Calm Technology – Blending IoT into Daily Life
How a Japanese Startup designs a “Calm User Interface” that re-defines the daily human-digital interaction in the smart home.
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You get up. You open the curtains – and a “Good Morning!” message - one of them which had been exchanged between family members and had been stored in the digital cloud - appears on a wooden panel on the wall. To set the breakfast table, you wipe down the tabletop – the overhead lights gradually turn on. You set a vase with flowers on the table – ambient music starts playing and accompanies you while you set the table. You do not even notice how smartly your home interacts with your morning routine; everything just flows perfectly with your personal rhythm.
This is a story where your attention is not interrupted, your life rhythm is not deformed, the technology being alongside human.
At Milan Design Week 2022, mui Lab, Inc., an award-winning Japanese startup, and Wacom came together for an inspiring dialogue about mui Lab´s vision and their IoT system that turns furniture and other ordinary items into interfaces, using everyday human action as a prompt for digital sequence.
mui Lab is a Kyoto-based tech startup specializing in designing “calm user interface (UI)” that can improve people’s well-being. Mui blends technology and the spirituality and sense of beauty behind Japanese craftsmanship to bridge the gap between human’s seemingly conflicting desires: Using conventional technology to attain the convenience of life and seeking comfort in nature. Mui is a two-time winner of CES Innovation Awards (2019 & 2022) and received the 2021 Archiproducts DESIGN Awards both in the general and sustainability categories. Mui conducts global business from its headquarters in Kyoto, a city known for its successful blending of tradition and technology. https://muilab.com/en/
Comparable to Wacom’s vision of lifelong ink, mui Lab shares the value of creating technology that serves humans. Therefore, to integrate lifelong Ink into family spaces, Wacom and Mui lab have been working together for several years already. Now at the Milan Design week, they were highlighting the “mui Board” which is mui Lab’s flagship “calm technology” device with multiple smart home features, one of them being Ink technology.
In the joint video podcast recorded at Milan Design Week 2022, in the middle of mui Lab’s exhibition booth, the startup explains how they interpret and value the concept of calm technology and how they combine Japanese design and technology focused on the human aspect into their products. Unsurprisingly, mui Lab’s values resonate perfectly with Wacom’s own vision and mission. Wacom is looking forward to presenting more of mui Lab's journey and products in November at this year’s Connected Ink. Mui Lab will be joining for the 4th year in a row and they look forward to share more about this exciting topic that holds a massive potential for shaping the future of human-digital-interaction.
