Manchester-based tech business DigitalBridge has announced the launch of the world’s first virtual design assistant for kitchens and bathrooms.
The tool utilises the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology to empower and enable consumers to design stylish living spaces that make the best use of space, while conforming to regulatory requirements.
Just like a real-life designer, the assistant first seeks to fully understand the customer’s needs and tastes, but without the huge degree of hassle or expense that comes with enlisting a professional to implement the project.
The tool sources inspiration through platforms such as Pinterest; determining if the user needs, for example, a family bathroom with lots of storage. It then helps to create an accurate floor plan using 3D scanning and pulls together a range of information, such as the project budget, to make relevant product suggestions and create tailor-made designs in minutes.
Users can then share their designs and collaborate with friends or family as easily as with a trusted professional online or instore to validate; safe in the knowledge their design will work in practice. Then to help bridge the imagination gap, the new space can be brought to life in outstanding high definition.
The technology aims to revolutionise the Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom (KBB) market helping retailers to reduce the friction and unknowns related to a home renovation project, and in turn accelerate the purchasing process and increase sales. The UK bathroom market alone is estimated to be worth over £320 million.
The technology has been designed to integrate directly into a retailer’s website so consumers can design and visualise their projects on any device.
DigitalBridge, which won the John Lewis Accelerator back in 2016 and was named NVIDIA’s Most Innovative Machine Learning Startup in 2017, creates space planning and visualisation technology that is built for retailers but designed and tailored for consumers.
David Levine, CEO of DigitalBridge, said: “The current process for designing a new bathroom or kitchen is flawed; it’s painful, slow and full of friction. Consumers no longer need to wait to arrange that gap in their diary to visit a professional at the outset or be visited at home. Customers no longer need to feel overwhelmed by all the unknowns associated with renovating their homes, from measuring the room to understanding budgets which is slowing down purchases and leaving many projects abandoned.
“We’re excited to launch this new tool; the first technology of its kind to bring home renovation into the 21st century and put customers in charge.”
