Living in a small apartment is a lesson in frustration. There's no privacy, rarely much room for storage, and virtually no options for rearranging furniture. Guests have no place to sit, let alone place to stay if they're visiting from out of town, and large pieces of furniture are out of the question. These small apartment woes have plagued tenants for decades.
Thankfully, though, technology could soon change the way we handle these common small apartment dilemmas. Robotic furniture is no longer a running gag on the Jetsons: it's here, and it could seriously shake up both the furnitures and the real estate industries, says Scott Safadi of Cal Bay Property Management.
New robotic furniture isn't like other home automation you've seen before. While the Roomba certainly has its place in contemporary homes, the robotic furniture designed for small spaces is less mobile than the automatic vacuum. That said, the furniture is a whole lot more mobile than the average bed, sofa or wardrobe. Designed to combine several pieces of furniture into one movable unit, the robotic furniture does all the heavy lifting for you.
If you've ever dreamed of commanding a robot to make your bed in the morning, you'll love robotic furniture. Connect your cell phone and simply ask Siri to make the bed. Upon command, the bed will retract in or out. Inviting friends over for a meal is easier than ever, too, with retractable sofas and tables.
Unfortunately, the robotic furniture movement will be limited to just the privileged few for now: models start at around $10,000. Still, the trend hints at what could lie ahead for our industry.
- Scott Safadi, Cal Bay Property Management
