Ikea is building a range of customisable, 3D printed gaming accessories tailored to your body using biometric data. Working with experts in the field, namely those at UNYQ and Area Academy, Ikea is creating the UPPKOPPLA gaming products with a view to improving gaming comfort and accessibility for all.
The lineup will initially be made up of a series of home products: including desks, desk supports, and chairs – which we’ve heard tell of previously. There are also a couple of prototype mouse bungees, wristbands, and keycaps that should be on the way come UPPKOPPLA’s eventual release – which is set for sometime in 2020.
Each of these products (via Engadget) will be customised to the user via an app currently in development by the collaborative team. This will be able to scan all the biometric data required to build a bespoke 3D printed product perfect for your body, and Ikea hopes to not only improve the gaming experience with these personalised product but also help gamers with physical disabilities stay in the game for longer, too.
“This is an exciting chance to create products that can be personalised and unique for people with particular needs,” Michael Nikolic, Creative leader at IKEA of Sweden, says. “We’re looking forward to customising other kind of products for more groups of people.”
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Ikea also hopes UPPKOPPLA will shorten supply chains, transportation, and minimise the wastage involved to create a greener, eco-friendly product.
This isn’t the first time Ikea has played around with the idea of biometric product for gamers. Last year the company, in partnership once again with UNYQ, announced it would be building a gaming chair featuring inserts perfectly tailored to your butt. The Ubik chair is similarly penned for a 2020 launch.
“By working with IKEA, we can explore new ways to leverage a concept we’ve been working with for years,” Eythor Bender, CEO of UNYQ, says, “as well as the technological process to implement it. Understanding individuals’ unique needs are what drives UNYQ’s strategy and are the basis for all of our products – we feel completely aligned with IKEA on this mission.”
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