For those living in tiny shoebox apartments in big cities, this robofurniture could transform your life – and make cleaning a whole lot easier too.
Scientists have unveiled the capabilities of a handy robotic furniture system that is being installed in a Manhattan housing development.
Ori, a venture from the Massachusett Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, means if you can’t be bothered to leave the sofa to fetch a drink or move your furniture to make space for a party, you don’t have to.
Scientists have unveiled the capabilities of a handy robotic furniture system that is being installed in a Manhattan housing development
With just the click on a smartphone app or a voice command, your studio apartment can transform into a bedroom, living room, walk-in wardrobe or study.
Ori – named for the Japanese art of ‘origami’ – consists of an L-shaped wooden unit placed on a sliding track that runs along a wall.
The unit consists of a fold-out bed and table, a cupboard, as well as a fold-out desk and drawers.
Although a pricey $10,000 per unit, its usefulness is demonstrated in a video.
Ori, a venture from the Massachusett Institute of Technology, is a robotic furniture system
With just a click of a smartphone app, you can transform your studio apartment into a bedroom, living room, walk-in wardrobe or study
A desk moves out of the way so a woman has enough room to do yoga.
In another scenario, a couple have more space to dance in their home.
And another scenario shows a man too lazy to get off the sofa to grab his drink simply move it into his reach.
As well as maximizing space, Ori – which is so far only available in the US and Canada – is likely to make cleaning easier.
One scenario demonstrated in a video shows a woman making space to do yoga in her home
The Ori system is likely to make cleaning easier as furniture can be moved out of the way with the app or a voice command
For instance, instead of having to move heavy furniture to clean underneath, simply instruct Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant to move it out of the way.
Ori’s designers say they were ‘guided by the principal that interior space, particularly in high-density urban innovation centers around the world, has become too expensive to be static and unresponsive.’
The innovation and design ‘create dynamic environments that act and feel as though they are substantially larger.’