This article got me 
about this notion of the "internet of things." What does the future hold? 
This Brilliant Washing Machine Is a Roadmap for the Internet of Things
Cloudwash, a prototype connected washing machine from Berg, is a great example of how to make a smart appliance that's actually smart. Photos by Berg
Cloudwash, a prototype connected washing machine from Berg, is a great example of how to make a smart appliance that's actually smart.
Photos by Berg
The UI of the machine itself has been streamlined, leaving just a few plain-language presets. Photos by Berg
The UI of the machine itself has been streamlined, leaving just a few plain-language presets.
Photos by Berg
Finer-grained tuning happens on a smartphone app. Photos by Berg
Finer-grained tuning happens on a smartphone app.
Photos by Berg
One of the washer's killer features is simply the ability to tell the time. It makes sure you're always in the loop when a load's about to finish, and opens the door to things like time-delayed cycles. Photos by Berg
One of the washer's killer features is simply the ability to tell the time. It makes sure you're always in the loop when a load's about to finish, and opens the door to things like time-delayed cycles.
Photos by Berg
A few other buttons on the unit address some specific points of friction. There are one-touch buttons for ordering more detergent from Amazon and, when notification deluge is getting to you, a simple button for toggling off notifications for that load. Photos by Berg
A few other buttons on the unit address some specific points of friction. There are one-touch buttons for ordering more detergent from Amazon and, when notification deluge is getting to you, a simple button for toggling off notifications for that load.
Photos by Berg
There couldn’t be a more perfect example of our absurd obsession with the internet of things than the connected washing machine. Nothing so concisely symbolizes just how ludicrous our mania for connectivity has become as a smartphone app that helps you wash your socks.
Berg, a design and technology development startup in London, shares this wariness of a mindlessly connected future, and much of its work centers on envisioning a smarter way forward. That said, the studio’s latest project might be even crazier than an internet-connected washing machine. It’s an internet-connected washing machine that makes perfect sense.
The prototype, Cloudwash, shows how technology can be harnessed to make simple, sensible improvements to unglamorous appliances. It features a streamlined user interface; wash options are reduced to just a few frequently-used presets, with plain language labels like “sports clothes” or “everyday wash.” A second knob lets you schedule loads not by starting time but, ingeniously, ending time. Other features let you order detergent from Amazon with the press of a button. The machine communicates seamlessly with a smartphone app, though it doesn’t make you use it if you don’t want to.
It’s not a reinvention of the washing machine so much as a refinement. Best of all, at no point in the wash cycle does it urge you to post your activity to social media.
The Real Goal: Connectivity Without Complexity
The common approach to smart appliances has been to simply add features, the more the better. We see this all the time on TVs, bundled with clunky YouTube browsers and half-baked media players. Washing machines are not immune to this feature-stuffing phenomenon. In its research for Cloudwash, the Berg team encountered some decidedly overblown approaches to the laundry of tomorrow, including a concept for a self-operating machine that uses RFID tags to determine the garments inside it. This is useful if you’ve got an RFID tag in every item of clothing you own. Otherwise, not so much.
Berg’s approach is considerably more nuanced, not to mention a good deal more realistic. It reminds us that connectivity doesn’t always need to introduce complexity. Indeed, one of Cloudwash’s killer features is something utterly simple: The ability to tell the time.
According to Jack Shuzle, a principal at Berg who led the Cloudwash project, a little bit of temporal awareness goes a long way with washing machines. “That’s the defining thing about them: they exist in time very, very conspicuously,” he says. “When is it spinning? When will it finish? When can I put my stuff in?”
By knowing the time, Cloudwash can tell you when a load will be complete, eliminating the guesswork typically involved in transferring things to the dryer. If you’ve ever encountered one of those machines where the wash dial’s relationship to real-life time is roughly the same as the clock in the fourth quarter of a college basketball game, you’ll know how useful this could be. You’d never again find yourself waiting for a cycle to end. The internal clock also opens the door to time-delayed cycles. If you’re running to the store, say, you could off-set the finish time so your clothes aren’t sitting in a wet heap for an hour while you’re out.
Using the Phone, Not Abusing It
Another example of Cloudwash’s simplicity is its washing presets. By giving people one-touch access to wash programs they use most frequently, the machine significantly reduces the cognitive load of starting a new, um, load. It does away with the need to do the mental computation on “hot,” “warm,” “cold,” or “permanent press” every time you dump clothes in. As Shulze puts it, “It’s the machine learning to speak in the language of people rather than people learning to speak in the language of machines.”
Of course, you can’t completely take away the options for super hot washes or delicate garments. What you can do with a connected washing machine, however, is offload seldom-used options to the phone. By moving the stuff you rarely use onto an app, you can make all the rest of your interactions easier.
We’ve seen how off-loading functionality to apps can go wrong. There’s nothing more frustrating than being forced to swipe for an application when a simple button or a knob on the hardware would suffice. That’s one of the reasons Berg decided to go with a hybrid approach with Cloudwash, letting people control the machine on the unit itself or from an app.
about this notion of the "internet of things." What does the future hold? This Brilliant Washing Machine Is a Roadmap for the Internet of Things
- By Kyle VanHemert
- 04.07.14 |
- 6:30 am |
- Permalink
Cloudwash, a prototype connected washing machine from Berg, is a great example of how to make a smart appliance that's actually smart. Photos by Berg
Cloudwash, a prototype connected washing machine from Berg, is a great example of how to make a smart appliance that's actually smart.
Photos by Berg
The UI of the machine itself has been streamlined, leaving just a few plain-language presets. Photos by Berg
The UI of the machine itself has been streamlined, leaving just a few plain-language presets.
Photos by Berg
Finer-grained tuning happens on a smartphone app. Photos by Berg
Finer-grained tuning happens on a smartphone app.
Photos by Berg
One of the washer's killer features is simply the ability to tell the time. It makes sure you're always in the loop when a load's about to finish, and opens the door to things like time-delayed cycles. Photos by Berg
One of the washer's killer features is simply the ability to tell the time. It makes sure you're always in the loop when a load's about to finish, and opens the door to things like time-delayed cycles.
Photos by Berg
A few other buttons on the unit address some specific points of friction. There are one-touch buttons for ordering more detergent from Amazon and, when notification deluge is getting to you, a simple button for toggling off notifications for that load. Photos by Berg
A few other buttons on the unit address some specific points of friction. There are one-touch buttons for ordering more detergent from Amazon and, when notification deluge is getting to you, a simple button for toggling off notifications for that load.
Photos by Berg
There couldn’t be a more perfect example of our absurd obsession with the internet of things than the connected washing machine. Nothing so concisely symbolizes just how ludicrous our mania for connectivity has become as a smartphone app that helps you wash your socks.
Berg, a design and technology development startup in London, shares this wariness of a mindlessly connected future, and much of its work centers on envisioning a smarter way forward. That said, the studio’s latest project might be even crazier than an internet-connected washing machine. It’s an internet-connected washing machine that makes perfect sense.
The prototype, Cloudwash, shows how technology can be harnessed to make simple, sensible improvements to unglamorous appliances. It features a streamlined user interface; wash options are reduced to just a few frequently-used presets, with plain language labels like “sports clothes” or “everyday wash.” A second knob lets you schedule loads not by starting time but, ingeniously, ending time. Other features let you order detergent from Amazon with the press of a button. The machine communicates seamlessly with a smartphone app, though it doesn’t make you use it if you don’t want to.
It’s not a reinvention of the washing machine so much as a refinement. Best of all, at no point in the wash cycle does it urge you to post your activity to social media.
The Real Goal: Connectivity Without Complexity
The common approach to smart appliances has been to simply add features, the more the better. We see this all the time on TVs, bundled with clunky YouTube browsers and half-baked media players. Washing machines are not immune to this feature-stuffing phenomenon. In its research for Cloudwash, the Berg team encountered some decidedly overblown approaches to the laundry of tomorrow, including a concept for a self-operating machine that uses RFID tags to determine the garments inside it. This is useful if you’ve got an RFID tag in every item of clothing you own. Otherwise, not so much.
Berg’s approach is considerably more nuanced, not to mention a good deal more realistic. It reminds us that connectivity doesn’t always need to introduce complexity. Indeed, one of Cloudwash’s killer features is something utterly simple: The ability to tell the time.
According to Jack Shuzle, a principal at Berg who led the Cloudwash project, a little bit of temporal awareness goes a long way with washing machines. “That’s the defining thing about them: they exist in time very, very conspicuously,” he says. “When is it spinning? When will it finish? When can I put my stuff in?”
By knowing the time, Cloudwash can tell you when a load will be complete, eliminating the guesswork typically involved in transferring things to the dryer. If you’ve ever encountered one of those machines where the wash dial’s relationship to real-life time is roughly the same as the clock in the fourth quarter of a college basketball game, you’ll know how useful this could be. You’d never again find yourself waiting for a cycle to end. The internal clock also opens the door to time-delayed cycles. If you’re running to the store, say, you could off-set the finish time so your clothes aren’t sitting in a wet heap for an hour while you’re out.
Using the Phone, Not Abusing It
Another example of Cloudwash’s simplicity is its washing presets. By giving people one-touch access to wash programs they use most frequently, the machine significantly reduces the cognitive load of starting a new, um, load. It does away with the need to do the mental computation on “hot,” “warm,” “cold,” or “permanent press” every time you dump clothes in. As Shulze puts it, “It’s the machine learning to speak in the language of people rather than people learning to speak in the language of machines.”
Of course, you can’t completely take away the options for super hot washes or delicate garments. What you can do with a connected washing machine, however, is offload seldom-used options to the phone. By moving the stuff you rarely use onto an app, you can make all the rest of your interactions easier.
We’ve seen how off-loading functionality to apps can go wrong. There’s nothing more frustrating than being forced to swipe for an application when a simple button or a knob on the hardware would suffice. That’s one of the reasons Berg decided to go with a hybrid approach with Cloudwash, letting people control the machine on the unit itself or from an app.
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