v2.0", I 'm not sure. I basically want a standard set of plates, bowls, cups and silverware, which is designed to work with an automated washing box that has slots (or maybe holders) for each to be deposited inside. The idea is, you use the ite…

that is a great idea, you could also have it watch over one side of a double kitchen sink and pick up and clean any recognizable item placed within the half of the sink

Re: CES Was Full of Useless Robots and Machines That Don’t Work

#142

Post by seanmcdirmid »

visarga wrote: post #135
dragonsky67 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of these things have long since been disrupted: Making meals :- go to a cafe, been around for centuries, uber eats etc. Worst case, get frozen meals (some are really good) and bung them in the microwave. Driving Kids :- Taxi, bus, chauffeur, again have been around for ages, auto drive cars are not that far away, but will you be willing to abandon your kids to the machine? Grocery and other shopping:- Amazon, onl…

There is one exception - the robo-vacuum. It's good enough today to run 99% unattended (you still have to empty the dust bin by hand and clean hairs from its wheels). It does a more thorough job than a human already.

I’ve found the wireless vacuum (eg Dyson) to be even better: you just pull it out, vacuum, put it back. It’s more powerful than a robovac and, without cord fussing, incredibly low overhead.

Re: CES Was Full of Useless Robots and Machines That Don’t Work

#143

Post by megaman22 »

bane wrote: post #5

Here's what I want robots to do: 1) Wash my dishes, dry them and put them away completely automatically. 2) Wash and dry my clothes, fold them and put them away completely automatically. These two things would save me hours of work per week. FoldiMate simply isn't even close to being good enough, but I'd be willing to spend about that much for a robot that could do #2. I can vacuum my floor by myself and greet people…

You know what I want? I never want to mow my lawn again.

I try really hard to burn it when it gets hot and dry, but the percentages aren't working out.

Failing that, I'd like to have a roomba that rakes my leaves.

Re: CES Was Full of Useless Robots and Machines That Don’t Work

#144

Post by Jackalopiate »

visarga wrote: post #122
sixdimensional wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, I'm not a product designer or engineer, but I feel like I have an idea for #1, and I'm interested in doing it, even for myself. Maybe it's something like "dishwasher v2.0", I 'm not sure. I basically want a standard set of plates, bowls, cups and silverware, which is designed to work with an automated washing box that has slots (or maybe holders) for each to be deposited inside. The idea is, you use the ite…

> Lastly, it spits out the clean items either completely (or mostly) dry at the end of the process. While you wait around it to catch plates as they are ejected? The regular dishwasher is better, because it can also double as a rack for plates and cutlery and you can just start it and do something else.

You misunderstand the point. It could easily just have a rack that it deposits cleaned items on, that could slide out like a conventional washer. It's something that I've thought about as well.

Re: CES Was Full of Useless Robots and Machines That Don’t Work

#145

Post by Tyrek »

uxp wrote: post #128
verroq wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how about the purchasing power of a family of 1?

Is the purchasing power of a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 children) any higher than someone living alone, specifically when talking about purchasing home appliances? I mean occasionally my wife and I will both purchase bread on the way home resulting in us having a lot of bread, but I can't think of a time we both accidentally bought a refrigerator or oven on the same weekend.

Well, a decent chunk of people living alone are probably renting, so that changes the whole appliance-purchasing dynamics already, but to directly answer your question - yes? The increasingly common dual income family has more income than a single person, and furthermore benefits from the ability to share certain costs efficiently - how would that not result in higher purchasing power?

Re: CES Was Full of Useless Robots and Machines That Don’t Work

#146

Post by adrianN »

torpfactory wrote: post #90
bane wrote: post #5

Here's what I want robots to do: 1) Wash my dishes, dry them and put them away completely automatically. 2) Wash and dry my clothes, fold them and put them away completely automatically. These two things would save me hours of work per week. FoldiMate simply isn't even close to being good enough, but I'd be willing to spend about that much for a robot that could do #2. I can vacuum my floor by myself and greet people…

There’s an easy way to cut down on laundry - wear your clothes multiple times between cleanings.... honestly I usually wear jeans 2-3 days between washes. Everything else is single day only... except when I go backpacking and then wear the same thing for a week straight. The smell is... complex.

I thought it's well known that jeans don't get dirty.

Re: CES Was Full of Useless Robots and Machines That Don’t Work

#147

Post by adrianN »

visarga wrote: post #130
gonational wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, that’s a brilliant idea… applying the wisdom and thinking we currently use leads us to inventions that are similar to a dishwasher, or inventions that are similar to a human, but really all you need is a simple robotic arm in the ceiling, some sensors, and a computer which can be constantly updated.

Visualise yourself sleeping with an arm hanging above you. What if someone hacks the arm and it kills you in your sleep? You can't be sure with all the vulnerabilities. I wouldn't be able to sleep with such a dangerous thing in the same room.

Step 1: Don't connect it to the Internet.

Re: CES Was Full of Useless Robots and Machines That Don’t Work

#148

Post by Trav5 »

bane wrote: post #5

Here's what I want robots to do: 1) Wash my dishes, dry them and put them away completely automatically. 2) Wash and dry my clothes, fold them and put them away completely automatically. These two things would save me hours of work per week. FoldiMate simply isn't even close to being good enough, but I'd be willing to spend about that much for a robot that could do #2. I can vacuum my floor by myself and greet people…

I saw a clever idea on the internet for #1. Get two dish washers. One is always clean, one dirty. Eliminating the need to unload and put away dishes.

Re: CES Was Full of Useless Robots and Machines That Don’t Work

#149

Post by itronitron »

flukus wrote: post #136
Pxtl wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only you had a robot to move those things you leave on the floor.

That requires either some decision making from the robot or a lot of prompting me for answer's, neither of which I enjoy. A pair of shorts on the floor? I might want to wear them later, I don't want them back in the drawer or in the washing machine, I want them there to slip on when the pizza guy comes. The box I might want thrown out instantly but I could have other plans for it. Robots need to be able to work aroun…

how about a robot whose job is to pick things up off the floor and attach them to hooks hanging from the ceiling? that way all of the floor-based robots would be free and clear to conduct their business

Re: CES Was Full of Useless Robots and Machines That Don’t Work

#150

Post by solatic »

slfnflctd wrote: post #45
brownbat wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the sky's the limit, I'd like kiva for my home. Maybe a dumb waiter would open in the wall with a little standard sized basket. I'd name what I'm storing, like tennis racket or snow shoes, and it would whisk it away to a storage space under the house or in the walls somewhere. I ask for it by name, the house brings it back to the portal. An uncluttered house where I can have anything I use once a year within secon…

From an engineering standpoint, what you describe is likely actually possible to implement right now. It would be expensive as heck, but it should be doable. Meanwhile, no amount of money can currently buy you a robot that will completely do your laundry, because the problem has not yet been solved. The development of this stuff is not exactly intuitive.

Well, if the dumbwaiter idea is feasible, you'd just put the dirty laundry in the dumbwaiter, tell the dumbwaiter that it's dirty laundry (maybe provide further classification like "this is a white towel" or "this is a pair of blue jeans"), and wait for notifications from the dumbwaiter system to know when you can ask the dumbwaiter for your laundry back. Wondering if you could even build some kind of camera and some kind of clear washer and dryer that could track individual pieces of laundry such that the laundry of multiple tenants could be washed together to reduce wait times.

Considering the trend for new construction is to have luxury housing, while problematic in general for much-needed affordable housing, maybe it represents an opportunity to develop a system like this, whereby a developer installs the dumbwaiter in the walls, sets up a dumbwaiter floor, and is the primary investor in a startup that builds out the dumbwaiter tech. As the developer builds out more buildings, and the dumbwaiter can do more things, buyers will pay more for units with the dumbwaiter, and the developer can possibly even license out the dumbwaiter tech to other developers.

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