Korean industrial designer Chan Yeop Jeong has presented "Pecera," a washing machine design concept inspired by "Dr. Fish." Pecera" has been entered into the 2014 Electrolux Design Lab.


Current washing machines require large amounts of water and detergent. They are also noisy, which limits where they can be installed.

Pecera" is a design concept that solves these problems with existing washing machines. The concept of a "doctor fish," which eats dead skin and cleans your feet when you put your feet in it, is applied to a washing machine. The goal is to realize washing by "robot fish" that cleans clothes.



When dirty clothes are placed in the "Pecera," the robot fish detects the dirty spots and eats them up. The robot fish detects the stains and eats the stains. This allows the fish to remove dirt without using detergent or spinning the clothes. The robot is noiseless and can be installed anywhere in a room.



Julia Lilliehook, one of the judges for the 2014 Electrolux Design Lab, said, "This is a very bold and eye-catching idea. At the same time, however, she noted that "many challenges remain" before it can be realized.

The biggest challenge at the moment is the size of the robotic fish. The robot fish being developed at MIT in the U.S. and elsewhere is quite large, more like a mackerel than a doctor fish. If this robot fish were thrown into a laundry tub, it would likely eat not only the dirt, but also the clothes. It is thought that it will be quite some time before it is put to practical use.