Robot Hair Washer.

May 2, 2012 2:07 PM

Robot hair washer has twenty-four fingers [via].
posted by feelinglistless (30 comments total)

Look, I think robots are awesome and cool. I eagerly await household robots. But:
1. My head is not a car
2. Is there a shortage of people who can wash hair? I don't understand the need that this is filling.
3. I am NOT putting my head in that.
4. Was that guy even alive? He didn't open his eyes or even move. Was he so relaxed under the robot's ministrations that he fell asleep? Or was he rigid with fear that it was going to snap his neck at any moment.
posted by Joh at 2:16 PM on May 2, 2012

I am NOT putting my head in that.

Gino, we a gonna be out of a business!
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 2:18 PM on May 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

Joh: Apparently the idea is that it'll be used in care homes and hospitals and in the homes of the infirm. Which is as horrible and inhuman as most of these robots are designed to be.
posted by feelinglistless at 2:20 PM on May 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

feelinglistless, but still, I can't imagine that its cheaper to install a very expensive robot and maintain it, than it is to pay someone to pop in a few times a week and wash people's hair.
posted by Joh at 2:24 PM on May 2, 2012

Robotic personal servants fall into the uncanny valet.
posted by howfar at 2:26 PM on May 2, 2012 [23 favorites]

My hairdresser actually mentioned this to me today when she was washing my hair. I absolutely love the feeling of someone's fingers massaging my scalp, robots will never top that.
posted by trogdole at 2:34 PM on May 2, 2012

Are you serious? Where can I get this? I love head massages.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:36 PM on May 2, 2012 [5 favorites]

You can pry the pretty hairdresser's fingers from my cold, dead hair.
posted by cmoj at 2:47 PM on May 2, 2012

Given how incredibly awesome these things are, I'm gonna give this a solid DO WANT.
posted by darksasami at 2:51 PM on May 2, 2012

"Are you serious? Where can I get this? I love head massages."

How do you feel about accidental scalpings?
posted by allseeingabstract at 3:05 PM on May 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

We'll have jet packs before these are common.
posted by HuronBob at 3:15 PM on May 2, 2012

I just about fall asleep every time I go get my hair cut and washed. I love a scalp massage, and I'd probably spend hours in this thing.
posted by xedrik at 3:18 PM on May 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't need a robot to wash my hair, I need a robot to scoop up the poop from my cat who refuses to use the box (and change the box, also, because my cat is afraid of those autoscoop boxes). I need a robot to clean the disgusting netherworld behind the toilets where the mop can't reach.

Meanwhile, the nice old ladies at the salon I go to can keep their jobs and give me wonderful scalp massages.
posted by emjaybee at 3:33 PM on May 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

I can't imagine that its cheaper to install a very expensive robot and maintain it, than it is to pay someone to pop in a few times a week and wash people's hair.

Something similar seems to be in play with self-serve checkout machines and the mythical "paperless office".
posted by Hoopo at 3:34 PM on May 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

With twenty-four fingers I was hoping it would look a little bit like a facehugger from Alien.

Having watched the video, it looks quite effective. I am surprised by the people who are knocking it. I worked in a public nursing home in the U.S. briefly a couple of decades ago and this seems like something that could really be fabulous for people who have difficulty bathing themselves.

If a few of these would allow nursing home residents to get a thorough hair washing every single time a nurse assistant is giving them a bath it would let them be closer to what they had when they were hale and hearty, at least as far as clean hair and scalp goes, and I would think that regular massages are a good bonus health benefit.
posted by XMLicious at 3:36 PM on May 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

After reading the MeTa thread on mystery meat links to Amazon, I'd like to amend the previous "these things" to "these weird metal head massagers."
posted by darksasami at 3:42 PM on May 2, 2012

I wonder if a guy could, you know, kind of climb up on it, and no, not a hairwash, but, you know, well, the ending would be, if you know what I mean, happier?
posted by anothermug at 4:07 PM on May 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

I would sacrafice my first born to have one of those in my bathroom.
posted by OsoMeaty at 4:16 PM on May 2, 2012

Were the machine inverted, minus the shampoo/water aspect, I can imagine my dog backing into it and never needing me again.
posted by Graygorey at 4:18 PM on May 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

They're going to have to find a workaround for those people who have medium-to-long curly hair. My hair will tangle if I even think about running my hand through it.

Looks like it could be an awesome scalp-massager though.
posted by not_on_display at 4:46 PM on May 2, 2012

If someone could invent a version of the scalp massaging fingers that attach to the headrest of an office chair I would basically never leave work.
posted by subbes at 5:21 PM on May 2, 2012

I absolutely love the feeling of someone's fingers massaging my scalp, robots will never top that.

Once you go robot, there is no going back.

For one thing, it does an excellent job at its programed task.

For another, when you try to go back, it deploys the "traitorous meat-bag restraining module," and then you get a washing you won't forget!
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:21 PM on May 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

I could see this working at airports, maybe in airport lounges, for folks who need to freshen up.
posted by carter at 6:14 PM on May 2, 2012

I absolutely love the feeling of someone's fingers massaging my scalp, robots will never top that.

Panasonic begs to differ: In the final stage, the robot performs a massage while blow-drying the hair... This is extremely relaxing, and offers a degree of comfort that users cannot experience with human hands.
posted by PueExMachina at 6:23 PM on May 2, 2012

Of course, they are dodging the primordial question:

Who washes the wash-mech?
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:34 PM on May 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Japan's population is falling and fewer and fewer young people re living in the countryside. So yes, there is a shortage of people to do this sort of mundane service work. Call it soulless if you like, but old people seem to respond better to robot companions and assistance than none at all. Hairdressing is labor-intensive, I'd guess this would pay for itself after about a year.
posted by anigbrowl at 7:35 PM on May 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Japan's population is falling

I have this secret hope that Japan will keep inventing better and better robots to make up for its lack of people, until eventually the whole country is full of robotic samurai and geishas and [insert other Japanese stereotypes as applicable].
posted by Chekhovian at 2:57 AM on May 3, 2012

So it requires a visor, held in place with a cord under the chin, to keep spray out of the eyes. Anyone who can't bathe themselves will also need help with that visor. Undoubtedly the visor will need cleaning between uses, or some sort of disposable sanitary cover against the skin. I can't see how it would be more comfortable or save labor.
posted by jon1270 at 5:47 AM on May 3, 2012

Which is to say, I think the entire purpose of a robotic shampoo machine is to make it possible to say you've been shampooed by a robot.
posted by jon1270 at 5:49 AM on May 3, 2012

Better to have a real robot wash your hair than some of the human robots I've encountered.
posted by whatdidyouforgettoday at 1:06 PM on May 3, 2012