Alexa?s involved of course Big news in the transforming furniture world: Ori, an MIT spin-off designed with Yves Behar is officially launching preorders today, aiming at developers trying to make urban studio apartments much more flexible and appealing.
First announced last year, Ori is the most sophisticated ?all-in-one? furniture system we?ve seen yet. In a nutshell: It?s a multi-functional module that serves different functions with different configurations, which can be controlled via a physical controller attached to the system, mobile app, or, because this is 2017, voice commands for the Amazon Echo. (Google Home and Apple Home integrations, as well as additional skills for the Alexa, are currently under development.)
?Hey Alexa, can you ask Ori to make the bed"? This might just be the line to catch everyone?s attention in the promo video below, which demonstrates an enticing array of spaces an Ori system can create in a tiny apartment?from a standard living area to a yoga studio to a ?walk-in closet.?
The Ori prototype has been tested by Airbnb guests in Boston for over a year. In an interview with Curbed, Ori CEO and Founder Hasier Larrea says adjustments have been made based on their feedback, including raising the height of the bed and fine-tuning reliability and safety features (such as the bed knowing to stop expanding when it hits something.)
Made of poplar plywood, the Ori system comes in two colors (light and dark), two sizes (full and queen...