This Machine That Folds Laundry Is the Pinnacle of Modern Engineering

This is it. Humanity has peaked.

We're still figuring out the finer points of nuclear fusion and our solar power plants sometimes catch on fire. Our infrastructure is crumbling and our latest fighter jet is kind of a mess. Our self-driving cars get into accidents and our humanoid robots fall over. But none of that matters because this machine will fold your laundry

FoldiMate—"Your laundry folding friend"—is equal parts simple and complex. To use it, you just feed it your clothes and the come out folded, but inside there's a pretty sophisticated system of robotic bars and gears that actually do the folding. It's  pretty fascinating to watch! 

It's worth noting that there are already all kinds of machines that can do this, but most of them are designed for industrial settings—folding countless laundered sheets for hotels and the like. But FoldiMate, as clearly shown in the above video, is designed for home use. It just sits right next to your drier and handles all the shirts and pants, though towels, and socks, and underwear, and sheets, and other irregular bits and pieces.  

The FoldiMate isn't out quite yet, but when it is finally available for sale, the price is expected to be around $850, a true bargain and not at all an absurd amount of money for an overly sophisticated machine with a ridiculously singular purpose which is to automate a relatively infrequent chore which, as far as chores go, is really not that bad. Why would you ever spend a few bucks on a folding board, when you could spend a few hundred on a robot, right? 

According to the FoldiMate website, pre-orders should be starting soon. Brace yourself because the future of engineering will be all downhill from there. 

Source: FoldiMate via Gizmodo

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