DROID DECOR
Ikea launches ‘robot cupboard’ that slides around your room – and doubles as a bed, desk, sofa and wall
IKEA has created its first "robotic furniture" that can transform into a sofa, bed, wardrobe and desk.
The 'Rognan' slides around your room at the touch of a button, changing into different shapes depending on what you need at a given time.
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The whole point is to make better use of the tiny living spaces humans are being crammed into.
According to Ikea, an extra 1.5million people are "joining the urban population" every week.
"Rognan transforms small spaces into comfortable, multi-functional homes," Ikea explained.
"It changes to meet your needs, from sleep, to getting dressed, to having guests and more.
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"The population of cities is growing and our living spaces are shrinking. "Rognan is a product for this new reality of modern urban life."
To fit a Rognan in your room, you'll need about 3.5 metres by 3 metres spare.
But Ikea says that the unit will give you an extra eight square metres of living space to enjoy.
The whole unit looks like a multi-door cupboard, but it sits on top of a robotic trolley system.
This movement system will let the Rognan move around your room and change shape.
For instance, at bed time, it will slide the built-in sofa towards the wall, giving space for a bed to extend outwards.
And when you need to access your wardrobe, the bed can slide right back underneath.
There's also a built-in desk that is hidden inside the unit until you need it.
Ikea also reckons it makes a great room divider, effectively acting like a movable wall.
"Instead of making the furniture smaller, we transform the furniture to the function that you need at that time," said Ikea's Seana Strawn, who works on product development.
"When you sleep, you do not need your sofa. When you use your wardrobe, you do not need your bed."
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The entire system is operated by a simple touchpad controller that lets you choose between different Rognan shape settings.
It was built in partnership with an American start-up called Ori that builds robotic furniture for small living spaces.
And although it might look like a bizarre concept right now, Ikea has pledged to start selling it in 2020.
The bad news for Brits is that it's only going on sale in Hong Kong and Japan – two cities notorious for their cramped living spaces.
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In other robot news, Facebook has designed a strange dystopian droid that explores cities to make new friends for you.
And developers have created a bizarre virtual reality fighting game where an actual robot punches you in real life.
Japan has more lofty goals: it wants to send "robot astronauts" controlled by humans into space.
Are you tempted by this robot cupboard? Let us know in the comments!
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