The World's First Robot Manicurist Is Taking Clients
The future imagined in "The Jetsons" is almost here — smart watches track our steps, Zoom connects us to the people we love, and camera drones steadily increase the views on any vlogger's YouTube channel. The only thing we're missing from the animated sitcom is air traffic in the form of flying cars. Although, it looks like we're not too far from that reality, either. Consequently, robots and AR will also be commonplace.
If all of this seems too "Black Mirror" for you to process, we suggest taking a step-by-step approach. Invest in a watch that tells you how much you've walked but not how much you've slept. Until further notice, only board airplanes to fly. Instead of hiring your own Rosey the Robot housekeeper, meet with a robot every other week. Yes, that's right: The world's first robot manicurist can be a good start — you're rewarding yourself with self-care for getting used to technology.
The robot manicure is less than $10 — and paints your nails in less than 10 minutes
Make an appointment with the robot "manicurist" at Clockwork, a tech startup in San Francisco that "designs robots that liberate people from everyday mundane tasks." Described to look like an "espresso machine" by Refinery29 and a "3D printer" by Mashable, the robot gives you space to insert your hands, which it then paints in less than 10 minutes. You still have to do the thinking while picking your nail polish cartridge, but the robot takes care of the rest.
"The hand rest is to keep your hand stabilized so you keep your nail stabilized so that when the robot goes to paint, it can really create that sub-millimeter precision and allow the dispense rate of the polish to be perfectly controlled, so you're getting an even coat in one application," co-founder Radhika Apte explained to Refinery29. It is devoid of human contact and costs $8, so it's a super affordable alternative to nail salons during the pandemic. "This is so fast and cheap that you could change your polish every day if you want," mechanical engineer Chris Masterson told the publication. If you're curious and you're in the Bay area, book an appointment at their website.