Furniture Configurator | EDRD

FURNITURE CONFIGURATOR
BOLIA x AKQA

An interactive retail surface where physical NFC-tagged material samples placed on a custom tray drive real-time 3D rendering of furniture configurations on a large in-store display. Eduardo led the concept from technical direction through hardware engineering and full-stack delivery — building a self-contained system that runs without any external infrastructure. A compelling concept that generated strong client interest, though it did not reach production.

OVERVIEW _

The concept is tactile by design: instead of scrolling through swatches on a screen, customers handle physical material samples — fabrics, leathers, woods — each tagged with an NFC chip. Place a combination on the tray, and a large display instantly renders the furniture in those exact materials. The configuration is real-time, physical, and immediate.

The tray runs an embedded ESP32 web server, making the entire system self-contained: no cloud dependency, no network requirement, no infrastructure to maintain in-store. Multiple NFC tags can be read simultaneously, allowing customers to combine upholstery and frame finishes freely. WebGL handles the 3D material rendering on the display.

The concept draws on an existing technical framework developed for phygital retail configuration. It did not reach full production, but generated meaningful client engagement — the prototype demonstrates a technically complete approach that holds up well as a commercial concept.