“Stealth Appliances” That Blend into Daily Life
(Photo courtesy of ROYAL CORPORATION)
“Stealth appliances” have been gaining attention in recent years as a new type of product that combines furniture with electrical appliances to offer multiple functions while also blending into daily life. Let’s take a look at some of these “stealth appliances” that are popular in Japan for the way they link technology with people’s lifestyles in many different ways.
So What Are “Stealth Appliances?”
There is a stealth appliance in front of the sofa, featuring a table and refrigerator in an integrated product. (Photo courtesy of ROYAL CORPORATION)
“Stealth appliances” is a general term for a new category of electrical appliances that are gaining attention in Japan, with a fusion of interior decoration with electrical appliances that blend into living spaces. The main characteristics of these products include the fact that their designs blend well into home interiors and do not appear to actually be electrical appliances at first glance, and the fact that they provide multiple functions. With these products, arrangements that previously required multiple areas for each function can be achieved in a single smaller area, which lets people secure more space in their rooms.
One typical example of these products is a smart table with a refrigerator inside it—an appliance that would usually take space on its own. This table was developed with a combination of various functions to make modern people’s lives convenient and enriched. With this product, you can pull out and enjoy a cold drink from this table nearby as you relax on the sofa, without needing to go to the kitchen. Also, you can charge your smartphone by simply placing it on this smart table, and you can even enjoy music with the high-quality speakers built into it.
Left: The table has separate drawers for refrigerated and frozen food. Right: The control panel on top of the table lets you set the temperature for each drawer, or change the volume for the high-performance speakers.
Left: A smartphone being charged wirelessly by simply being placed on the table. Right: You can use the power socket installed inside the table to boil water with an electric heater and kettle, or you can plug in and use your PC. (Photos courtesy of ROYAL CORPORATION)
You can choose different colors to suit your other furnishings. (Photo courtesy of ROYAL CORPORATION)
The Diverse Appeal of “Stealth Appliances”
A projection screen using a ceiling light. Apart from movies, you can display and enjoy all sorts of content to suit the time of day and season, or display family photos from your smartphone. (Photos courtesy of Aladdin X Inc.)
Stealth appliances can make life exciting with their many different functions and uses. One product released in 2018 in Japan is said to be the origin of stealth appliances, with a light, projector, and speaker all in one package. It can be used like a regular lamp, but it can also project all sorts of videos and images over a large area on a wall. This product has original content for kids, fitness, and more, which also helped it gain popularity. It can be enjoyed all day from morning until night, and it creates a space that encourages deeper communication between family members. Another benefit of this product is that you can link it with a smartphone, load the latest content, and decorate your interior in a way that always suits your preferences.
A stealth appliance featuring a scale with no dial or screen, combined with a bath mat. This lets you record your weight on your smartphone without needing to think about weighing yourself. It can even use AI analysis to predict when you will achieve your diet goals. The bath mat is made with diatomite which has an anti-odor effect and can be washed as it is, making it popular with people who have pets. (Photos courtesy of issin Inc.)
One type of stealth appliance lets you weigh yourself while wiping your feet on a bath mat after taking a bath. It also records your weight every day on your smartphone automatically. It has a simple aesthetic without any dial or screen, and can be placed casually in the area where you usually walk around in your daily life. This allows you to cut out unnecessary actions in your lifestyle and manage your weight on a regular basis without needing to think about it. In addition, it uses AI analysis to predict when you will achieve your diet goals, as well as trends regarding putting weight back on. This data can help you gain a stronger awareness regarding your health on a daily basis. This product was developed using the latest AI technology so that anyone can continually manage their weight in a simple way and achieve a healthy lifestyle.
The Latest Trends in “Stealth Appliances”
This cushion has a high-performance robot inside that can move like a living being, and that encourages you to breathe calmly. The design features an organic, hourglass-like shape, and it was created so that you can enjoy holding it in different ways to suit your mood. (Photos courtesy of Yukai Engineering Inc.)
Cushions are familiar products used in home interiors, but even these can become stealth appliances. Three Japanese companies collaborated together to develop a white cushion with a curious shape based on previous research at a university, with the aim to encourage people who face physical and mental stress on a daily basis in modern society to remember to relax and take breaks. When you hold the cushion close to you, the robot inside it expands and contracts as if it were a living thing. These movements encourage you to take deep breaths with a regular rhythm. The people who created this product say that this can help people feel comfortable and calm down when they are tired from housework or their jobs, or when they are having a break. This product went ahead of the trends regarding the needs of modern people, and the creators are currently aiming to realize commercialization through crowdfunding. In this way, some specialized products designed for health care and mental health care are appearing as stealth appliances that blend into people’s lifestyles.
By incorporating technology to include multiple functions in a single unit, Japan’s stealth appliances make life more convenient and evolve people’s lifestyles to become more enriched. New products continue to be released in this category, and we can expect them to gain more support as they amaze people and spread across the world.