Ironing Robots - Fact or Fiction?
Many times over the past few decades, scientists have told us that the chore of housework will 'soon' be carried out by house robots that will take all this drudgery away from us humans.
Over the years, we have seen big improvements in domestic automation, but ironing has always managed to escape this and remains firmly a human occupation.
In 2002 a team from Kings College London announced they were developing the world's first automatic ironing machine. The team comprised robotic, mechanical and textile experts and the aim was to produce a robot, small enough to store under the stairs, that would not only iron clothes but fold them as well. All you had to do was put the items away!
The team's leader, Dr Jian Dai admitted the complex nature of ironing made the project 'hugely challenging' but was confident of success, and pointed to a number of industrial robots that could successfully carry out complex tasks.
In addition to manipulating the clothes and its ironing tools, the machine would also have to somehow overcome the common pitfall of burning a hole in the material. This would necessitate knowing the type of material - garment manufacturers could perhaps attach coded tags similar to existing washing labels that would advise the machine on optimum settings to use.
Pressing would need to be done by a combination of robot grippers and perhaps a specialist ironing attachment that would be able to fold and unfold clothes as required. Despite a huge amount of media interest the project has so far not produced the desired robot.
However, the German conglomerate Siemens did manage something a few years ago. Called the Dressman, its aim was somewhat less ambitious in that it was designed to only dry and press shirts. Essentially a mechanical tailors dummy, the shirt would be placed on the unit and the dummy would inflate with hot air to puff up the shirt, thus removing creases and drying the garment.
It retailed for around £1,500 so not surprisingly has somewhat faded into the background. Will our dream of an ironing robot ever be realised? Only time will tell ...
Steam Irons