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MIT brings us one step closer to robotic modular furniture

Ori is designed to shift around to make the most of small living spaces.

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Headshot of Michelle Starr
Michelle Starr Science editor
Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor, and she hopes to get you as enthralled with the wonders of the universe as she is. When she's not daydreaming about flying through space, she's daydreaming about bats.
Michelle Starr

We've all dreamed of living in a space where the bed tucks away and a wall opens to reveal a TV, or a table rises out of the floor as the seating moves towards the sides of the room. It's not quite there yet, but Ori -- a play on the word "Origami" -- is getting close.

Designed by Ori founder Hasier Larrea of MIT Media Lab and designer Yves Behar, Ori uses mechatronics to move furniture around for a fully modular living space to make the most of small apartments.

"Guided by the principal that interior space, particularly in high-density urban innovation centres around the world, has become too expensive to be static and unresponsive, Ori's breakthrough innovation, technology and design create dynamic environments that act and feel as though they are substantially larger," the project website reads.

Ori is not yet available on the market, but it is accepting enquiries from property developers.