Robotic Furniture For Tiny Homes
Robotic, intelligent, and dynamic are certainly not the first words which come to mind when talking about furniture. However, when your sofa is coming from the MIT Media Lab, things can be expected to work a bit differently.
Fitting with the rising prominence of micro-metropolitan living, Ori seeks to transform homes and offices to be more efficient and intelligent under shrinking conditions. With the integration of their furniture, apartments will ideally function more like a 600-square-foot space rather than a 350-square-foot space.
Their first modular system will be available in 2017 and at first glance could easily be mistaken for a well-designed wall of shelves. At just the push of a button though these shelves can slide across the room, pop-out a desk, a closet, and/ or a trundle-style bed.
The software coinciding with this system is designed to work effortlessly, with the furniture moving quicker the harder you press. Future versions will even work with voice commands or hand motions.
The technology comes out of MIT Media Lab’s CityHome project and is focused on solving global urbanization issues using technology. Promising to liberate design and unlock potential for new urban environments, Ori promises to be a prefix for something magical to come.
