Nobody enjoys folding laundry. It’s one of the most banal household chores. Fortunately, the days of creasing and folding may soon be over. Japan has recently unmasked the first laundry robot capable of washing, drying, folding and sort out washing.

The laundry robot, dubbed laundroid, surpasses the functions of a basic washer and dryer. In addition to washing and drying, humans can now place the task of folding clothes in the hands of the laundroid.

The robo show

The robot was created by a team of Japanese technology companies. It made its premier at the the 2015 Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies, an international technology trade show.¹

The robot, developed by Panasonic and the technical company Seven Dreamers & Daiwa, washes and dries clothes. It then selects each piece of clothing and folds them individually.

Landroid is intended to look like an ordinary cupboard. Daiwa House hopes to integrate the landroid into homes in the near future.

With the use of image analysis, the machine can identify the clothing received, which then triggers the robotic processes necessary to fold the garments. The machine is capable of folding t-shirts, colored shirts, skirts, shorts, trousers and towels. Among all the articles of clothing available, socks remain the most difficult item for the landroid to fold. ¹

During the demonstration, a white shirt was tossed into automated opening in the center of Laundroid. The doors then clamped shut. Five minutes later, the doors re-opened and spit out a freshly folded white shirt.

The demonstration could have been easily staged, though officials assure sources it was not. They state the clothes were indeed folded by robotic arms hidden behind closed doors.

Sorting out the laundry isn’t necessary before using the machine. A full load can take up to seven hours to complete. People can load the machine before they go to bed and wake up to a warm batch of folded clothes in the morning.

Upon unveiling the robot at the trade show, Panasonic stated this piece of technology will revolutionize people’s lives by “freeing them from the labor required in the folding and increases time with one’s family and for one’s hobbies.”¹

Landroid price yet to be disclosed

Pre-orders for the landroid will start next year after the release of beta models and folding machines for commercial use. A simpler, folding version of the landroid will be released in 2016. By 2019, creators of the product hope to release the final device, equipped with a full wash, dry and fold system. The landroid will free people from the 18,000 hours, or 750 days in total, they spend doing laundry in a life time.¹

How much the landroid will cost has yet to be disclosed. Nevertheless, many people are thrilled that such a device will be on the market soon. The landroid is sure to have its fair share of purchasers. Why pay someone to regularly do your laundry when you can pay a landroid to do the same task in a single purchase?

Japan is at at the forefront of robotics. The landroid is just one among many machines the country has unveiled in recent years that officials claim will revolutionize the world. For example, the world’s first robot hotel, powered entirely by robotic devices, opened its doors to the public in Japan’s southern Nagasaki earlier this year.¹

Like all new technologies, the landroid will have its fair share of glitches as it enters the market. In the meantime, you will have to continue doing your own washing and folding.

Sources include:

(1) Telegraph.co.uk