iBasket washing machine for the lazy concept

Starts going when it hits a set load

25 August 2008 9:47 GMT / By Stuart Miles

A finalist of the Electrolux 2008 Design Lab competition has come up with a novel way to stop that dirty pile of clothes festering in the corner.

Called the iBasket (why does everything have to be preceded with an "i"?), designer Guopeng Liang at China's Tongji University, has created what he describes as an:

"All-in-one clothes storing and cleaning solution for the internet generation."

According to the sales pitch to his design "Unlike conventional black-boxed washing machines ... the built-in air refresh system removes the smell of dirty clothes".

The basket automatically starts cleaning the clothes inside it once it reaches a certain weight.

Connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi users (read single men) can control the device from a computer and it will even send you a message to tell you that you've got clean clothes.

The catch? You've still got to get up and empty it.