Ikea's latest home designs: robotic storage for tiny spaces and 3D-printed gaming accessories

Furniture giant, IKEA, is looking to court gamers and people living in cramped spaces with a new wave of robotic furniture and niche e-sport accessories. The Swedish furniture and home accessory giant has always been known for its clean modern aesthetics, but for customers in Hong Kong and Japan that modern style will also be functionally futuristic. Rognan, as the company has dubbed it, is a robotic storage unit that can move from side-to-side using a remote touch pad and is able to dispense space-consuming furniture on-demand, including a couch, a bed, and a desk. IKEA's new robot storage unit is designed to help people maximize space in urban apartments -- many of which are not known for their ample room Aside from adding a bit of sci-fi flare to one's apartment, the unit, which was developed in partnership with furniture startup Ori Living, is actually designed to solve a problem in many urban apartments -- space, or the lack thereof. 'More and more people are living and moving into cities where approximately an extra 1.5 million people join the urban population every week,' said IKEA. 'With Rognan as a robotic furniture solution for small space living, people will be able to turn small spaces into smart spaces that have all the comfort and convenience of a home.'