effie - the automated ironing system
by Startacus Admin
Innovation in household chores thanks to effie - the domestic appliance that dries and irons your clothes for you!
Ironing clothes isn’t exactly a difficult task, but it is one that consumes time that could be used for other things. There is something to be said for not spending all of our lives rushing and stressing over what we could be doing instead of the thing that we’re doing, but the sun is going to swallow the Earth sooner or later, so…why waste time ironing? Why not let the future do the ironing for you? By which we mean automated machines, of course. Because - hail Skynet - they are our future. 
A Cambridge-based group of engineers has created effie, an automated system for both drying and ironing your clothes straight from the washing machine. No need to split the load into clothing type or colours.
All you or your robot butler need to do is hang your clothes on the specially-designed clothes hangers, hang up to 12 of them on the rail, and push start. effie can iron by contact for less delicate items of clothing and steam the creases out of the delicate ones. And then by moving hot air over the clothes, effie dries them far more gently than a tumble dryer.
The removable water tray means that effie is not static and plumbed in, but can be moved about on wheels. And if you want to smell like parma violet - and who wouldn’t - you can add a fragrance pod to that water. A small tool connected to the machine allows you to perform any touch-ups needed without breaking out the iron.
Like any modern piece of technology, effie comes with a companion app that will tell you its progress, alert you when it has finished its cycle, and allow you to order new hangers and fragrance pods.
In October, the group announced that they had very fruitful talks with some major appliance brands about partnerships. While this means the machine won’t be available as soon as they had hoped, it does mean that it will be available more widely when it does start shipping. We look forward to the day that our robo-Alfred goes to collect our new effie.
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Proptech startup Speiz secures seed investment to support its mission of digitally transforming the broken brokerage market.
The lowdown on Manchester based startup Chatloop and its mission to transform social media, giving you the power to start conversations on any website.
BT reveals new cohort of innovative startups aiming to help solve sustainability challenges in the manufacturing sector.
London-based startup Ribbon is on a mission to help other businesses better understand their users and build better product experiences.
London-based SaaS startup OutThink has developed an innovative approach to help companies to visualise risk, target interventions and prevent data breaches.
Participants in Catalyst’s Co-Founders programme offered opportunity to avail of a £10,000 proof of concept grant from Techstart to help validate their business idea.
Atoa announces pre-seed funding for its solution to empower and improve cash flow for independent, small and mid-sized UK retail merchants.
 Tong Gu, Reem Mobassaleh Wyndham and Monik Pham.jpg)
Pact launches its first £30M fund to back early-stage European tech startups using technology for economic inclusion, well-being and climate solutions.
Paris-based startup Immortal Game uses blockchain technology to add a new dimension to the most played board game in the world.
Co-Founders seeking people with innovative ideas and desire to create startups that could change the world for its 2023 programme.
Published on: 2nd December 2019
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Norwegian proptech Speiz raises €1.3M to launch new European platform for warehouse leasing 5th Dec 2022 Proptech startup Speiz secures seed investment to support its mission of digitally transforming the broken brokerage market.
- BT pushes ahead with new sustainable digital solutions through its Green Tech Innovation Platform 1st Dec 2022 BT reveals new cohort of innovative startups aiming to help solve sustainability challenges in the manufacturing sector.
- Catalyst and Techstart offering startup co-founders the chance to win £10k proof of concept grants 30th Nov 2022 Participants in Catalyst’s Co-Founders programme offered opportunity to avail of a £10,000 proof of concept grant from Techstart to help validate their business idea.
- UK fintech Atoa secures $2.2M pre-seed round as it kills Visa and Mastercard fees for businesses 24th Nov 2022 Atoa announces pre-seed funding for its solution to empower and improve cash flow for independent, small and mid-sized UK retail merchants.
