FoldiMate
 | |
| Company type | Privately owned |
|---|---|
| Industry | Home automation |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | Gal Rozov |
| Headquarters | Silicon Valley, California, USA |
| Products | Laundry folding robot |
| Website | http://www.foldimate.com |
FoldiMate is a California-based company developing a robotic laundry folding machine.
History
Foldimate was founded by Gal Rozov, an Israeli software engineer who decided that folding laundry was a tedious chore that could be done effectively by a robot.[1] In 2010, Rozov quit his job as a software developer and product manager and spent two years developing his laundry-folding device. In 2012, he moved to the United States to work with a robotic team in Silicon Valley. By 2013, he had a patented technology. In 2016, after an initial round of investment, he produced the first prototype.[2] The prototype presented at CES 2017 generated much interest.[3]
The company exhibited an updated prototype of Foldimate at CES 2018.[4]
In January 2018, BSH Hausgeräte expressed an interest in partnering with Foldimate.[5]
Overview
The FoldiMate is slightly larger than a standard washing machine. According to the developers, it can fold a full wash in less than 4 minutes.[6]
The user clips the piece of clothing on two hooks and the item is pulled into the machine. Then a series of rollers and arms moves in all directions to straighten and fold it.[7] The machine can fold shirts, tops, trousers and dresses, but not small pieces of clothing like underwear or large items like sheets.[8][9] The folded items are returned in a stack through a window at the bottom of the machine.[10]
Previous versions included anti-wrinkling technology and fragrance features, but the product was redesigned and simplified with the aim of readying it for the market by the end of 2019.[11] [12]
See also
- Domestic technology
- Laundroid - another laundry folding machine
- Domestic robot
- Home automation
References
- ^ Robot That Can Fold Your Laundry In Less Than Three Minutes
- ^ The robot that can fold your laundry in less than three minutes
- ^ It's 2018 and robots still won't do our laundry, Popular Science
- ^ The 9 weirdest gadgets Time.com
- ^ It's the new year and you're getting laundry folding robots because the 1960s thought of everything
- ^ Laundry folding machine neatly stacks full wash in 4 minutes, Business Insider
- ^ The $800 laundry-folding robot for those who don't have a housekeeper, ExtremeTech
- ^ Garun, Natt. "There are many reasons not to buy this laundry folding machine, but you only need one". The Next Web.
- ^ Titcomb, James. "This £600 laundry robot will fold your clothes in seconds". The Telegraph.
- ^ Sick of folding clothes? This machine does it for you
- ^ Sick of folding clothes? This machine does it for you
- ^ Helpful for Homes