Weave Robotics announced its first robot for folding laundry just five months ago, and it already has a new product on offer. Like its predecessor, the new Isaac 1 robot also folds clothes. But unlike the old model, this one can tidy up your living room and make the bed on demand. It looks cuter, too.
Indeed, the Isaac 1 gets an unassuming Baymax-like pair of eyes set into a rounded rectangular head. This sits atop a torso with soft fabric-covered shells and arms. The torso is mounted on a telescopic arm with a motorized base, so it can get around your house and extend its height from 3 ft to 5 ft 9 inches (0.9 - 1.75 m), depending on the task at hand.
Isaac 1's mobility and clutter-clearing functionality are a major step up from the Isaac 0, which is meant to remain stationary in front of a table where it can fold laundry. However, both of them are limited in their ability to complete their respective tasks, and may require teleoperation, i.e. being remotely controlled by a human who looks through the robot's cameras at what needs doing, and helps finish the job.
That'll likely remain a deal-breaker for some. Having a stranger peering into your home – even if their field of view is limited – may not be what some potential buyers bargain for when ponying up US$8,000 for the privilege of never having to fold laundry again.
For others, it might be just what they've been waiting for. The team at Weave says Isaac 1 is "the robot we wanted for our own homes." It's also shipped Isaac 0 to homes and businesses across California since its February launch, so the firm isn't entirely alone in its optimism.
I did some quick math using the company's claims of Isaac 0 folding customers' clothes for 2,000+ hours since launch, with more than 1,000 lb of laundry handled each week. That doesn't work out to a lot, so either there aren't yet a lot of Isaac 0s at work, or they shipped only recently – or maybe my math is terrible. In any case, I've written to the company to learn more.
Regardless of where you stand on the notion of a household bot that occasionally needs remote human assistance, there are a couple of things worth noting here. For one, Isaac 1 promises to do a lot more than the previous model for the same price – $8,000 up front, or $449/month on a subscription plan. That says a lot about how quickly robotics tech is developing when it comes to shippable products.
Secondly, Isaac 1 looks a lot more refined than Isaac 0, which looked like it was assembled from a generic parts bin. It's interesting to see how a startup is able to move quickly with design choices and get this out the door in a matter of months after initially rolling out a basic proof of concept – and what its idea of a finished, ready-for-prime-time robot has evolved into in that time.
Weave says it'll continue to enhance Isaac 1's capabilities over time with firmware updates. I'd argue the biggest improvement would be fully autonomous operation that would negate the need to ever have a human handle it remotely.
It's worth noting laundry-folding bots have been in the works for a while now, and there are numerous companies racing to pile your t-shirts into the closet.
If you're in the US and are keen to give this a go, you can make a $250 deposit to reserve an Isaac 1. The company aims to begin shipping orders this [Northern Hemisphere] fall, starting in California. Take a closer look on Weave Robotics' site.
Source: Weave Robotics (LinkedIn)
