Tech Tools: Foldimate

About 2,000 people have paid a fee for the privilege of buying one when it goes on sale in 2018

How much is your free time worth to you, to avoid tedious tasks?How much would you pay, for example, to have someone else fold your laundry every day? €500? €1,000? At that price I'd sooner do it myself, but one firm is betting that people will pay between $700 and $850 – at least €620, in other words – for the Foldimate, a robot that folds everything for you. It's not completely barking up the wrong tree. About 2,000 people have paid a fee for the privilege of buying one when it goes on sale in 2018. The catch? You have to clip every item in individually or the robot can't fold, and it does only 15 to 20 items in one go. At that rate, you may as well do it yourself. Foldimate.com

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Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist