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ITOKI CORPORATION (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Koji Minato) is pleased to announce that it has developed a box-shaped sofa called "sound sofa," which allows users to hold web conferences in open spaces without worrying about speaker noise. The company will continue to develop the product further, aiming to launch it in the fall of 2023. The product will be exhibited at ORGATEC TOKYO 2023, the largest office furniture fair in Asia, which originated in Germany and will be held from Wednesday, April 26th to Friday, April 28th, 2023.

Hybrid work, which combines office work and work remotely, has become mainstream as a post-COVID-19 work style. More people are coming to the office, and as a result, the frequency of web conferences in the office has increased, with web conferences now being held on a daily basis not only in conference rooms but also in open spaces. However, web conferences in open spaces have been cited as having problems with sound, such as sound leakage to the surrounding area and noise contamination.

ITOKI has been developing the "sound furniture series," a smart office product that solves these sound problems. As the first step, in the fall of 2022, we will release the "sound parasol" a meeting table that allows you to hold web conferences without worrying about your surroundings even in open spaces. This time, as the second step, we have developed the "sound sofa sofa," a box-shaped sofa. By combining AV/ICT equipment with office furniture, we can realize comfortable and creative web conferences in open spaces.

The directional speakers installed on the back control the speaker sound for web conferences to an optimal range, suppressing sound leakage to the surrounding area while ensuring that those sitting can hear clearly. This is a new box-shaped sofa that is comfortable for both the user and those around them during web conferences in open spaces.

The space is surrounded by materials and structures with high sound absorption performance, making it difficult for remote participants to hear noise from the office. Additionally, a directional microphone placed in the center of the table allows audio from the office side to reach the optimal volume, making it possible for remote parties to conduct comfortable web conferences in an open space.

By combining the "sound parasol" and "sound sofa" as part of the "sound furniture series," you can create a variety of open meeting spaces that are considerate of acoustics.

ITOKI will utilize its know-how in Tech x Design to expand its product lineup that improves usability for new work styles such as ABW and hybrid. In addition to the "sound furniture series," new products are scheduled to be released one after another, such as the hybrid conference table "Panora" that creates seamless connections, "office surf touch" that allows you to easily connect with people you want to connect with, both virtually and in person, with just one touch from the office, and "workers Trail Hoteling Label" that makes it easy to reserve concentrated desks and booths in ABW and hot desking and allows you to check the reservation status on the spot.