Whirlpool Corporation is looking to speed up the day when most consumers will be able to monitor and control appliances from their computers and cell phones.
The world’s largest appliance company on Tuesday begins testing “smart” washing machines and dryers at three homes in metropolitan Atlanta.
The pilot project, called “Laundry Time,” is designed to making doing laundry easier by sending alerts to consumers via televisions, computers and cell phones.
In a recent demonstration of the project at a Whirlpool studio in Atlanta, messages from a specially equipped front-loading washer popped up in real time on a television screen in a different room.
Consumers can also get instant messages from computers or cell phones telling them, for instance, that a wash cycle is completed or that a dryer has not been turned on.
At the press of a button on a cell phone, families participating in the test can extend a drying cycle and perform other laundry tasks while running errands.
“Laundry is a drudgery,” said Tim Woods, a vice president for the Internet Home Alliance, an umbrella group that is launching the study. “So why not take that pain away because you can apply technology and help consumers with a solution.”
Full story from The Washington Post