| Project Detail |
Mass customization is finding its way into innumerable areas of daily life, e.g. textiles, shoes, as consumer strive for individuality. 84 million customers bout furniture online in the EU. The preconditions for mass furniture are enabled by digitization. Yet there is no solution for affordable individualized furniture representing a tremendous unexploited market.
FORMBAR, our novel parametric design software based on mathematical-physical-architectural principles, is the enabling technology allowing customers for the first time to freely shape their furniture individually. In this Phase 2 project FORMBAR will be 100% automated. With simple mouse movements, the customer designs a photo-realistically rendered 3D model and thus constantly inspects his created piece of furniture visually with regard to the selected materiality and colour.
By directly integrating the machine specifications into the design process, the self-generated 3D piece of furniture is automatically converted into an optimized cutting pattern and produced cost-effectively using state-of-the-art CNC milling machines. The generated milling data are sent to one of the more than 100 carpenters of OKINLAB in close vicinity to the customer. FORMBAR covers the entire furniture manufacturing process 100% automated, from design to production, in a single application. In combination with mathematically implied algorithms, OKINLAB can guarantee the functionality as well as the producibility of the furniture while at the same time implementing a scalable business model. With FORMBAR mass customization of individual furniture becomes affordable for the first time.
OKINLAB with its team of 16 employees from software development, architecture, design, marketing, has developed a configurator in the past selling more than 1,500 pieces of furniture as of today. By automation of FORMBAR costs of the furniture is reduced by 50% opening the technology for the mass market with a potential of €25.3 billion. |
