With the InternetOfThings movement, there are still a lot of really well-made old washers and dryers out there that, at their core are have relatively few control components and sensors. How about hacking an old dryer to use a microcontroller that will more intelligently run the unit and allow you to receive "I'm done!" alerts, or allow you to remotely re-fluff (no jokes, please) a load of clothes before you need them, more precisely control the temperature and time (speed of crying chamber?), monitor the lint screen (and exhaust tube) for cleaning, add humidity sensors for more efficient drying, and a nice color touchscreen, and GET RID OF THE ANNOYING BUZZER!.
For an automated washer, also allow alerts, more precisely control water temperature, check for leaks in base, check for imbalanced loads before they get bad and shut them down (and notify), offer screen to show proper way of loading, store make/model/serial number so that when repair is needed, you can more effectively order parts (because no repairman in his right mind is EVER going to touch a modified unit like this).