Robots That Serve Beyond The Vacuum 258
Tim Brown of Mobile Robotics writes "While everyone has been debating the abilities of new robotic vacuum cleaners and their varying price tags, Siemens has quietly announced they have developed a 'Dressman' robot that will iron your clothes! (my least favorite household chore). Rumoured to be priced at US$1700 it seems expensive for an iron. But it appears that the Roomba's best work might be that it is ushering in a new era of innovation in home products. (Note very cool picture with the article.)"
Too much for too little. (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't recall ironing a single piece of clothing since my job interview more than four years ago and that is the only time I've used an iron in my twenty-seven years. Hell, I only even own an iron because an ex-girlfriend needed it for her clothes - and I needed it for an upcoming project which including using an applique.
Still, if you're a snazzy dresser and you wear clothing that tends to need ironing and you're a single person, I suppose this is a decent product. Especially if you have the money to burn.
It really seems that this device (which reminds me of those punching-bag exercisers I've seen on television a couple times) is geared more toward the garment pressing industry than a home-user.
Personally, the only robot I'm interested in is a sex-slave android and I don't think we'll be seeing any of those in my lifetime.
A wonderful idea! (Score:5, Insightful)
It works for me...
What will REALLY put robotics in the home... (Score:5, Insightful)
As well as wash, dry, and put away your dishes.
O yeah,
Mow the lawn and wash the car while its at it.
That way I can use all my spare time exercising.
Re:Boooring. (Score:2, Insightful)
Why not? A robot does not need to walk or talk. Automotive welding and industrial assembly robots are proof of this.
but what is it about those devices is it that makes them a robot?
The ability to perform a task without continuous human control. But I don't think that bomb disposal units count as robots because a human being is constantly in control of it.
LK
Re:Too much for too little. (Score:2, Insightful)
Which is why I said this "is geared more toward the garment pressing industry than a home-user."
Anything short of a business suit doesn't really need to be pressed and ironed. Just buy wrinkle-free clothing. And you're right about the west coast thing. I've never worn a suit in my life and I can't recall the last time I saw someone in my company wearing one. Even our CEO is usually khaki slacks and a dress shirt or jeans and a sweater. Even when he's on television.
interesting, but not that great (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Boooring. (Score:3, Insightful)
It's shows a lot about human psychology to ask what is a proper robot. The mechanical slaves we have today (washers, cars, microwaves) really aren't credited for the incredible amounts of drudgery they save us from.
What's "Beyond the Vacuum"?? (Score:2, Insightful)
But no - it's just hardware that does housecleaning... :-(
this may come as news to some people... (Score:2, Insightful)
And for vacuuming, you could always hire someone (but, unlike a robot, a cleaner will raise eyebrows at leftover pizzas and Playboy magazines).
Re:Great... (Score:2, Insightful)
Usefulness (Score:3, Insightful)
Wouldn't the results be the same as steaming? (Score:3, Insightful)
Wouldn't the result be the same if one used this "robot"?
It would appear it is a combination of the weight of an iron, or press, and the heat that presses out the wrinkles, not just the heat alone.
Re:$1700 eh? (Score:5, Insightful)
If this is a robot, then so is my dishwasher, clothes washing machine and even my blender.
TW
Funny you should mention creases... (Score:3, Insightful)
They make a good point about the material lasting longer though.
Re:Boooring. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:$1700 eh? (Score:3, Insightful)
It's a $1700 glorified hair dryer. Judging by the last line that says "ironing dummy can be washed in the washing machine", I'd have to guess the whole thing is a fabric on a frame. You put your shirt over the cloth on the frame, and turn it on with a rotary knob (no sensor to detect dry). It takes up to 15 minutes to do one shirt. It doesn't load itself, it doesn't take the now dried and wrinkle free shirt, and fold it. It's simply a blow dryer. Worse yet, a blow dryer that can only do shirts. My girlfriend has dresses, skirts, pants, shirts, etc, etc, that she irons. I have pants and shirts that I'd theoretically iron. Ok, I still do the wash, dry, hang up before they get cold method.
This thing is far from being a robot. I'd rather call my electric toothbrush a robot. It has just as many functions (on/off).
Re:$1700 eh? (Score:5, Insightful)
I've always loved the idea of home robotics, but at $1.25 a shirt, I can get 1360 laundered at the local dry-cleaners, and get then with heavy starch applied, hung on a hanger, and put in a plastic bag.
Assuming one shirt per day, everyday -- and some days I do just wear a T-shirt -- that's more than three and half years worth of ironed shirts, with my labor limited to taking them to and from the cleaners -- and with no need to wash the shirts myself.
The idea of inflating a dummy and drying the shirt from the inside out is great "outside the box" creativity, and I give the inventor credit for it. But that method doesn't crease the sleeves properly, it doesn't iron the collar, and I'm thinking that it may result in the placket at the back of a dress shirt bulging out at precisely where you want it creased.
So it's a great idea that doesn't really substitute for ironing, and is too expensive. Much as I'd like to encourage this, it's a solution in search of a problem.
Not only that, it'll blow standard fuses! (Score:1, Insightful)
A 20 amp outlet, for those that don't know, is shaped somewhat differently than a 15 amp. If up to code, a 20 amp plug should not fit into a 15 amp outlet, though a 15 amp plug would fit just fine in a 20 amp outlet.
So, unless you're one of the lucky ones that have outlets in your home wired for 20 amp service, it sounds like you'll be SOL if you buy this fancy iron.
Missing Feature (Score:3, Insightful)