Dyson eyes robots that can do your household chores

Dyson plans to hire hundreds of engineers over the next five years in order to build robots that can do 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.

The company, best known for its range of vacuum cleaners, says that it wants to develop an autonomously capable device that can do household chores and other tasks. The company's first robotic device, the Dyson 360 Eye robot vacuum cleaner, was released in 2004. Dyson's future products will be underpinned by its interest in artificial intelligence and robotics.

Image: Dyson

Image: Dyson

The announcement was made to coincide with the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Philadelphia, and serve as a recruitment tool with a link at the top of Dyson's press release. The company says it is in the midst of the largest engineering recruitment drive in its history. Dyson has added 2,000 new employees this year.

The company is making hires as well as building out what it hopes will be the UK's largest robotic research center, according to The Guardian. 250 roboticists will work in the refitting of an aircraft hangar at Hullavington Airfield, which is close to the company's existing design center. The site had been earmarked for the development of Dyson's electric car before it was canceled. The company's global headquarters in Singapore and a lab in London will be used for research.

Jake Dyson said that this is a big bet on future robotic technology that will drive research across the whole of Dyson. In 2020, Dyson announced plans to invest over 2 billion dollars in areas including robotics, new motor tech, and machine learning software. It plans to invest around $750 million this year.