Dyson is “secretly” developing a housekeeping robot that can vacuum and clean up
When it comes to Dyson, many people immediately think of its leading product, the vacuum cleaner. But take a closer look at the new products Dyson has launched in recent years, hair dryers, curling irons, bladeless fans, air purifying headphones… It is not difficult to find that the "ambition" of this brand is getting bigger and bigger, and it is even "secret" today Develop housekeeping robots.
▲ Picture from: Dyson
Not long ago at ICRA 2022 (International Conference on Robotics and Automation) held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dyson disclosed information that the company is accelerating the development of an autonomous device that can complete housework and other tasks. Judging from the related videos posted on the website, this is a multi-purpose housekeeping robot.
▲ Picture from: Dyson
The device Dyson is developing is a prototype of a housework robot designed to resemble a "robot hand". With the help of the robotic arm, it can grab a variety of objects in different shapes, it can grab a teddy bear and put it in the storage box, it can grab dishes such as plates or cups from the cutlery rack, and it can also grab bottled detergent…
▲ Picture from: Dyson
Although Dyson's previous vacuum cleaners are powerful, they always require manual operation. In addition to being able to move objects, this housework robot can also "liberate" the hand that needs to hold the vacuum cleaner, and use 3D technology to "scan" and clean the sofa, and don't even think about escaping the snack crumbs that are usually hard to find in the crevices This vacuum cleaner robotic arm.
▲ Picture from: Dyson
In order to create this mysterious housework robot, Dyson has also invested heavily. Hullavington Airport in Wiltshire, England, is a former RAF base and the largest and most advanced robotics center in the UK that Dyson will create.
But to drive research across Dyson in areas such as mechanical engineering, vision systems, machine learning and energy storage, and to achieve its goal of bringing technology into homes by the end of the century, Dyson needs not just space, but more talent.
▲ Picture from: Dyson
Dyson, who hired its first robotics expert 20 years ago, has joined 2,000 people this year, 50 percent of whom are engineers, scientists and programmers. In order to realize its "ambition" in the field of robotics, Dyson is recruiting 250 robotic engineers in disciplines such as computer vision, machine learning, sensors and mechatronics, and it is expected to recruit another 700 in related fields in the next five years.
▲ Picture from: Dyson
Not only that, Dyson also plans to spend 2.75 billion pounds in the next few years (including 600 million pounds this year) in new technologies, products and facilities investment plans, the robot currently being developed is part of the plan.
At present, Dyson's products can be classified as robots only for floor cleaning robots. The first in this series of products is the DC06 designed 20 years ago. Dyson's chief engineer Jake Dyson has said that, like wearable devices, robots are also Dyson's future.
▲ Picture from: Dyson
Perhaps soon, we can see Dyson's housekeeping robots shuttle around the house, "grabbing" and "throwing away" people from heavy and trivial housework.
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