The end of scheduled obsolescence or L’increvable

Who never had a problem with their washing-machine as little, as big and found themselves unable to fix it but by calling the manufacturer or worst case scenario, the plumber? Besides that, it might have been another struggle to move the machine to where it is today due to its weight through the stairs. Not only that but as the machine runs its washing program, the kinetic force produced by the spinning spool inside can not only have the whole machine run a certain distance but also leave a tornado-like trail by its rumbling on the floor. To stabilise the whole structure and keep it in place, the current trend is to insert cinderblocks inside the iron shell, absorbing most of the kinetic energy produced by the spool and its spin, which explains the machine’s weight. Until the Increvable comes in.

Literarily translating as the Indestructible, the French inventor Julien Phedyaeff introduced to the APCI (Agency for the promotion of Industrial Creativity) recently. His machine is described as very conveniently moveable, fixable and … mountable by the users themselves.

L’Increvable offers an alternative to the excesses of scheduled/planned obsolescence.

By removing all highly technical and hardly replaceable parts from the structure and built with such specifications from the ground up, the Increvable is destined to be easily manipulable by the mere user. The missing technologic parts i.e. touchable screen do change the User Experience in a very fundamental way, giving maybe to some of us a certain old school feel to the tech but adds several dozens of years before obsolescence as a result. But the Increvable hasn’t said it all yet.

In order to deliver a product that is made to last that long, the French engineer’s washing machine comes in with a smartphone companion app helping in maintenance (i.e identifying which parts are experiencing difficulties, schematics, instructions on how to open up and replace, order replaceable or recently updated components etc…). Coupled with the removal of expensive parts, the very conception of the product also aims at cutting costs as for extra and other repairing services for which providers/manufacturers often charges outstanding amounts. Also, the cinderblocks which are used in order to absorb the kinetic energy are here replaced by a water reservoir. the benefit from that remains in the fact that wether the first or the second, they are both the largest cut in the weight of the final product but the latter offers the advantage to be emptied on command, leaving the user with an conveniently transportable machine.

Indeed  Julien Phedyaeff‘s lacks certain technological specs and features compared to current lines of products but in my opinion, it really does its job: Embracing the user experience to the most and offering an alternative to planned ageing and other limitations of current technologies due to their technical specs in conception and economic reasons.

Have a look below at what it could be to own the same reliable semi Do-It-Yourself washing machine for 50 years.