We’ve been working from home for a while now. I’ve honestly last track of how long it’s been, but we’ve managed to avoid going stir crazy (so far) thanks to home renovation projects. Redesigning our workspaces so that they accommodate the growing list of the needs of today is essential to keep from losing our heads. Fortunately, with today’s ever-evolving technology, designs like MAZI from Younghyun Kim help make working from home a little more exciting.
MAZI consists of three different pieces of technology: an AI speaker, a pair of AR glasses, and an accompanying smartpen. Since group tasks such as marketing campaigns or architectural conceptualizations seem a lot more organized when each worker is in the same room, MAZI comes equipped with AR glasses that enable coworkers to share their visual perspective with other team members. For instance, while working on a sketch, an architect can literally share their line of sight with a collaborator so they can see the sketches in real-time, the same way we once could in the office. MAZI’s AI-powered speaker, which doubly functions as a carrying case, helps keep your hands-free while speaking with fellow team members, only raising the bar for the product’s goal of streamlining each workday. Secure in a carrying case, both the smartpen and AR glasses snugly fit into precisely shaped pockets. The smartpen from MAZI remains locked with a fingerprint scanner that only registers the owner’s prints, keeping your private business details secure and locked.
Once upon a time, work was entirely contained in one designated space: the office. With stay-at-home orders commencing early with the start of 2020, the office’s hub of fullscreen monitors, cable webs, and project workstations was forced to find a compromise in the form of working from home. Meaning ‘together,’ in Greek, MAZI was designed to provide workers with a portable office kit for those long WFH days spent in the living room on the phone with business partners. While collaborative, performance projects can easily be discussed through a phone call or e-mail chain, sharing a screen isn’t the same thing as sharing your vision.
Designer: Younghyun Kim
