With the growth of population and the rising need for real estate, the cost of spaces for living in has noticeably ballooned over the past few years. The solution that many has been adapting is by living small.
While living small in a small lot with green spaces has proven to be a wonderful solution, not all people have access to a front yard. Some aspiring homeowners find living away from work as an unnecessary option. As a result, many working homeowners have chosen to live in high-rise residential buildings. And, as the rule of demand and supply would dictate, residential units now have smaller spaces.
The smaller area of each unit does not stop homeowners from purchasing. However, the need for proportional and space-appropriate furniture should be taken into account. Fortunately, IKEA, the furniture component giant, has worked with Ori Living to solve this puzzle. The latter is an American furniture start-up company.
Together, the two companies have come up with Rognan, a new robotic furniture system, which works as a robotic storage unit. Rognan can be controlled by a touchpad where it will slide across the floor to divide an area into two smaller rooms. The robotic furniture system contains a couch, a bed, a desk, and more storage spaces.
Depending on the needs of the occupant, the storage unit would move across the floor to open up space where the user will be able to set up the necessary furniture. Rognan is designed for people in urban areas. The companies are eyeing 2020 to launch Rognan in Japan and Hong Kong.
As the occupant chooses the bedroom option, Rognan would move to make the living area smaller, and make space behind it larger. A bed can be out from underneath the cabinet. Choosing the living option would slide the furniture component across the floor to give more space to the living area. Another mode is the work option or the closet option where the furniture component would slide to give a bigger space behind the couch, but instead of pulling out the bed, the user can pull out a chair and set up a workstation, or open up the closets and storage spaces.
The Rognan system is designed to fit with the Platsa storage line from IKEA, while its robotic platform is made by Ori Living. The robotic storage can also work with IKEA's Tradfri line of smart lighting for cabinets and wardrobes.
According to IKEA, an extra eight square meters (about 86 square feet) can be saved when Rognan is installed. Eight square meters may not sound like a big deal for most people. However, for people that have chosen a small living space, saving as much space a possible is critical to living comfortably.
Seana Strawn, IKEA's product developer, explained that instead of making the furniture smaller, they have opted to build the furniture to transform into the space that the user needs.
There has not been any announcement regarding the pricing for Rognan but consumers are on the lookout and are hoping for a reasonable price.
