China's Switchbot has unveiled its latest robot helper, Onero H1, at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and it's a laundry robot that might actually make your household chores less tedious. The robot boasts a wheeled base similar to their popular robot vacuums but is equipped with articulated arms that can pick up individual articles of clothing from a couch, roll them into a washing machine, open the door, place the items inside, and close it again.
In a demo at CES, Onero performed these tasks relatively slowly, taking nearly two minutes to complete just one piece of laundry. However, this is hardly a major concern when you consider that the whole point of a chore robot is to take care of mundane tasks while its owner is away. The dream is to come home to a load of done laundry with minimal effort required.
Under the hood, Onero relies on RealSense cameras and other sensors to learn its surroundings and utilize on-device AI models for decision-making. While the demo only showcased a limited subset of the robot's capabilities, promotional videos suggest that Onero can perform an impressive range of tasks beyond just laundry β from serving food and drinks to washing windows, folding clothes, and more.
When it launches later this year, Switchbot plans to offer both versions of the Onero: one with five fingers in its articulated hand for increased dexterity. Pricing has not been finalized but is expected to be less than $10,000, which will undoubtedly put the robot out of reach for many consumers.
The appeal of a task-oriented robot like Onero lies in its potential ability to cater to niche needs and provide value to specific users. If Switchbot can deliver on its promises and produce an efficient, reliable device, there may be a significant market for such a product β even if it means targeting a narrower audience than their existing smart home offerings.
In a demo at CES, Onero performed these tasks relatively slowly, taking nearly two minutes to complete just one piece of laundry. However, this is hardly a major concern when you consider that the whole point of a chore robot is to take care of mundane tasks while its owner is away. The dream is to come home to a load of done laundry with minimal effort required.
Under the hood, Onero relies on RealSense cameras and other sensors to learn its surroundings and utilize on-device AI models for decision-making. While the demo only showcased a limited subset of the robot's capabilities, promotional videos suggest that Onero can perform an impressive range of tasks beyond just laundry β from serving food and drinks to washing windows, folding clothes, and more.
When it launches later this year, Switchbot plans to offer both versions of the Onero: one with five fingers in its articulated hand for increased dexterity. Pricing has not been finalized but is expected to be less than $10,000, which will undoubtedly put the robot out of reach for many consumers.
The appeal of a task-oriented robot like Onero lies in its potential ability to cater to niche needs and provide value to specific users. If Switchbot can deliver on its promises and produce an efficient, reliable device, there may be a significant market for such a product β even if it means targeting a narrower audience than their existing smart home offerings.