The drudgery of the weekly ironing session could be ended by a wifi-connected laundry robot built in a garage in north London. “Effie”, designed by engineers Rohan Kamdar and Trevor Kerth, can dry and press everything from workshirts to underwear in just a few minutes. The £699 device was constructed at Mr Kamdar’s family home in Pinner and the finishing touches are being made to a prototype, with the product due to go on sale in the spring. Clothes are hung on adjustable hangers inside the app-controlled machine. They are then dried, steamed and smoothed to remove creases. The 27-year-old inventors, who have masters degrees in mechanical engineering, say Effie can slash chore times as each garment — even if wet from the wash — is popped out ready to wear in under three minutes. Effie — named after “Fe”, the chemical symbol for iron — has been designed to uncrease cotton, polyester, silk, viscose and denim. Underwear can be hung in a bag inside to be dried and a scented ball can be added to the steam tank. Mr Kamdar, 27, said Effie differs from other automated laundry devices as it “contacts” the clothes and puts tension through them to press out the wrinkles, rather than just steaming them. It can handle clothes from children’s up to XXL adult sizes, and has been designed to take up the same amount of space as an ironing board and a person — it is 128cm high, 80cm wide and 40cm deep, weighing 35kg. Mr Kamdar said the device, designed to be serviced every two years, would use no more electricity during a cycle than a domestic hairdryer. He added: “Laundry is ubiquitous, time-consuming and people universally hate it. This all started out of my garage, it’s a classic hardware start-up.” Referring to the Sixties American sci-fi cartoon show, he said: “I really like the idea of robots doing all the chores in my home, and so Effie has a real Jetsons vibe. “You don’t need to split the load, you hang everything up at once, click, go and do something else.” Their next invention will be an all-in-one machine that washes, dries and irons.
Two engineers have invented an app-controlled robot that they say dries and irons clothes in a matter of minutes. The robot, called the Dryer, is designed to be used by people who are disabled or elderly, but it can also work for anyone with limited mobility. Effie can be used on a range of fabrics and garment sizes, from children's clothes to XXL. Kamdar and Kerth aim to bring Effie to market next spring.