Sewing Machine of the Future

Bizarre, but True: Elon Musk's Company Uses a Sewing Machine-like Device to Sew Wires into the Human Brain, Merge Man with Computers

ro·bot - rōˌbät,ˈrōbət

noun

a type of automated machine that can execute specific tasks with little or no human intervention and with speed and precision.

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It’s uncanny how easily sewing machines fit into the dictionary definition of “robot.” The sewist threads up the machine and sets the course in terms of idea and creative vision, then the machine executes the task at hand, sewing perfect stitch after perfect stitch for as long as it is instructed.

Consider a modern-day embroidery machine, for example. The operator simply sets the fabric in the hoop and cues up the desired design. The machine does the rest of the work: hundreds, if not thousands, of stitches, perfectly coordinated to create a beautiful piece of artwork.

These days, for less than $1,000 you can own a quality machine that sews over 800 stitches per minute. How long would it take one person to sew 800 stitches by hand? Kings and Queens of 500 years ago did not have this type of capability. They did not have robots at their disposal like we do.

At its bedrock, a sewing machine is a mechanism that sews two pieces of material together with a needle and thread. Sometimes that material is cotton. Sometimes the material is leather. Sometimes we get creative and sewing rope or netting or clothesline together.

Due to the machine’s utilitarian nature, the average sewist probably does not think of their machine as a robot. After all, the word “robot” has a futuristic Star Wars-infused connotation, and I know many people who have been sewing for more than 50 years.

However, the year is now 2024, and I am writing today to inform you about a new sewing machine that exists. Similar to your machine, it uses something like a needle and something like thread. Its function is to join two separate materials together, but that material is not cotton or leather or anything you have used before.

When this sewing machine sews, it joins the human brain to a computer.