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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 remote work, has become the mainstream way to work after the coronavirus. As the number of people coming to the office has increased, the frequency of web conferences in the office has increased, and web conferences are now being held not only in conference rooms but also in open spaces on a daily basis. On the other hand, web conferencing in open spaces has been cited as having problems with sound, such as sound leakage to the surrounding area and noise mixing.

ITOKI has been developing a smart office product called the "sound furniture series" that solves these sound problems. In the fall of 2022, we will be releasing the first meeting table, “sound sound parasol,” which allows you to hold web conferences in open spaces without worrying about your surroundings. This time, as our second product, we have developed a box-shaped sofa called "sound sofa." By combining AV/ICT equipment and office furniture, we realize comfortable and creative web conferencing 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 using the "sound parasol" and "sound sofa" together as part of the "sound furniture series," you can create a variety of open meeting spaces that are audio-friendly.

At ITOKI, we will leverage our Tech×Design know-how to expand our product lineup that improves the usability of new work styles such as ABW and hybrids. In addition to the "sound furniture series," we also offer "Panora," a hybrid conference table that creates seamless connections, and "office surf touch," which allows you to connect with the people you want to connect with virtually or in real life with just one touch from your office. We plan to release new products one after another, such as the `` workers Trail Hoteling Label,'' which makes it easy to reserve centralized desks and booths at ABW and free addresses, and allows you to check reservation status on the spot.