Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

Sewbo Robot Perfect For Heinlein's Bespoke Kilts!

Young freelance web developer Jonathan Zornow, with no previous background in robotics, manufacturing, or the apparel business, has succeeded in revolutionizing the clothing business!


(Sewbo robot rules apparel industry now, or soon)

His project, Sewbo, recently demonstrated the world’s first robotically sewn garment, and the inspiration came while watching a late-night Science Channel show called How It’s Made.

“I would watch How It’s Made to help me fall asleep at night, because I found it meditative and soothing to see the machines performing constant repetitive tasks,” Zornow told me. “In one episode they did blue jeans. In this case there were no machines doing serene repetitive motions. There were people involved every step along the way, and rather than help me fall asleep, it kept me up.”

Zornow got stuck asking why there weren’t robots there to perform the stitching, and what clicked for him while watching the show was the realization that getting robots to handle the complexities of a material that bends is difficult.

The solution Zornow then came up with is almost laughably simple. Instead of pouring millions of dollars into fancier robots, he decided to find a way to stiffen the clothes in order to make them suitable for robotic machines.

I'm pretty sure that this would work very well for bespoke clothing kiosks. Robert Heinlein had in mind in his 1941 novel Methuselah's Children. On the run from the authorities, Lazaras Long needed a change of clothing - right now.

He sat himself down in a sales cubicle and dialed the code number for kilts. He let the pictures of cloth designs flicker past his eyes while he let the persuasive voice of the catalog drone on until a pattern showed up which was distinctly unmilitary and not blue, whereupon he arrested the display and punched the combination for his size.

The plain blue uniform kilt he stuffed in the refuse hopper of the sales cubicle and left, nattily and somewhat flamboyantly attired.
(Read more about instant customized clothing)


(Astounding cover, 1941)

Via Singularity Hub.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/27/2017)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")

ESTHER Tennis Robot V. Fact (1934) And Fiction (1952)
'THE red tennis robot scooted desperately across the court...' - HB Fyfe, 1952.

EELS Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor For Enceladus
'It was about five feet long... a black bullet head and red camera eyes.' - Susan Brownstone, 2012.

Helpful Robots In Science Fiction
'If you douse me again... I'm donating you to a city college.' - Iron Man, 2008.

SayCan with PaLM - Google's Robot Helper
The older I get, the more interested I am in helpful robots.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

ESTHER Tennis Robot V. Fact (1934) And Fiction (1952)
'THE red tennis robot scooted desperately across the court...'

Japan's LignoSat Space Wood Satellite And Dan Simmons' Treeship
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'

Skyline Robotics Instantiates Heinlein's 'Window Willie' Skyscraper Robot
'Do you know what window washing used to cost by the hour?'

Drone Bombings In Moscow Foreseen 100 Years Ago
'Once the target is confirmed, it uses an IR laser to send a coded signal back to the parent, clearing it to attack.'

I Didn't Know You Can Already Buy Flesh Putty
'I filled your bullet hole with flesh putty and the lattice.'

'A Sign in Space' Gives Practice In Decoding ET Messages
'... it will be easy to form an alphabet which shall enable us to converse with the inhabitants of the moon.'

Melting Permafrost Endangers Infrastructure
'From the tower's huge octagonal base radiate wide silvery strips...'

EELS Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor For Enceladus
'It was about five feet long... a black bullet head and red camera eyes.'

Lazy Lawyer's Trust In ChatGPT Misplaced
'The Law Society has strict rules on the use of pseudo-intelligent software...'

Paradromics Implant FDA 'Breakthrough Device'
'I used my implant to tell MILLIE what we wanted...'

Mice, At Least, Can Sober Up Quickly
'Then draw some aldodote-vitamin pills from the medic.'

Is It Time For Lunar Farside Telescopes?
'Mount Ambarzumian Observatory, on Farside.'

Spaceflight Vertigo Solved By NASA Releasing The Kraken
"I threw up in my helmet."

TM-62 Loitering Ground Landmine
Runaway movie comes to life!

Helpful Robots In Science Fiction
'If you douse me again... I'm donating you to a city college.'

Lunar Pogo Stick - Retro Technovelgy From 1968
'Lucky touched the leap knob...'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.