Project Description

The goal of this project was to design a new robot for everyone’s home. Project mentors at Samsung Research America requested a home robot that could become a mass-market product. Through careful deliberation and detailed brainstorming, we ultimately decided to create ELLA, the Electronic Laundry Loading Assistant. ELLA is a robot that automates the transfer of clothes from the washer to the dryer, simplifying the laundry chore.

Because of the open-ended nature of the project, it was important to come up with criteria that that robot must meet. First and foremost, the robot needed to be useful and simplify a household chore. Research quickly identified laundry as a time-consuming and burdensome task. The robot also needed to be useful in a variety of locations, and modular enough to work in homes of different layouts. ELLA works with most front-loading washers and dryers, and can function in any home/location with an available 10 cubic feet of space.

After many design iterations, reviews, and discussions, the final ELLA prototype was created. The key features include a linear actuator lead screw, a chassis with omnidirectional wheels, a gripper claw actuator, and color and current sensors. The linear actuator moves the arm up and down, the current sensor tells the claw when to open and close, the chassis with omnidirectional wheels allows the cart to move in any direction, and the color sensor detects colors of tape on the floor, which then instructs the wheels to move in a certain direction.

ELLA transfers laundry from the washer to the dryer by following a series of steps. Simply put, the arm moves down into the barrel of the washing machine. The claw then grabs a piece of clothing from the washer. The arm moves back up. Then, the cart moves backwards until the color sensor detects color-coded tape on the floor. ELLA then moves sideways and then forward to the dryer by following the tape. The claw then opens to deposit the article of clothing into the dryer. The process repeats until all of the clothing has been transferred.

The final prototype is a functional, automated robot that simplifies the laundry process. ELLA was designed with the intent of working in a variety of locations, making it a useful home robot. The modular design ensures its versatility, making it an excellent candidate for large-scale manufacturing and marketing.