> After five minutes of that, the machine would then fill the chamber with hot water for a three-minute ultrasonic bath. This was followed by a two-minute hot rinse cycle. Next, the chamber would drain and the user was blasted with warm air to dry off. They were additionally exposed to both infrared and ultraviolet light to kill germs. All in all, it was a 15-minute cycle.
It's apparently also a tanning booth.
15 minutes means it takes about 3 times longer than a shower, and it doesn't seem to do your hair.
Truly remarkable creative thinking in a way that does not exist today. This was a year after humans landed on the Moon, and I can understand the inspiration that drove the 70s.
As someone reading this while taking a shower, I'm questioning how this could be redesigned to work today. How are you supposed to use your phone if your head is sticking out?
Reminds me of my high school, where the gym showers were a car-wash arrangement, a corridor of sprays through which all the guys were herded nude after gym class.
This should have multiple stepper sizes, and I will use the kids' settings regularly for my kids. Yes, I know the security concerns, and I will watch them, talk to them, or read a book while they are being washed.
It looks like it completely fills and drains that big chamber at least a couple of times. If it were just a sprayer mechanism yeah that could be somewhat water-efficient.
But if it worked that way (using a small amount of water over and over to clean) would be gross and unsanitary in this case. One could filter it but that costs a lot of energy and changing a filter weekly on your shower pod would not be very green.
Edit: the Wikipedia page above says "the ultrasonic action is relatively benign to living tissue but can cause discomfort and skin irritation.". So maybe it was just a gimmick. Ultrasound cleaning was fairly new at the time, so maybe it sounded modern.
> After five minutes of that, the machine would then fill the chamber with hot water for a three-minute ultrasonic bath. This was followed by a two-minute hot rinse cycle. Next, the chamber would drain and the user was blasted with warm air to dry off. They were additionally exposed to both infrared and ultraviolet light to kill germs. All in all, it was a 15-minute cycle.
It's apparently also a tanning booth.
15 minutes means it takes about 3 times longer than a shower, and it doesn't seem to do your hair.
Before I clicked through, I was hoping this was going to be about right-to-repair washing machines for clothing.
Truly remarkable creative thinking in a way that does not exist today. This was a year after humans landed on the Moon, and I can understand the inspiration that drove the 70s.
Reminds me the early periods of personal computers.
As someone reading this while taking a shower, I'm questioning how this could be redesigned to work today. How are you supposed to use your phone if your head is sticking out?
Mount the phone on the top in front of your head. Every day alternate which arm you wash, and which one you scroll with.
How are you browsing HN in the shower?
Beware of the LED!
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42259278
I’d instead like to ask why! “Why is Gamora?”
Reminds me of my high school, where the gym showers were a car-wash arrangement, a corridor of sprays through which all the guys were herded nude after gym class.
This should have multiple stepper sizes, and I will use the kids' settings regularly for my kids. Yes, I know the security concerns, and I will watch them, talk to them, or read a book while they are being washed.
It's the robot bath from Roujin Z, but in real life
https://youtu.be/X5i0JU_NsZU?t=464
How many hundreds of gallons of water for a bath, then? I didn't see that in the story.
If it works anything like a modern dishwasher, it would use less water than a normal bath or shower.
It looks like it completely fills and drains that big chamber at least a couple of times. If it were just a sprayer mechanism yeah that could be somewhat water-efficient.
But if it worked that way (using a small amount of water over and over to clean) would be gross and unsanitary in this case. One could filter it but that costs a lot of energy and changing a filter weekly on your shower pod would not be very green.
What does the ultrasound do?
On solid objects at least (like jewelry) it dislodges particles of grime / dirt. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_cleaning. No idea if this also works on soft tissue.
Edit: the Wikipedia page above says "the ultrasonic action is relatively benign to living tissue but can cause discomfort and skin irritation.". So maybe it was just a gimmick. Ultrasound cleaning was fairly new at the time, so maybe it sounded modern.
we used to be a proper country
I can see why this didn't catch on, but on the other hand, I kinda want one.