3D-Printing: IKEA in collaboration with UNYQ and Area Academy to improve gaming and life around it

There are around 2 billion gamers in the world – an overlooked group both from a life at home perspective as well as from a functional and ergonomic perspective. Together with UNYQ, a daring revolutioniser of 3D printed medical wearables and educational e-sport company Area Academy, IKEA wants to explore how personalisation and home furnishing can change gaming and life around it – addressing appearance, ergonomics and mobility.

“We are curious about how home furnishing combined with new technology could improve gaming and life around it. And we believe that we have just the right collaborators to do this, one that knows all about the needs of gamers and one that knows all about the technologies of personalisation”, says Marcus Engman, Head of Design at IKEA Range & Supply.

Gaming/e-sports is a very popular and fast growing activity across the world. With an increasing professionalisation comes new needs and new challenges, one of them being increased demands on ergonomics around the actual gaming situation where performance is affected by the physical situation for the body. This is true for all kinds of users – from pros to home gamers. Gamers themselves have increased their ambitions by practicing better, eating better and getting better equipment but the solutions around seating and table, including accessories like lighting, can be improved.

By learning from the experts, in this case top class gamers, IKEA will explore the huge potential in creating better solutions to make bodies feel better and thereby improve game performance.

“When considering how to enhance your performance within gaming people usually think about the software of the device you use and not the functionality in your space. But ergonomics are actually an equally important factor in becoming a better gamer”, says Tommy Ingemarsson, founder of Area Academy.

People are different and it is hard to come up with the one size fits all-solution that improves the situation for everyone. Together with UNYQ and Area Academy, IKEA wants to find new ways to make a gaming setup work in a home, new ways to solve gaming in different places and new ways to produce more personalised and ergonomic equipment for a better, faster and more successful gaming experience.

“We have always been focused on making choice, design and customization available for as many people as possible. To be able to have this collaboration, which aims at both customizing equipment for gamers as well as making that design and innovation accessible to all through the IKEA concept is truly amazing”, says Eythor Bender, CEO of UNYQ.

Another aspect that will be explored is how to make the gaming setup work throughout the home and make your total home better prepared for gaming occasions. There is also many gamers that play in multiple locations, people go to big events and then there are LAN and other occasions when you get together with friends to have fun. This collaboration will explore all these aspects.

“By teaming up with UNYQ, IKEA wishes to learn how you could utilise photometric and 3D-scanning in combination with 3D-printing to make it possible to personalise products for better ergonomics and a more individualised appearance. Area Academy has the expert knowledge in what it takes in terms of equipment to make a truly great gamer, and to have a greater gaming experience”, says Marcus Engman, Head of Design at IKEA Range & Supply.

The result of this collaboration will be available starting in 2020.