Meet PR2, Laundry-Folding Robot

Bill Christensen, Technovelgy.com

05 April 2010 04:44 PM ET

PR2 is a Willow Garage robot that performs a valuable, and difficult, task for humans - folding the laundry. Professor Pieter Abbeel at UC Berkeley has PR2 started out on towels, which are somewhat easier than other items, but still it's a great start.

Science fiction fans may recall that this functionality was built into closets by Philip K. Dick in his 1965 novel The Zap Gun; see the entry for the handicloset.

Neat freaks might also like the Smart Pal robot hanging up clothes, this time on a hanger.

Via Plastic Pals; thanks to an anonymous reader who tipped me on this bot.