Project Description
This time, I would like to propose a waiting area that shows the health status of people through changeable furniture installed in stations.
I would like to propose a waiting area at the station where people’s health can be monitored through changeable furniture.
In 2023, Umekita Station will be connected to Osaka Bay via the Yodo River.
Umekita Station will connect Kansai Airport to Shin-Osaka.
I believe that in 2023, Umekita Station will become an international gateway to Japan, connecting Kansai Airport to Shin-Osaka via the Yodo River from Osaka Bay.
The history of Osaka shows that it was an important political, cultural, and economic center centered on the Yodo River. In the Edo period (1603-1868), the city was ordered by Ieyasu Tokugawa to open the Takase River in Kyoto as a canal. In Osaka, Dotonbori was carved out, water transportation and bridges were developed, and Osaka is said to have “eight hundred and eight bridges” to describe its topography surrounded by rivers and canals and its many bridges.
We thought about how to create an exciting resting place for the future, while maintaining the role of the new Umekita Station as a place where people used to come and go.
　(2) Issues to be solved and target customers
The target customer is an office worker in the age group of around 35 who usually commutes to work.
When I used the benches in the Osaka Station subway, I felt that although there were cafes and bookstores, there were just benches in front of the ticket gates and there were no dark and attractive rest areas.
I’ve also heard that corporate workers who use the train for daily commuting take 30 minutes to an hour to get up in the morning, get dressed, and leave the house. In other words, in today’s world, we are so busy with work that we tend to neglect our health care.
Therefore, while creating an attractive place to take a break, we thought that it would be possible to create a waiting area where people can manage their health during their commute on the train by linking a smartphone application with a waiting area equipped with changeable furniture that shows body composition (pulse, weight, body fat, etc.).
　(3) Value and solution to be provided
I myself am so busy that I don’t get to check my health very often.
I thought it would be nice to be able to know my health status while waiting.
In this case, I would like to install a scale and a body composition meter on the Amoeba Chair (in this case, AMEBACHAIR) installed in the rest area, and link it with other body composition apps such as FINC, HELTHPLANET, TANITA, etc., so that I can check it on my smartphone during my commute. I would also like to have a portable floor-standing device.
In addition, I thought it would be a great opportunity to collaborate with companies to create a new form of one-to-one advertising revenue by placing a portable, floor-standing LCD digital signage on the floor.
How the Amoeba Chair is actually made
I’m thinking of using thinned cedar wood from the Hokusetsu and Izumi areas of Osaka to make the chair.
The curves on the surface of the furniture will be expressed by sandwiching polyethylene rubber between the boards. (This can be used as a partition.) 3.
The cushions are made of shape memory material and polyester stretch fabric.
(There is an internal shape memory material that can be used in wheelchairs to hold the shape of the cushion when the air is removed. We believe that we can use this technology to make this product.
(There is an internal shape memory material used in wheelchairs that can hold its shape when air is removed.
Reference examples of internal cushions
(Shape-memory cushion for wheelchairs that can be fixed when air is removed)
(Example of furniture partition, how to make curved surface)
(Example of an application that works with furniture)
(TANITA Health Planet health management application)
Installation method
The installation method is once a month or once every two weeks. JR will change the shape of the furniture based on the aggregate data and the average body shape of Osaka people, and we are thinking that we can make furniture that changes its shape according to the weight and system of the people who come there when they sit down.
This is so that when people come for the first time, they can also use it as a regular bench.
It would also be interesting to assemble it by ourselves, so we would like to create a form with voice guidance and instructions.
　(4) Specific usage scenarios
Basically, we are thinking of benches, rest areas, and smoking areas inside the ticket gates of stations.
The reason for this is that ticket gates become a filter for theft and other crimes.
There is no need to worry about security and crime prevention.
By giving them a form, we can eliminate their inconvenience. Taking advantage of the temporary benches, we can change the shape and function of the benches once a month or once every two weeks, which will change the scenery that we have always seen, and create a variety of waiting areas.
5⑸Existence of similar services and competitive advantage
We’re talking about temporary rest areas plus furniture.
I think similar services will be furniture such as chairs and partitions.
Partition Viper partition Fritz Hansen
Chair Multi-use Chair Frederick kiesler, Wiggle Side Chair Frank Gehry
If you are selling Scandinavian furniture that costs 50,000-100,000 yen, you will be a competitor. Also, the competitive advantage is that furniture has a fixed function, so there is a degree of freedom of function through changeability. In addition, the value added by IOT (smart phone, signage, etc.) will differentiate the product from traditional furniture.
6) Business Model
There are three main business models.
(1) It is built around furniture, so it can be used not only as a bench or resting place, but also as furniture that can be distributed and sold. By using the name “Umekita” and submitting it to international furniture fairs, we thought we could create distribution and sales routes both domestically and internationally and sell it as new furniture.
2. I felt that by linking the system to an app or other device that can track a person’s weight and health, it would be possible to provide this information anonymously to companies.
The floor-type digital signage would be placed under the Amoeba Chair, and would be a one-to-one advertising medium that would broadcast commercial advertisements tailored to each individual’s body shape, physical condition, and health, rather than the conventional wall-type advertisements.
(7) To the Osaka of the future
You may wonder what Tokyo people are talking about, but I think Osaka is a world-class city with interesting people. The level of bokketsukomi is also very high at drinking parties. Also, the client I work with in Juso requires a high level of comedy.
I talk a lot, but when I am surrounded by three Osaka people at work, I often lose.
Osaka is a place full of such interesting people.
Umekita is an important gateway connecting Osaka with Kansai International Airport.
I proposed this idea because I thought it would be great if we could provide not only people but also content through the waiting area so that when people from outside come to Umekita, they can say, “I’ve never seen Osaka like this before, it’s amazing and interesting.
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