FoldiMate's fridge-sized robot could fold your laundry: Here's how
What's the story
This year's Consumer Electronics Show is playing host to some really amazing technologies. Some of these gadgets/appliances can improve our day-to-day lives, while others are like luxury upgrade, such as Kohler's Intelligent toilets. But today, the case in point is a smart, fridge-sized robot capable of folding your laundry in a matter of seconds. Here's all about it.
Product
FoldiMate and its laundry-folding machine
FoldiMate, a California-based company, has showcased a working robot that folds clothing items, from pants and collared shirts to towels and pillow covers, in a matter of seconds. It looks a like a mini-fridge eating up space, but can fold a single piece of clothing in about 5 seconds and a full load of laundry, consisting around 25 items, in under 5 minutes.
Working
The machine works like a printer
In order to use FoldiMate's laundry-folding bot, you'll have to place the clothes on its robotic arms, allowing it to take the items inside and initiate the folding process. The machine, as the company describes, uses a smart technology that enables it to determine and choose the best folding method according to the type and size of the item being processed.
Information
Also, you can feed items continuously
The machine's technology allows the user to feed clothing items even as the folding process continues. Plus, its settings can be tweaked to adjust the size of the fold to match shelf size.
Availability
When this machine would be released?
At CES, FoldiMate demonstrated a working prototype of its laundry-folding machine and expressed plans of launching it in 2019 itself. The company has not revealed the exact price of the machine but has noted that it is targeting to keep it around $1,000. Initial shipping will start in the US, while international expansion will be based on the level of demand for the appliance.
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Tech looks promising but questions remain
While the machine looks promising, many questions still remain unanswered, including how many people would be willing to invest in an appliance like this, especially when it costs over a lakh. Also, the folding process still needs improvements to fold smaller-sized and over-sized laundry items.