Robot to fold clothes

Over the decades, linen wash has experienced many a technology rendering easy processes and quality results. However, there is much to be done where clothes folding is concerned. The progress made in robotic technology is amazing and promising. A report:

Yes, a tunnel washer gives out neatly folded and packed linen, however, the drudgery of having to fold shirts, trousers and other clothes manually has been awaiting a technological revolution. A San Francisco based company has taken the lead by introducing a three foot- high robot that will take in crumpled shirts, tops and trousers and spew out neatly folded and steamed garments.

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The machine, expected to cost between $700 and $850 (£490-£600) has a row of trays, each one of which a piece of clothing can be clipped on to. Once pulled inside the machine, the machine senses the type of garment and a series of robot arms is used to fold it into place.

It can also de-wrinkle items by steaming them as they exit the machine.The company says it takes around 10 seconds to fold each item and can hold between 15 and 20 pieces of clothing at a time. At the end of the process, they are released from the machine in a neat pile.

However, some pieces of clothing cannot be folded with the machine, including underwear and large items such as linen. Although the concept is simple, the company has been developing the machine with a team of experienced roboticists for years.

A commercial version has existed since 2014, but preorders for a household version are set to be released next year. More than 11,000 people have already registered on the company’s website.

In the past, a group of Japanese companies unveiled a similar machine which washes, dries and folds clothes in October last year.