otics may lead to future antibiotic-resistant infec - Kuwait Times

FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012
The ironing marvel is pictured.
By Nawara Fattahova
For those who do not like ironing clothes and
find it annoying, there will soon be a solution -
easy ironing done by a robot without much
effort. Within two years, there will be a new ironing
model in the market, which was invented by a young
Kuwait inventor, Mohammed Al-Rifai.
Al-Rifai presented his invention on the popular
reality TV show ‘Stars of Science’ and was ranked the
third top inventor in the Arab world. Realizing this
invention was not easy for him, and he had to work
hard to come up with this automatic ironing robot.
But ‘Kwili’ will simplify the ironing work of many people.
Mohammed Al-Rifai is a student at the Faculty of
Electrical Engineering at Kuwait University. He had to
skip a semester to participate in the program, which
was four months long. He was inspired to invent the
brand name of his robot, ‘Kwili’, from the Arabic word
ikwi (ironing). “And it’s also easy to pronounce in
English - Kwili also stands for (Kuwait I Love It),”
inventor Mohammed Al-Rifai told Kuwait Times.
Kwili is now available in the first prototype, which
will be improved before being manufactured. “The
machine is the first automatic ironing machine that
deals with all kinds of fabrics including cotton, silk,
satin and others. It can also iron all kinds of outfits
including shirts, pants, traditional robes and overcoats
and other garments. Furthermore it copes with
all sizes of outfits, from XS-XXL. To improve it, we may
enlarge it to make it suitable even for XXXL. Of course
it can iron children’s clothing, as the hanger is flexible,”
he explained.
As part of developing Kwili, an additional hanger
may be added to the machine. “The clothes may not
be ironed if not tied. And this hanger ensures flatting
the outfit to be ironed properly. It takes only a few
seconds to hang it, and the robot works alone without
any assistance. Also, as a part of the development,
I will improve it to take more than one piece at
one time to save time,” he added.
Mohammed Al-Rifai presents his robotic invention.
The user of the robot only needs to press a button
to choose the kind of fabric to be ironed and the
machine works independently. “There is an additional
option in this machine, as the user may add an
ironing program or customize the ironing process,
which is special for certain outfits such as delicate
evening dresses. The robot will then save this setting
and remember it, so the next time the user only
needs to enter the past ironing operation without
further steps,” stressed Al-Rifai.
Al-Rifai did not forget safety measures in his
invention. “First of all the machine will not start without
unless it has clothes inside it. It only irons within
the border of the piece fitted in, so no steam will emit
from outside the border of the piece. Also, after the
piece is removed and the machine is still hot, the
metal rod moves high out of reach as a safety measure.
In the future, I will change the square base with a
curved shape for the safety of children,” he noted.
The idea of participating in ‘Stars of Science’ came
from Al-Rifai’s friends and family members, especially
those who were studying at the university. “There
was a poster on the wall inviting talented people to
participate. As they all know my love for invention
and my ambition to invent something useful, they
encouraged me to register and I did. I was accepted
as one of 30 participants who were chosen from
7,000 applicants for the program,” he said.
Kwili took him four months of continuous work to
realize his project, the entire duration of the program.
“I had the theory on paper, and realized it during the
program. I made five machines in the beginning
before I made the model that I have now. It was very
hard and I made mistakes and corrected them.
During the program, there were experts from each
field to help the participants and save their time. The
program consisted of different phases starting from
the Proof of Concept, Engineering Phase, Design
Phase, and finally the Business Phase,” explained Al-
Rifai.
Al-Rifai registered a GCC patent for Kwili in Qatar
and is now in the process of registering it internationally
in Kuwait. “I did not correspond with international
factories or brands that will definitely offer to buy
Local
the invention, as I want it to be a Kuwaiti product
even if I manufacture it abroad. It is not easy to market
it locally, so I received support from public institutions
such as the Scientific Club and Sabah Al-Ahmad
Centre,” he stated.
The price of Kwili’s first prototype is about KD 350.
To make it affordable in the market, after modifications
and improvements, the price will be around KD
150. Al-Rifai is also working on two other inventions
that should be realized during this year.
He also participated with a group of students at
Kuwait University to establish the ‘Robotics and
Automation Society’ there. “This society is cooperating
with other universities, and is supporting creative
students. In 2011, we held a robotics competition to
spread the robotics culture in the Kuwaiti community.
We aim to develop Kuwait into an industrial country,”
concluded Al-Rifai.