Ikea to launch robotic furniture designed for small spaces

Ikea and Ori are collaborating to create robotic furniture for small spaces. (Ori)

Ikea has revealed a robotic piece of furniture developed in collaboration with Ori that can simultaneously serve as a bed, wardrobe, shelving and storage unit, sofa, and room separator.

Ikea announced Tuesday that it has teamed up with American furniture startup Ori to create a space-efficient robotic furniture system ideal for small rooms.

At first glance, Rognan appears to be just a storage unit with a couch connected to the base. By pushing a command on a touchpad installed on the side of the cabinet, the piece will slide forward leaving a bed behind and revealing a set of wardrobes on the backside of the unit. When "open," not only can Rognan serve as a sofa, shelving and storage unit, a pair of wardrobes, and bed, but also it can be used to divide a room into two.

Because Rognan is built on Ori's robotic platform and is compatible with Ikea's Platsa storage line, "people can easily change the function and look of Rognan." It can be used to constantly convert a space between a closet, living room, and bedroom.

According to Ori, this robotic system will launch first in Hong Kong and Japan next year.