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.https://www.youtube.com/embed/m7pZr90BQw4?enablejsapi=1
Launching Isaac 1: our most capable home robot
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.
The Isaac 1 features a cutesy design, a motorized base to move around your home and tidy up, and cameras up top
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.
In a big step up from the previous model, Isaac 1 can clear clutter, straighten cushions, and make beds
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.
Isaac 1 can shrink down to a height of 3 ft and physically disable its cameras when not in use
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.
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.
Abhimanyu has been a trusted voice in the science, technology, transport innovations, startup and AI spaces for more than a decade at several global outlets, including three and a half years as the managing editor at TNW. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Psychology and Sociology. When he’s not writing about breakthroughs in science and tech, he’s usually out motorcycling around South India.
Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
canisgallicus 