Swedish homewares giant, IKEA, has partnered with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to open its first ‘Future Living’ smart home innovation lab in Australia.
Located at UTS’ Sydney campus, the lab will explore new smart home designs and technologies for the modern Australian household.
The lab will fuse IKEA’s expertise with research from UTS academics and students, alongside external designers and organisations to generate new ideas and prototypes.
The lab’s research into the Australian smart home will enable IKEA to gain first hand insight into the unique needs of Australian homes.
IKEA Australia Country Manager, Jan Gardberg, asserts collaboration is the best tool to drive innovation on a global scale.
“With the IKEA X UTS Future Living Lab we want to channel the next generation of designers to explore the issues that are changing the industry and Australian living, whether its sensory design, sustainability, personalisation, smart technologies and more,” Gardberg adds.
Both UTS and IKEA assert they’re committed to finding new solutions to meet the changing demands of future homes – today and tomorrow.
As part of the lab’s inaugural year, students will gain the opportunity to travel to IKEA’s global HQ in Sweden, to receive firsthand exposure to IKEA’s business and production processes, from conception to retail floor.