Weave Robotics' Isaac 1 robot.
Weave Robotics
Before Silicon Valley's robots take over, they have to learn to fold your underwear.In recent months, some of the buzziest robotics startups — including Figure AI, Sunday Robotics, and Weave Robotics — have shown off robots that autonomously fold clothes. Together, the companies have raised billions of dollars at lofty valuations, as investors bet that home robots are finally nearing a commercial breakthrough.We were promised robot butlers. For now, Silicon Valley would like to help you match your socks.Home robotics companies are focusing on laundry because it's an ideal first task. It is difficult enough to showcase a machine's intelligence and physical control, and safe enough that failure carries few consequences, roboticists say. It is also a chore almost everyone does, and few enjoy. Consumers don't need to know how AI works to appreciate a robot that turns a crumpled pile of clothes into a neat stack.Teaching a robot to fold clothing has long been a "holy grail" of the field, said roboticist and Spelman College president Ayanna Howard. That's because robots must learn to handle "deformable objects" — clothes that bunch, fold, and wrinkle — and manipulate them with enough precision to fold them well.
