Inspired by an old FlipFold TV ad, YouTuber Ty Palowski decided to make his own automated shirt folding machine.

Palowski’s device is made in four folding sections, which lie flat to accept the unfolded piece of laundry. When the shirt is properly placed, a capacitive touch sensor starts the process, which is controlled via an Arduino and motor drivers.

Two motors bring in the sides sequentially, then a third motor flips the bottom up. Activation is based simply on timing, with no sensor feedback. As seen at the end of the video, the project does save folding time and it works even better once Palowski gets some practice with it!