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Panasonic Unveils the World’s First Laundry Folding Robot

Posted: 09 Oct 2015 01:42 PM PDT

Just when the entire world concluded that folding laundry is by far one of the most unpleasant household chores, Panasonic’s Laundroid robot came to the rescue.

Showcased at the CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) 2015 trade show in Tokyo, Laundroid is the result of the combined effort of Panasonic, Seven Dreamers Laboratories, an R&D focused medical device manufacturer, and Daiwa House, Japan’s largest homebuilder. Panasonic is well-known for its electronics, and while it hasn’t shown much promise as a robotics company until now, it would very much like to demonstrate that it has potential in this department, as well.

To prove that folding laundry isn’t an easy thing to do, not even for robots, Laundroid took its sweet time during the demonstration that took place at the Cutting Edge IT & Comprehensive Exhibition being held at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Japan. Looking much like a glowing door that takes you to the other side, Panasonic’s robot is a bit of a mistery in terms of exact dimensions. However, it suffices knowing that it could be built into closets in the not-so-distant future.

The demonstration involved the spokeswoman tossing a shirt into an automated opening in the center of the illuminated door. As soon as the door closed, Laundroid started doing calculations that lasted quite a while.

Five minutes later, the door opened again, to reveal a perfectly folded shirt. Why does it take so long for a single item of clothing? Well, the robot has to identify what type of laundry you want it to fold, and it also needs to take the dimensions into account. After all, an XXL shirt and a baby’s onesie cannot be folded using the same rules, now can they? I assume that the robot has been programmed to recognize several types of clothes, and it would be interesting to know whether users could add custom types to the database.

What is that I hear you say? You could fold a shirt much faster than the Laundroid? In that case, you’re missing the entire point of this robot. It really doesn’t matter how fast it folds your laundry, as long as it does the job for you.

In the future, you could dump all of your clothes into such a robot and find everything placed nice and tidy on shelves by the time you get back from work.

There is a reason why Panasonic collaborated with a homebuilder to create Laundroid: it plans to integrate such robots in homes by 2020.

That doesn’t mean that we’ll have to wait four more years to see such a robot folding the laundry for us. A simple version is set to launch in 2016, at a yet-to-be disclosed price.

Considering that people spend 9,000 of their lives folding laundry, Panasonic’s robot could really save us all some time.

Assuming that you speak Japanese, you can take a look at the press release announcing the laundry folding robot, which is available here in PDF format.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about how could cloth printing at home become a reality by 2050, or the robot fish that replace detergent in this sci-fi washing machine concept.

via CNET

MixStik Remembers Cocktail Recipes So You Don’t Have To

Posted: 09 Oct 2015 12:45 PM PDT

Serving guests with beer or wine is so yesterday, when there are so many cocktail recipes out there! It’s just that remembering all of them would be rather difficult, but MixStik could take care of that for you.

Brought to us by Magnified Self, the same company that invented the B4RM4N connected shaker, the MixStik is a connected device that takes away the burden of remembering hundreds of cocktail recipes. I guess that with gadgets of this kind, anyone can become a barista, right?

The secret behind any connected device is the companion app, and in MixStik’s case, that’s where the cocktail recipes come from. Without the app, the device is just a stick made from food grade silicone with a few RGB LEDs and an USB connector for charging. But once connected to an Android or iOS smartphone running the companion app, magic starts happening. The cocktail recipe is transmitted from the mobile device to MixStik using Bluetooth, and the device’s LEDs light up according to the quantity of each ingredient that needs to be poured in.

The top of the stick features Magnified Self’s logo, but it would have been much nicer if it had some sort of display on which the type of glass is shown. After all, some cocktails call for Old Fashioned glasses, while others must be created in a Highball or a Collins glass.

The great things about this device don’t stop here, mind you! Assuming that you use a non-conventional glass or shaker for your cocktail, the app enables you to calibrate it by measuring it’s height and diameter. It’s really nice of the developers to have taken this into account. On top of that, it can also be used for light painting or as a lightsaber, since it features an accelerometer.

Glasses aside, a smartphone running the app can handle and send cocktail recipes to up to 5 MixStiks. In other words, your guests won’t have to wait in line for cocktails to be made one at a time. Keep in mind that apps for the most popular mobile platforms will be developed, but for the time being, there’s only a beta version for iOS, available here.

As the B4RM4N connected shaker before it, MixStik is a project on Kickstarter, where Magnified Self looked to raise $39,000, a funding goal that has been exceeded within hours since the beginning of the crowdfunding campaign. At press time, backers had pledged $67,427, so there’s no doubt that this connected cocktail stick will make it to mass production. Early birds could have it for $25 or $29, which is much less than the expected retail price of $59. Regular backers can still secure a MixStik for themselves by pledging $34 or more. Deliveries are expected to start in March 2016, so you’ll have the MixStik with you just in time for the torrid days of summer.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Electrolux Yura bartender drone that mixes cocktails and delivers them in flight, or the robot bartender that fills up glasses at a German bar.