IKEA Virtual Reality

Virtual reality has taken over how we envision our spaces, Swedish furniture brand IKEA is diving head first into this emerging world of virtual spaces. It has made walking around a real size virtual kitchen possible, perfect for those times when you try to figure out if it’ll fit in your house. New ways of visualization and exploration creates an innovative 3D product experience, opening consumer minds and their homes to different doors of possibilities.

IKEA VIRTUAL REALITY SHOWROOM

Images from www.demodern.com

The use of high-definition interactive showroom creates an immersive virtual reality experience, customers can truly experience IKEA rooms to life. “Democratic design” as IKEA calls it, is a belief that design should be for all, manifested through a number of showrooms displaying thousands of different products. Albeit, consumers have to bring their packages home and unwrap it from their flat packs to be able to experience the IKEA products. Demodern, the first digital agency worldwide, set out to democratize store visits and engage with IKEA consumers, through the in-store virtual reality application. 

Images from www.demodern.com

The Virtual Home Experience lies at the heart of IKEA’s home furnishing hub, it is an interior sort of lab where the company focuses on co-creating with its consumers. The virtual reality experience functions like a creative starter by encouraging them to visualize different combinations, liberating consumers by helping them to imagine beyond the given items. One can configure and explore furniture and products into the environmental context in real-time. In a snap, you can change wall colors, try different fabrics, and even take control of the time of the day to see their creations in a different light. This empowerment is possible through letting the consumers visualize their own style and taste, and at the same time expanding and inspiring their mind with fresh ideas.

IKEA VIRTUAL KITCHEN EXPERIENCE

Images from www.globevr.com

The IKEA organization belongs to a few businesses leading the virtual revolution by producing their own content. Generating 1200 articles around the world with its test app so far, the virtual reality app was created for HTC Vive. The IKEA virtual reality experience was released in April 2016 on Valve’s game platform and was made in collaboration with Allegorithmic, a French company, using Unreal Engine 4 from Epic Games.

“Virtual reality is developing fast and in five to ten years it will be an integrated part of people’s lives. We see that it will play a major role in the future, for instance it could be used to enable people to try out a variety of home furnishing solutions before buying them” says Jesper Brodin, IKEA Range and Supply Manager. 

Using your hands, you’ll be equipped with wands on each other, allowing you to navigate freely, interact, and experience the kitchen you’ve been eyeing for some time. Through the use of room-scale motion tracking, one can easily walk around and be able to do some basic kitchen tasks in the virtual space. This virtual freedom allows you to open doors and drawers, recycle waste in a sorting station, put a frying pan on the stove, and even browse the IKEA Catalogue. This technology not only lets you interact with virtual spaces, but also helps you imagine what these virtual spaces would look and feel like in your own home.

Cover photo from www.demodern.com

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Arthur Arbesser FW 20/21