In conjunction with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), IKEA have announced the Make Room for Life exhibition to showcase IKEA Place – an augmented reality (AR) application that will help close the imagination-reality gap. Australians will be able to experience the latest augmented reality (AR) technology to discover and create their future living room. The experience will also explore the functional and emotional needs of modern living and how this can impact the way Australians live now and in the future.
The Make Room for Life exhibition will open to the public for three weeks on Wednesday 18 October 2017. The free experience will combine sensory elements, the latest ARkit technology by Apple, home furnishing inspiration and expertise to help people design their ideal living room for whatever is important to them.
Tiffany Buckins, Head of Interior Design for IKEA Australia said, “The world is changing. Life is changing. The home is changing. The world has seen more change in the last twenty years than in the two hundred years before that. Urbanisation and technology have changed our lives and the way we live at home, as you can find more info here, especially in the living room.
“We believe the living room is the heart of everyday life at home. It is a place for connecting with family and friends, celebrating special occasions and reminding us of what matters in life.
“To celebrate the launch of IKEA Place we are excited to be working with ACMI to rethink the living room. IKEA Place is an example of how IKEA embraces the ever changing way we live within our homes and sets out to inspire and help Australians create a better everyday life”.
The Make Room for Life Exhibition will draw on an understanding of how people live at home combining sensory elements, AR technology, inspiration and home furnishing expertise to inspire people to confidently use AR and share how good design can help transform a space.
Seb Chan, Chief Experience Officer, ACMI said, “ACMI is the natural home for the public to experience, engage with, and understand the latest developments in mixed reality. This IKEA experience finally brings to life one of the key promises of augmented reality; that people could reimagine and redesign their physical spaces with the help of digital content. This future has been hinted at in everything from Star Trek to Black Mirror, but has taken until now to be available to the public at large. We’re excited to be able to give Australians the chance to try these technologies out in simulated living spaces of the near future.”
To book your Make Room for Life AR session, visit: www.acmi.net.au/events/make-room-life-ar-exhibition/
About IKEA Place
Built on Apple’s new ARKit technology, IKEA Place is an important innovation for IKEA. IKEA is one of the first home furnishing brands in the world to bring this technology to people, which will shift the way we purchase furniture in the future. IKEA Place and this AR technology will see IKEA redefine the experience for furniture retail once more, in our restless quest to create a better everyday life for everyone, everywhere.
The IKEA Place app automatically scales products – based on room dimensions – with 98% accuracy. The AR technology is so precise that you will be able to see the texture of the fabric, as well as how light and shadows are rendered on your furnishings.
In addition to digitally placing IKEA products in a room, the app allows people to capture the room setting and share it as an image or video with friends.
More than 2,000 IKEA products will be available in the app at launch, and in the future, the app will play a key role in the launch of new product lines. The products in the first release are aligned to the living room, reflecting the focus for IKEA in 2018.