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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

#151

Post by barsonme »

Trav5 wrote: post #148
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.

That sorta sounds great... if you're a bachelor. I doubt my SO would be very impressed if I ditched the cupboards for another dishwasher.

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

#152

Post by Merad »

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 can vacuum my floor by myself

If you're in the HN demographic that likes to live in small urban apartments then you may not see value in automated vacuuming, but believe me they are filling a need for many people. My 68 year old mom decided to get one last year, prompted by discussions with several of her friends. She loves it so much that she's become something of a Roomba evangelical - last I checked she's talked 4-5 other people into getting one, and they all love them.

I don't even have a large house (~1200 sq ft), but I do have a cat. The whole ordeal of vacuuming probably took me at least 45 min to an hour every week, and often it didn't get done weekly. Getting a Roomba was amazing for me. It runs on a schedule twice a week, and I only spend a couple minutes dumping its dustbin.

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

#153

Post by yoz-y »

barsonme wrote: post #151
Trav5 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That sorta sounds great... if you're a bachelor. I doubt my SO would be very impressed if I ditched the cupboards for another dishwasher.

In the end this would work if one ditched all of the cupboards for dishwashers.

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

#154

Post by fyfy18 »

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.

It’s also worth looking at what materials you are buying. Typically clothes made from natural fibres breath better, which reduces moisture and odors. Merino wool is especially good for this, so you can wear it longer between washes.

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

#155

Post by dragonsky67 »

wernercd wrote: post #61
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…

> 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? Are they willing to abandon kids to the machine? iPhones, iPads, Nintendo's, dvd players, netflix? What's one more "machine" taking care of kids?

True. I was more considering the average helicopter parent allowing a machine to drive their kids to school or some such.

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

#156

Post by firefoxd »

cdoxsey wrote: post #137

The next 20 years will be a constant stream of half broken robots and ai systems. At least until we either get them to actually work or we figure out how bad they are and go back to using people again. It will be like setting up video conferencing, except for everything. Your car will go to the wrong place because it failed to account for a leap second, thus breaking gps. Your fridge will put itself in eco mode becau…

"Ending is better than mending".

It was written way way back.

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

#157

Post by dragonsky67 »

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.

We've had a Rumba for some time. In the early days it was used regularly, now almost never. I don't know why, but I find that 5 minutes with a manual vacuum achieves a far better result than watching the Rumba bash it's way around the room for 30 minutes or more.

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

#158

Post by 6502nerdface »

visarga wrote: post #140
raitom wrote: post #82

We are talking about machines but during my last trip to Japan I’ve been blown away by the domotic present in the appartment I rented. There was a self-filling bathtube that I could program directly from the kitchen. Is there any « bathtube auto-fill/alexa » product in the US? I never been able to find something like that. I’d like to be able to ask alexa to prepare my bath while I’m cooking.

Self fill bathtub? That's a good one. I have a "smart" self-adjusting faucet that can be set directly in temperature. ... but I can't live without a washlet (electronic bidet/toilet). I have come to the conclusion that dry manual wiping is out for me, because in the end it just smears a thin film of shit all over. The washlet is nice - the seat is warmed, water is warmed and it dries me "hands free". It's an amazing…

“The feeling of having a genuinely clean butt gives you the confidence you need to go crush it in the boardroom.”

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

#159

Post by visarga »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #142
visarga wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Depends on the size of the floor. In my house it would take half an hour to do everything by hand, but just one minute to start the robovac.

I use a Xiaomi Mi which has more "smarts" than a Roomba.

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

#160

Post by jacobush »

flukus wrote: post #115
S_A_P wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have a family of 7 and get back to me on that one. Edit: not trying to be snarky but a use case for a single person or small family breaks down quickly when you have young kids and have special diets(that require an entirely different set of dishes) then you can see where automation is useful.

With a family of 7 you're likely to have at least 1 or 2 kids old enough to be your robot for pocket money.

They’ll pocket money alright
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