Robotic furniture technology is helping some people use every square inch
As many Americans continue to work from home, technology companies want to make homes work harder for the people who live in them. Robotic furniture now allows people to transform residential spaces with the touch of button, allowing a single space to have multiple uses.
Brooklyn-based startup Ori began innovating residential spaces more than a decade ago. The company creates what they call "expandable apartments," which are powered by furniture pieces that can lift a queen size bed to reveal a couch or slide a media center to unveil a home office.
"Ori means in Japanese 'to fold,' so we like to think about the concept of transforming a space, folding a space in the same way that origami folds and transforms paper," said Hasier Larrea, Ori's CEO.
Larrea founded Ori while he was at MIT. He says the idea was launched in part as a way to reimagine cities.
"We came to the conclusion that we had to empower people to live large in a smaller footprint, because a smaller footprint is more affordable for people and more sustainable for the planet. The challenge is how do you make that smaller footprint feel much bigger. And that's where technology and robotics come into play," said Larrea.
Shape-shifting furniture is an old idea -- think of the Murphy bed or a pull-out sofa -- but Ori pieces are designed to make transitions seamless. The change happens literally with the touch of a button or tap of an app.
An Ori installation can cost $5,000 to $10,000, but currently, the company sells its devices only to apartment developers who then rent the furnished apartments. The company says the spaces can be as little as 350 square feet, so they cost renters less per month without sacrificing function. Tenants are already living with Ori devices in more than 50 apartment buildings around the country.
"We are in more than a thousand apartments across the country, from New York to San Francisco, but also from Fort Worth to Boise," said Larrea. "Many, many people are experiencing these solutions on an everyday basis."
Ori isn't the only company in the field. A competitor called Bumblebee is also offering tech-driven furniture that allows people to do more with less space.
A recent Rentcafe survey found that the size of an average apartment in the U.S. is now just 887 square feet, which is down by more than 50 square feet compared to a decade ago. The survey found that studios and one-bedroom units accounted for 57% of new apartments entering the market in 2022.
Architect Eric Bieber and his wife Salome Idrovo were invited to use one of Ori's "cloud beds" in their 580 sq.ft. apartment in Harrison, New Jersey. Both often work from home, and the device has allowed them to turn what used to be only a bedroom into a functional home office too. With the bed retracted up to the ceiling, it gives them room for a desk, or open space for guests, or even floor space for yoga mats.
"You use the space to its full potential," said Bieber. "It definitely feels like we're living in the future."
Ori's furniture can be operated manually if the power is out, and built-in safety features sense obstacles to stop robotic movement.
The company says it expects to eventually offer its technology directly to consumers. One of Ori's investors is Ikea, and they have also announced a partnership with hotel giant Marriott.
