We’ve all been there: it’s the end of a long day, and you have a huge heap of clean laundry that you need to fold and put away. But truth be told, it’s the last thing you feel like doing…so you throw it on the bed or an empty chair and decide to deal with it later. Hey, no judgment. Like I said, we’ve all been there.
But imagine if instead of tossing it aside for the time being, you could toss it into a machine that folds it for you. Wouldn’t that be cool?
Well ladies and gents, I’m here to make your dreams come true. Allow me to introduce you to Laundroid: the world’s first laundry-folding robot.
Japanese startup Seven Dreamers Laboratories has developed the Laundroid prototype, thanks to the $22.8 million in funding it received from big-name investors like Henry Kravis and George Roberts. But keep in mind that Seven Dreamers still has plenty of kinks to work out before the device can be brought to market.
For starters, it doesn’t come cheap. In its current stage, a single Laundroid unit will run you about $16,000, though the company is working on getting the price down to $2,000.
Another caveat: the robot takes about 5-10 minutes to fold a single shirt. However, Seven Dreamers is aware of the problem and is already working on ways to reduce that time frame.
Interested buyers should also know that the device will retail only in Japan at first. According to The New York Times, Seven Dreamers is aiming to begin international sales next year.
Also of interest is this video demonstration of the Laundroid. The video was taken at Japan’s 2015 CEATEC trade fair. It’s definitely worth watching if you’re interested in the future of technology, or even if you’re just interested in having your laundry folded for you.
Photo: Tokyo’s Shinjuku District. Credit: Tupungato / Shutterstock.com