Flat-pack furniture has been a useful innovation, but now it is evolving further by eliminating the need for assembly. A team of researchers from the Human Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) and the Robotics Institute (RI) at Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, has come up with an innovative way to create flat furniture and other objects using robot sewing machines. They have created flat-to-shape furniture pieces that need no assembling – you just need to fold, bend, and form them like origami into a functional object.
The term “flat-to-shape” refers to objects that can transform from two-dimensional flat sheets into three-dimensional forms through methods like bending, folding, or assembling connected parts. The process uses CNC sewing machine to stitch pockets from fabric and then stuffed with plywood and acrylic panels.
Thicker plywood makes furniture that can support a human weight, while custom LED panels with sheer fabric work as a functional lamp. Cords, magnets, and hook-and-loop fasteners are used to direct and stabilize flat-to-shape transitions. Each object uses a different number of rigid panels within sheets of fabric. The team has created a chair, side table, lamp, and backpack using this technique.
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The innovative method allowed the researchers to achieve their goal of creating items that are large enough for whole-body human interactions, such as sitting, wearing, or carrying, while still being portable and adaptable to multiple settings.
The research team consists of Sapna Tayal, undergraduate student in the School of Design; Lea Albaugh, Mark Stehlik postdoctoral teaching fellow at HCII; James McCann, associate professor in RI; and Scott E. Hudson, professor and associate department head for education in HCII.
Via: New Atlas / Carnegie Mellon University
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