Ironing robot 'ready for homes in near future'

A robot “maid” that does the ironing without complaining, getting bored, or burning a hole through your favourite shirt could be part of every household in a few years, thanks to British researchers.

They plan to break down the last bastion of domestic drudgery by developing the world’s first automatic ironing machine.

Thousands of homes already have washing machines, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners and pop-up toasters.

But no one has yet come near to conquering the most hated chore of all – - ironing.

Now a team of robotics, mechanical engineering and textile experts from King’s College London, and the University of Newcastle, are pressing ahead to meet the challenge.

With funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, they hope to produce a working ironing robot by the end of 2006.

The machine, small enough to be stored under the stairs, would fold as well as iron the clothes. All the user would have to do is put them in a drawer.

Team leader Dr Jian Dai, of King’s College’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, said: “This would certainly not be an adaptation of an existing robot. It would be a robot built specifically to deal with this task.”

He admitted that the complex nature of ironing made the project “hugely challenging”.

But he was confident of success. He pointed out that in industry, robotic systems had already been successfully developed to carry out complex tasks.

As well as manipulating its ironing tools and the clothes themselves, the machine would have to avoid the common pitfall of burning a hole in the material.

“The robot needs to know what type of garment it is ironing, so it will have to include some kind of sensor that allows it to recognise what it is dealing with and how to treat it,” said Dr Dai.

Coded tags similar to the washing instructions already sewn into clothes could be attached to garments by manufacturers.

Pressing would be done by a combination of robot grippers and a specialist ironing attachment.

These would unfold, iron and re-fold the clothes.

The finished system would be neatly encased in a small lidded cabinet, said Dr Dai.

A report on the robot ironing project appeared in the magazine The Engineer.

Patricia Schofield, who tests household appliances for Good Housekeeping magazine, said: “What a fantastic idea. Doing the ironing is the chore everyone likes least. It’s just so boring. You can’t do anything much else at the same time, except watching television, and then you risk burning a hole.

“You’re standing up all the time, so it’s quite hard work. Everyone hates ironing. I can’t think how on earth they’re going to build this machine, but it will be very well received.”

Ms Schofield is head of testing at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where washing machines, vacuum cleaners and other devices are tested for the magazine’s review columns.

She said she would have to thoroughly try out any ironing robot before entrusting her clothes to the machine.

“I’d have to test it first,” she said. “It would have to get Good Housekeeping approval.”

She said washing machines and vacuum cleaners were currently Britain’s most popular household appliances.

But a lot of Good Housekeeping readers were inquiring about bread makers.

“They’re going to be a big seller this Christmas,” said Ms Schofield.