An all new furniture line created by designer Hasier Larrea seeks to change the way we think of small living spaces forever. It goes by the name of Ori and is one of the world’s first robotic furniture collections. With this technology in your home or apartment, it can make a seemingly tight space grand.
Larrea created Ori alongside Yves Béhar and the MIT Media Lab. His goal was to successfully integrate robotics, furniture, and design into one in order to create an entirely different living experience for individuals. That experience being more efficient work and living environments. Small, cramped spaces would take on a new life, magically appearing to have more space than what was originally available with standard furniture.
Ori is built upon MIT’s CityHome concept, which was unveiled back in 2014. The first versions of Ori, which are expected to be available for purchase early 2017, are composed of a single unit that consists of a pop-out desk, a platform bed, and a closet. On the side of Ori, users will find actuators which contain sensors which allow the user to control and reconfigure Ori to transform and slide across the room to change the living space. Larrea states that they hope to have integrated voice control into the robotic furniture in later models.
A price for Ori has yet to be confirmed. Seeing as this is fairly new technology, first adopters can expect to pay a premium price to get their hands on a unit. Critics are already stating that the price of a larger space could easily be offset by the price that is likely to be placed upon Ori. Optimists, however, see Ori as one of the first steps toward true smart living and argue that the technology will become cheaper with time.
For more information abut the unit, the different models that will be available and placing orders, visit the official Ori website here.
