Can you imagine a robot disguised as plywood furniture? Imagine it to be self-moving, responsive, and reconfigurable within a few minutes with a touch of a finger, tap, or voice command. This isn’t science fiction, but furniture infused with the power of robotics and design (check out Ori)! In high-density cities around the world, interior space has become too expensive, giving rise to micro apartments of 300 square feet and under. Living in a micro-apartment is challenging and traditional furniture becomes impossible to fit inside these spaces. Multifunctional space concepts become key to adapt these tiny spaces to different activities over the day. In the past, these concepts included custom built-in furniture, such as a Murphy bed, a dining table that folds away, or a kitchen that's hidden when not in use. Today, the world of innovation, technology, robotics, and design are merging to offer even more solutions to this growing problem.

In this studio, we’ll explore computer-controlled furniture powered by modular robotics to reimagine urban living! We’ll envision merging technology and design to create dynamic and practical interior settings that can feel, move, and behave in human ways. We’ve seen smart devices, such as smart speakers, light bulbs, thermostats, and door openers, but now we’ve extended the connected smart device to furniture, and we’ll be designing, engineering, and programming an integrated system for the tiny-home!

REGISTER HERE!

Focus Skills/Subjects/Technologies:

   Design

   Industrial Design

     Interaction Design

   Physics (Electricity, Magnetism)

   Engineering

   Programming

   Electronics

   Robotics (Arduino, Sensors, Actuators)

   Digital Fabrication (Laser-cutting, 3d Printing)

   3d Modeling

Prerequisites:

• Enrolling students must be between the ages of 14 to 18 (or grades 9-12)

REGISTER HERE!