Ikea's innovation lab Space10 has created a prefab model home, and is now looking into creating self-driving cars for its delivery fleet and other applications.
Space10 released seven concepts to demonstrate how car interiors may change with the advent of autonomous vehicles. Fast Company reports, that the concepts include a coffee car, hotel car, grocery car, and shopping car which users can view via augmented reality on Space10’s app. Ikea’s concept innovation manager Göran Nilsson says in a statement, “We don’t have ambitions of manufacturing cars, but in a future where people no longer have to worry about driving, vehicle interiors can expand to a point where we no longer are designing cars, but rather small spaces.”
Ikea is in the midst of a transformation. With the acquisition of Task Rabbit, the introduction of electronics and smart appliances, and the launch of augmented reality apps, the Swedish furniture giant is becoming more of a tech company. It is collaborating with companies like Adidas, Lego, and Sonos on its path toward being a source of all kinds of well-designed products.
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