Dyson has been Secretly Developing Robots for Home Usage

Dyson the UK company oringally most famous for its vacuum cleaners before branching out it into other consumer orientated household electrical products such as fans and hair-driers has also been working on home robotics.

Recently, the firm expanded with a very original and unique face-mounted air purifier. While showcasing the product, Dyson highlighted some of the research behind it, and this offered a peek into their labs and roadmap for product portfolio. In May 2022, Dyson revealed secret robot prototypes that are part of broader research at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Philadelphia. The reveal included some shots of a robot arm that looks fairly similar to smaller industrial models from companies like ABB and Fanuc.

On the face of it, the big difference here is the attachments. This includes a hand with soft graspers that look like a human hand. Dyson has shown off a series of prototype robots it is developing, and announced plans to hire hundreds of engineers over the next five years in order to build robots capable of household chores. The images are designed to show off the fine motor skills of the machines, with arms capable of lifting plates out of a drying rack, vacuuming a sofa, or lifting up a children’s toy.

“This is a big bet on future robotic technology that will drive research across the whole of Dyson, in areas including mechanical engineering, vision systems, machine learning and energy storage,” said Jake Dyson, the company’s chief engineer and son of company founder. In 2020, Dyson announced plans to invest £2.75 billion in areas including robotics, new motor tech, and machine learning software by 2025. It plans to spend £600 million of that investment this year.