Laundroid Company Folds Before Its Giant Robot Does (engadget.com) 50
From a report: A small part of us always knew the Laundroid was too good to be true. The black obelisk, developed by Japanese company Seven Dreamers, was supposed to be a washing machine, dryer, ironing and laundry-folding robot rolled into one. It was the perfect appliance, in short, for chore-dodging so-and-sos who hate dealing with grimy clothes. But that dream has come to a predictable end. This week, Seven Dreamers filed for bankruptcy in Japan, all but ensuring its halo product will never reach store shelves. According to Teikoku Databank, a private credit research agency, the company owes 2.25 billion yen ($20.1 million USD) to 200 creditors.
I guess you can say... (Score:1)
[Dramatic glasses motion]
they circled the drain.
YEAHHHHH!!!!!
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<groan>
All this light-and-dark humor is killing me
Don't bother reading the summary or article (Score:2)
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I too completely discredit an entire article when I see a single incorrect word. I mean the English language only contains 171000 words, how could someone make such a mistake.
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Because to err is human, to forgive Milstead
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The author doesn't even know what an obelisk [wikipedia.org] is but uses the term anyway...
I'm pretty sure the word the author was looking for was "monolith," [wikipedia.org] in reference to 2001.
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Hey, I know what an obelisk is, but I usually prefer to play GDI...
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"You already got the new washing machine?"
"No, my first wife's still alive."
Too Soon (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Too Soon (Score:4, Interesting)
Japan has a hugely top heavy aging populace. It was mainly targeted at older people with limited mobility.
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Japan has a hugely top heavy aging populace. It was mainly targeted at older people with limited mobility.
True. Also, Japan is the country where extremely high-tech toilets are a thing, so...
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What I'm blown away by is the idea that a mere $20M in debt got them shut down.
They do seem woefully underfunded to start with. Robotics is hard, consumer robotics so hard that no one except Roomba and their clones have succeeded in that market. $20 million is not enough to do a hard thing.
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$20 million is not enough to do a hard thing.
$20M is not how much they spent.
It is how much they spent over-and-above their funding.
They received about $95M in three funding rounds [crunchbase.com]. So they burned through about $115M, leaving them in-the-hole for $20M.
Theranos of Laundry (Score:1)
"Jane, stop this crazy thing!" (Score:3, Funny)
meanwhile (Score:2)
There are laundry services that will pickup, wash, dry, iron and then deliver your laundry. Elon Musk says the next Tesla will do this for you for a $10K uplift charge on the Tesla model of your choice.
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Wish there was one of those near me. I absolutely hate doing laundry.
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you'd be surprised how many their are even in rural areas. I travel a lot for business and sometimes it's just easier than me trying to find a laundromat or a dry cleaners.
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Pfft... "Lost in Space" had this years ago. (Score:2)
The Robinsons had the auto-matic laundry [wikipedia.org] on the Jupiter 2.
The "auto-matic laundry" took seconds to clean, iron, fold, and package clothes in clear plastic bags.
Similarly, the "dishwasher" would clean, wash, and dry dishes in just seconds.
I am very disappointed... (Score:2)
...that this story does not in fact concern large mechanical deer.
sounds like a bargain (Score:2)
if the machine performs well, $20M debt makes that company a good bargain for buyout
At least FoldiMate hasn't folded. (Score:2)
Okay. Bad pun. Seriously, between the Laundroid and the FoldiMate I was most excited about the FoldiMate. If you have kids, the Laundroid was not going to handle the crazy amount of dirty clothes that they created, and many homes already own a washer and dryer. On the other hand, a relatively small unit to fold clothes, that could actually be a time saver. For many people, it's not washing and drying the clothes that's a chore but folding them.