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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

#301

Post by tragomaskhalos »

dkersten wrote: post #276
iandanforth wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know the guy behind FoldiMate a little bit. I've met him at trade shows. One thing I have to point out is that he has pursued this dream for years. Lack of interest, team, funding ... nothing has stopped this guy. It's a really hard problem and he keeps at it. I can't say I'm rushing out to buy one myself, but there's a human story here too, and I think that's been lost in the coverage.

He can be the nicest and most driven guy in the world, that doesn’t change whether or not his product is any good. You wouldn’t buy, say, a car that only got half the mileage or whatever just because there’s a human story behind it. There’s a human story behind almost everything.

I don't know if there's an equivalent in the US, but here in the UK we have a TV programme "Dragons' Den" where people pitch their business ideas - which are usually invention-based - to a panel of potential investors.

Easily the most intriguing aspect of the show is discovering the often inordinate amount of time, energy and money that the candidates have invested in what, to the disinterested outsider, appears to be a completely mad and unworkable idea: the potentially destructive power of human determination.

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

#303

Post by raitom »

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…

I will definitely invest in a washlet.

Any link for this smart faucet?

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

#304

Post by dkersten »

tragomaskhalos wrote: post #301
dkersten wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He can be the nicest and most driven guy in the world, that doesn’t change whether or not his product is any good. You wouldn’t buy, say, a car that only got half the mileage or whatever just because there’s a human story behind it. There’s a human story behind almost everything.

I don't know if there's an equivalent in the US, but here in the UK we have a TV programme "Dragons' Den" where people pitch their business ideas - which are usually invention-based - to a panel of potential investors. Easily the most intriguing aspect of the show is discovering the often inordinate amount of time, energy and money that the candidates have invested in what, to the disinterested outsider, appears to b…

Dragons Den exists in the US (and Canada) too, I believe. There’s also Shark Tank. I quite enjoy watching Dragons Den (and Shark Tank on youtube).

I agree with your second paragraph completely. I also totally undrestand it, having cofounded startups myself in the past. You get tunnel vision.

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

#305

Post by tragomaskhalos »

glangdale wrote: post #179
mahmud wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Am I the only one that washes dishes immediately after use? No need to even use the machine. Wash immediately after use, let them dry on rack, wipe and put away. Dishes and laundry are a total non-issue.

Note that this is almost certainly less efficient in terms of time, water use and energy use, than using a modern dishwasher. The other benefit we find of using a dishwasher in a family is that the dishwasher produces a consistent and good result as compared to a 8-12 year old trying to hand-wash, and kids can be trained to competently unload things if you store plates and glasses "low". So the aggregate effort for p…

If your kids are rubbish at washing up, which miraculously results in their being exempted from this thankless task, you may be witnessing what Scott Adams identifies as "strategic incompetence" :-) I suspect my wife of the same tactic, as the thought of her greasy half-washed efforts on the draining board always gets me to volunteer to do the dishes every night.

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

#306

Post by Aser »

weego wrote: post #253
iandanforth wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know the guy behind FoldiMate a little bit. I've met him at trade shows. One thing I have to point out is that he has pursued this dream for years. Lack of interest, team, funding ... nothing has stopped this guy. It's a really hard problem and he keeps at it. I can't say I'm rushing out to buy one myself, but there's a human story here too, and I think that's been lost in the coverage.

That's great, unfortunately he seems to have lost perspective and is developing a product no one will want at a price no one will pay.

Well, I guess you have to start somewhere. I'm sure his goal is to make a machine where you can just dump clothes in and they come out folded. But the technology isn't there yet and it takes time to develop. He's probably hoping he can sell a few of these useless machines and keep funding his R&D until he can build a fully functional version.

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

#307

Post by tonyedgecombe »

rimliu wrote: post #234
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…

> Your car will go to the wrong place because it failed to > account for a leap second, thus breaking gps. I am taking a hard stance on this: if the car cannot drive without GPS then it is not autonomous.

By that measure a lot of human drivers aren't autonomous anymore.

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

#308

Post by toyg »

gajomi wrote: post #218
iandanforth wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know the guy behind FoldiMate a little bit. I've met him at trade shows. One thing I have to point out is that he has pursued this dream for years. Lack of interest, team, funding ... nothing has stopped this guy. It's a really hard problem and he keeps at it. I can't say I'm rushing out to buy one myself, but there's a human story here too, and I think that's been lost in the coverage.

This makes me think... are there any special circumstances in which clothes need to be folded in such a special way and with sufficiently high throughput that this kind of machine could make headway? Oftentimes general purpose technologies can come to market only after predecessors in niche areas.

> Oftentimes general purpose technologies can come to market only after predecessors in niche areas.

There are already such machines in industry (in garment-making, hotels etc). The challenge is that they are typically specialised towards specific types of garment. Nobody in industry really needs a generic machine; but that's the only configuration that the home market will consider. The only sub-niche big enough that could maybe sustain a specialised machine in the home is "shirts and trousers" - but there the real annoyance is ironing, not folding.

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

#309

Post by tonyedgecombe »

erik_landerholm wrote: post #106

Don’t care! It’s the golden age of tvs! Oleds are a technology that’s actually living up to the hype. I have an lg wallpaper tv and you can roll it up! The new ones look even more flexible. One even rolls up into a box. Robots will catch up. The future of TVs is now!

Amazing, I always wanted to roll up my TV.

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

#310

Post by jbergens »

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…

Sorting the clothes would be nice too. We have children and sorting all their clothes and our clothes also takes some time and work.

Regarding other robots I would still like a vacuuming robot but it would have to be able to move chairs and similar objects a bit to vacuum where they just stood. I would also like a robot that could cook meals.

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