This Robot Folded 850 Napkins in 24 Hours, Without a Single Human Touch
In a major leap forward for task-specific robotics, a pioneering team has successfully pushed the boundaries of robot foundation models—running a single robot for 24 hours straight, folding over 850 napkins with near-perfect accuracy and no human intervention.
Foundation Models for the Physical World
This achievement signals a shift from flashy demos to real-world reliability. The team’s robot maintained production-level performance, navigating variations in lighting, table clutter, and fabric texture with remarkable consistency. Even more impressive: the model demonstrated zero-shot generalization, adapting to new tasks and environments without additional fine-tuning.
Key Results
99.4% success rate over 24 continuous hours
Precision folding in uncontrolled, realistic conditions
Self-correction and fault recovery built into the learning loop
Weekly performance improvement without manual retraining
This isn’t just one robot—it’s a framework that could unlock intelligent, autonomous machines across homes, warehouses, and care facilities.
Built for the 3Ds: Dull, Dirty, and Dangerous
With $23.5 million in seed funding, the team behind this breakthrough is focused on building affordable, task-specific AI robots that target the kinds of jobs humans either don’t want—or shouldn’t have—to do.
Think:
Folding laundry
Sorting recycling
Prepping meals
Cleaning up hazardous spills
Handling delicate items with precision
Why This Matters for Households
As robotic foundation models grow more capable, they're evolving from research experiments into real assistants for real homes. These systems don’t just memorize routines—they learn, adapt, and recover from errors like seasoned workers.
That means a future where:
Your robot can set the table before dinner (with hotel-grade napkin folds).
A single bot manages cleaning, organizing, and assisting in unpredictable home environments.
Robots are no longer fragile tech toys, but resilient home infrastructure.
The Future Is Here
This milestone folds more than just napkins—it folds the future of robotics neatly into our everyday lives. As costs come down and reliability goes up, homes may soon benefit from foundation models that bring factory-grade performance to kitchen counters, laundry rooms, and beyond.
Stay tuned at HouseBots.com as we track the rise of home-ready AI robotics redefining what’s possible inside four walls.
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