The company is partnering with American startup Ori to develop “robotic furniture” dubbed “ROGNAN” designed to optimise space in small apartments.
IKEA is also partnering with medical wearables manufacturer UNYQ and eSports company Area Academy to release a line of customised gaming accessibility products using 3D printing.
In a video, the ROGNAN pieces appear to be IKEA furniture on wheels that features lots of storage and can slide back and forth on tracks to hide/reveal a bed, desk, or open up a living room space.
IKEA and UNYQ are developing a series of gaming products, dubbed “UPPKOPPLA”, which are designed to ease strain for gamers with accessibility issues.
Included in the series are customised gaming accessories like textured keycaps for improved grip, a mouse bungee to keep cords away, and biometric wrist support that can be customised to the users’ hand with the series’ complimentary biometric scanning app.
This is IKEA’s latest step in accessibility efforts, it also offered 3D printed add-ons for their furniture — like easier to grip handles and lifts to raise couches — to aid accessibility.
The new gaming products will be sold exclusively through an IKEA/UNYQ app which is slated to launch in 2020.
