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Robotics

Dyson's Been Secretly Working On Robots That Do Household Chores (engadget.com) 36

Posted by BeauHD from the recruiting-drive dept.
Dyson has revealed that it has an entire division that's secretly been developing robot prototypes that do household chores. Engadget reports: The company didn't detail any of the models in particularly, but many look like regular robot arms adapted to do specialized home chores like cleaning and tidying. One appeared to be designed to vacuum out the seat cushions, mapping an armchair out in detail to do the job. "So this means I'll never, ever find crisps around the back of my sofa again?" the company's chief engineer, Jake Dyson, asked a researcher in a video (here).

Another robot was putting away dishes or at least placing them in a drying rack, and another was grasping a teddy bear, presumably picking up after a child. Dyson also showed off a "Perception Lab" that was all about robotic vision systems, detecting its environment and mapping humans with sensors, cameras and thermal imaging systems. Dyson is currently on a recruiting drive, looking for around 700 engineers, which is one reason it finally decided to show off the lab (located at Hullavington Airfield, Wiltshire in the UK) after keeping it under wraps.
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Dyson's Been Secretly Working On Robots That Do Household Chores More

Dyson's Been Secretly Working On Robots That Do Household Chores

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  • A robot duster. That is all, here me out Dyson!

  • Freeman Dyson (Score:3)

    by jwhyche ( 6192 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @08:31PM (#62566602) Homepage

    Please tell me that I'm not the only one who first thought of Freeman Dyson and why would he be working on a home robot.

  • would like Dyson to perhaps spend some time making products that aren't low grade plastic junk. Seems they spend all the money on marketing and development and then let the manufacturers use plastic for everything.
    • What material are you looking for? Plastic is cheap and easy to manufacturer. Not sure why it is junk. I have a dyson vacuum and it is great and made of plastic.
      • When you pay a premium for products (as dyson charge) you expect them to last, not breakdown with use due to the low quality construction. I am on my second dyson vacuum, first one various pieces broke off until it was unusuable after dustbin lid broke, I would not have bought a second but my mother decided for some reason I was happy with the first one so bought a replacement as a present. nothing wrong with using plastic, but joints and moving parts that are subject to stress should not be plastic (or at

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by SpzToid ( 869795 )
          Agreed. My experience owning multiple Dyson's mirrors your own. Is it asking too much to make things last, or to be repairable?
    • I blame "big renewable energy" - They're sucking the demand out of oil products so big oil has to pivot to plastics in order to survive. Poor big oil. Bad big renewable energy! Will nobody think of the poor, vulnerable executives!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Check out Xiaomi. Half the price, better quality, cleans just as well.

    • The vast majority of vacuum cleaners are made from ABS and polycarbonate. If you want metal then buy a Kirby.

      FWIW my Dyson DC07 is going on 20 years old and is still going strong despite taking a few tumbles down the stairs over the years. Dyson parts availability is also excellent.

    • How is plastic a problem? Stop trying to beat people to death with your vac. We got a dyson vac ages ago as a refurb, so clearly there was some problem with it, but it's been flawless since and all we do is not throw it down stairs, and empty it when it gets full. Wash the filter once in a while. done.

  • Really? (Score:3)

    by OneHundredAndTen ( 1523865 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @09:29PM (#62566714)
    Just as they did in an electric car that was supposed to take the market by storm? The truth is that this company's products suck to high heaven - they would never dispute that.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      The truth is that this company's products suck to high heaven - they would never dispute that.

      My two Dyson vacuum cleaners definitely suck. I assume their fan blows.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      They seem to have been relying on two technologies that failed to scale up to automotive levels.

      - Solid state batteries
      - Dyson """digital""" motors

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      There's a reason it's "secret".

  • Dyson, huh? (Score:3)

    by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @10:35PM (#62566788)

    I shudder to think how much these things will cost...

  • I do quite a lot of housework, the stuff that is not so bothersome is the straight-forward tasks. Hand-wash up some items that aren't dishwasher safe. Load/unload the dishwasher. Mop the floor. These could be taken over by a sophisticated robot.

    The tedious stuff is exactly the bits that can't be automated, where decisions have to be made. Where do I put this? Is is worth keeping that? What should I cook today?

  • The world needs a $2400.00 rumba...

  • I predict great success (Score:3)

    by DrXym ( 126579 ) on Thursday May 26, 2022 @05:07AM (#62567232)
    Just like the millions they blew trying to develop a car. The reality is they're something of a one trick pony - develop a gimmick (usually blowing or sucking air) and then charge a massive premium for it until the patent expires. They've never produced anything that could be described as remotely sophisticated in terms of function and when they try they fail.

    And there aren't many household chores which are sufficiently easy to model that robots don't already exist for them. The scenarios that Dyson highlighted of cleaning a couch, or draining dishes or whatever sound well beyond the capability of a robot to do safely or usefully.

  • buy them because they can afford to burn money on cool v1 stuff that doesn't work very well. If there is genuine potential, more companies will start making them so they will slowly get cheaper and better, at which point poor people like me will start buying them to make their lives slightly easier.

  • Sure, I'll gladly pay Dyson $25,000 for a housecleaning robot that duplicates the function of a $300 overpriced Roomba.

  • The future of robots is sex robots. The real money is in sex robots.

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