Ikea's Research Lab Releases New Privacy Concepts for Smart Homes of the Future

As Ikea experiments more with various smart home items like lighting and blinds, the Swedish retailer is also looking at creative new ways to show its customers these connected devices can be trusted in their most intimate settings. To that end, the company's research and innovation lab, Space10, released a new batch of design concepts this week in which technology like AI, blockchain and augmented reality (AR) helps further consumer privacy and trust goals. The innovations range from conceptualizing devices on a wifi network as AR creatures and sound bubble partitions to blockchain traceability and virtual data-monitoring assistants. While these far-ranging ideas are a long way from actually being realized, they demonstrate how Ikea and other retailers may approach building trust as consumers are asked to accept more and more connected devices in their homes. The experiments were developed in collaboration with various designers, agencies and studios as part of Space10's Everyday Experiments program, which creates forward-thinking concepts around different themes. "There is currently a huge trust deficit between people and companies. It is a big and complex topic to navigate and there is so much potential to do more and be better," said Tony Gjerlufsen, Space10's head of technology, in an email. "The more companies can cultivate relationships that build on trust and sincerity, the better outcome for all partners involved. We were excited to explore how we can make technology more transparent and easier to understand and navigate in our fast-paced world. We want to give people the agency to make decisions on their own terms." Sound bubbles This concept from designer Yuri Suzuki would use smart speakers located in various places throughout the home to cancel out noises and create small localized silent areas called "sound bubbles." Ikea envisions an in-app control center in which the sounds of a given area are visualized with bubbles of differing colors, frequency and density. Chain of traceability Another concept involves mapping out the materials used to create each Ikea item in a sleek AR projection. The information would come from a blockchain that tracked details like the product journey of each component and the overall carbon footprint of a given item. It would also use computer vision AI to recognize each item before locating it in a blockchain. Digital buddy Ikea envisions making data security more fun with an abstract, blob-like 3D avatar that would manage your household data security, performing tasks like sifting through a device's terms and conditions and synthesizing it into more understandable terms using natural language processing. The company imagines this avatar being something of an independent AI advisor that would act on your behalf to protect your network data security. Invisible roommates Finally, designers Nicole He and Eran Hilleli have conceptualized a fun way to keep track of the various smart home devices in your home network by reimagining them as AR characters communicating with one another. The concept is meant to simplify what might be a complex web of devices in one's home into an easy-to-follow web of interaction. Ikea Campaign Shows Consumers How to Live More Sustainably