IKEA, a well known global manufacturer of ready-to-use furniture and home accessories has collaborated with the Space10 research lab (backed by the firm) to unveil ‘everydayexperiments.com’, a web platform that enables design and technology experts to experiment with ideas for digital homes.
The most advanced technologies including artificial intelligence, augmented reality, machine learning and spatial intelligence will be used for these experiments.
Due to the pandemic, people are spending almost all their time within their homes making Ikea’s launch time appropriate. “Home – especially these days – plays an important role in how we develop our everyday interactions and relationships. We believe, the more we learn about the next curve of design and technological innovations, the more we can help people to make tomorrow’s life at home, and with each other, even better,” says Bas Van De Poel, who is the Creative Director of Space10.
Fredrik Axen, Digital Manager Core Business Franchise Inter IKEA Systems
“The future of homes should be about people first. It’s a place for everyone to be safe, to be comfortable and in control. Technology is quickly becoming a vital part of the IKEA customer experience and home furnishing offer. Being a values-driven brand, we focus on people and the planet. As we enter a new digital era, we are also exploring new ways to create a better everyday life at home, while protecting people’s privacy.”
Some of these interesting experiments are named Optical Sound System, Extreme Measures, Shelve it, and Spatial Instruments. In the optical sound system, one can actually see how music travels inside their homes.
“Optical Sound System is a speculative design prototype for an augmented reality (AR) application that would allow you to “see” music within your environment,” says the LA-based company ManvsMachine behind the experiment.
Another experiment is all about integrating new technology into your old furniture. “The apps would be simple, friendly tools which could, tools which could, for example, use sunrise and sunset to open and close your blinds; use a lightbulb to warn you of high air pollution; or take images from NASA’s photo archive and turn them into a lighting display,” says the Bakken & Bæck, the global tech design company.
