robot fish that can wash clothes - by removing dirt particles

Any programme of your choice that you watch – would be crudely interrupted by advertisements – of which toothpastes and detergents occupy a high percentage.  In most they would claim that their brand of detergent would get rid of dirt and make the garment appear new – with use of little costing much little ....  Surf, Rin, wheel, Tide, Nirma, local brands like Ponvandu and in the market there are unbranded ones too.

I had recently posted on ‘fish’ – those captivate and provide lot of calmness to some and the techno experiment on ‘walking fish’ – the product of research by Standen, working with McGill University paleontology professor Hans Larsson.   All in our life, we have read and thought  that - Fishes are animals that live and swim in the water, breathe using gills – but for McGill University researchers, it made perfect sense to try and totally retract behavioral and physiological changes that have occurred  when fish first made the move from sea to land over 400 million years ago !  - a fish species that goes by the common name Senegal bichir, or "dinosaur eel" — was  raised them for eight months in a terrestrial environment consisting of mesh flooring covered in pebbles and just 3 millimeters of water — a precaution that, combined with water misters, prevented the fish from drying out in producing fish that can survive outside water. 

There have been ‘robot fish’ that are charming pets and a couple of years ago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) unveiled a robot fish that it claims can change direction almost as fast as the real thing. The fish – or “autonomous soft robot” as it’s described by MIT – could perform escape manoeuvres through rapid convulsions of its body, powered by carbon dioxide released from a canister in its abdomen. “The fish was designed to explore performance capabilities, not long-term operation,” said Marchese in MIT’s announcement of the research.

Here is something interesting on a robot Fish that cleans clothes as read in Daily Mail.  It is certainly a novel way to clean your clothes. A Korean designer has revealed a new concept for washing machines - using robot fish. Each fish uses a built in camera to identify dirt particles, and then swims over to suck them up. The robotic fish detects the dirt in the clothes by using a tiny camera in each fish.  The cleaning is then carried out by a suction motion as the fish 'swims' against the dirt particles. The clothes are then dried in the top level of the 'aquarium'.

'Pecera is a collection of robot fish called Dofi, cleaning your clothes in a water tank without detergent,' said designer Chan Yeop Jeong. He says he was inspired by the popular craze fish allowing fish to bite dead skin of feet.  'This sustainable way of washing clothes is inspired by doctor fish who nurture human skin, except these busy fishes run on hydroelectric power and clean garments. Jeong says he hopes the design will be more eco friendly that current washing machines, as it uses no detergent.

So in a few years time, robotic fish could replace detergent in sci-fi washing machine.  The makers claim that 'If it is used not only in one home but also all around the society, there will be less contamination of nature caused by detergent and people will be able to maintain water quality.'  The idea is one of 100 out of more than 1,700 submissions have been selected by experts from Electrolux to compete for participation in the next stage in their global design competition. The main prize is 5,000 Euros and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design centre.  The theme for 2014 is Creating Healthy Homes with three focus areas, Culinary Enjoyment, Fabric Care and Air Purification.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

1^st Sept.2014.