Would it be easier to invent wrinkle free clothes than this robot?
Definitely... And much more useful, too.
AI-powered laundry-folding robot company has filed for bankruptcy
171–180 of 198 posts
Re: AI-powered laundry-folding robot company has filed for bankruptcy
#172Why start with consumers?
Surely there are narrower goals to go for first (eg retail), nail them and then expand into consumer (super wealthy luxury first and work down)
Retail would be much easier to make a case for this: it could be shared across a whole store, the items would be known and someone could configure it company wide. Pricing the savings would also be simpler than for consumers, who either have to want it for their own convenience or have this service offered by existing on-site competitors mentioned by others already (cleaners, housekeepers etc)
Re: AI-powered laundry-folding robot company has filed for bankruptcy
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
> At last modern fabrics don't require ironing anymore. Would those "modern fabrics" be the ones using synthetic fibres that contribute thousands of plastic microparticles to the water each time they go through the wash?
I guess GP is talking about "poly cotton blends" rather than pure polyester or acrylic. But yes, poly-cotton blends do release microplastics. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/27/washing-clot... > They found that acrylic was the worst offender, releasing nearly 730,000 tiny synthetic particles per wash, five times more than polyester-cotton blend fabric, and nearly 1.5 times as many as polyester. People ha…
I was talking about polycotton blends which seem to represent 99% of clothes you buy these days unless you're actively avoiding it.
I did not know they released microplastics.
Re: AI-powered laundry-folding robot company has filed for bankruptcy
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
This version. It isn't ready yet. If they do a $2k robot that finds my dirty clothing on the floor and puts clean clothing in the correct closet/draws (my kids, wife, and mine...) and I'm interested. Laundry takes a lot of time, and paying someone isn't really cost effective.
I'll start positively, by agreeing. Yes, if you can make a robot for $2k that does all that, cooks and cleans, perhaps teaches the kids to ride their bikes, dispenses oral sex, etc, again yes, they will sell and sell fast . But that's really a very significant distance from what we have, which is a constellation of very expensive robots that are demonstrably worse than humans at doing tasks unskilled humans are prett…
My robotic vacuum is incredibly useful and keeps my home far cleaner than it would be without it. It vacuums most of the floor space of my apartment every day, rarely gets jammed or caught on something, and all I need to do is empty the bin every few days. I'd end up spending 15-20 minutes a day to clean as much as my robot does. With two animals in my home, hair appears on the floor instantly so its nice having a vacuum run daily.
My robotic vacuum cost ~$500 three years ago, and I've probably spent another $75 on battery replacements/filters. So $575 for floors cleaned daily over the last 3 years and I'll probably get another few years out of it for another $75. Definitely beats paying someone to come out to my home every day to vacuum.
Re: AI-powered laundry-folding robot company has filed for bankruptcy
#175I sometimes hold off washing my clothes for so long I end up wearing the same underwear two days in a row, then no underwear and very dirty socks, then no socks before I realize it's time to wind up the old washing machine. That's how much I hate washing. I wear every piece of clothing I have and at the end of a two month long washiless period I go to work looking a fool. And then after gaving washed my clothes I now…
Turn the underwear inside out.
Re: AI-powered laundry-folding robot company has filed for bankruptcy
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agencies can insulate clients from that sort of junk. A small percentage over the base, tends to bring liability insurance with it, so it's usually worth it.
Then again, given the horror stories I've heard about such agencies (exploiting and abusing old people and immigrants), if you're a human being with a conscience, you now have to vet the agency, which is a non-trivial task.
> if you're a human being with a conscience, you now have to vet the agency, which is a non-trivial task.
You pretty much have to vet any company you're contemplating doing business with anyway.
Re: AI-powered laundry-folding robot company has filed for bankruptcy
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
"washing" is a euphemism for pressing a button, though
What the button that when pressed, goes and gets the washing from various rooms, checks pockets and such, checks washing instructions and separates colours, and then hangs it out afterwards?
none of this is actual washing. it doesnt even require water. do you know how people used to wash their clothes?
Re: AI-powered laundry-folding robot company has filed for bankruptcy
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do the laundry in our home of 4 people, and not counting the time spent in the washing/drying machine, I probably spend (at most) an hour a week folding.
As far as I can tell, based on the statistics I can find, you are somewhat of an outlier: https://www.bls.gov/TUS/CHARTS/HOUSEHOLD.HTM This data doesn’t break the statistics down by family size, but it still comes out at 2h a week for woman. The data includes all individuals older than 15. I suspect that the a average amount of time spend by families (particularly families with young children) would be much higher. P…
I must be an outlier as well. When my children were small, I was doing the laundry for the household. Two adults, two kids. I certainly wasn't spending more than an hour a week folding clothes. (My total time doing laundry was much higher, of course, particularly when the kids were diaper-age).
Re: AI-powered laundry-folding robot company has filed for bankruptcy
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
What the button that when pressed, goes and gets the washing from various rooms, checks pockets and such, checks washing instructions and separates colours, and then hangs it out afterwards?
none of this is actual washing. it doesnt even require water. do you know how people used to wash their clothes?
Its supporting activity that you're only doing because you're doing the washing. I can't think of a situation where it wouldn't be correct to lump such activities in with the main activity.
Yes I do know how people used to wash clothes, and it would be a lot quicker if you missed out heating up the water on an open fire/range, and the mangling, and the hanging out of the clothes after. All features of wash day.
Re: AI-powered laundry-folding robot company has filed for bankruptcy
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I was 9 or 10 my mother announced she wasn't doing my laundry any more. So I've been doing my own laundry for 45 years now. Frankly the only thing that is slightly annoying in a boring sort of way is turning the shirts right side out. It feels like the utopia our tech lords have is mind for us is one where we sit on the couch stuffing our faces 24/7 never having to leave the pod.
Why bother turning the shirts right side out? You can do it directly before you put them on, and one at a time spread out over weeks always felt less tedious to me.
I think if I were less lazy I'd turn them right side out when tossing them in the hamper.