ÄLYÄ - Smart technology to extend the life cycle of furniture

The aim is to develop circular economy service and process innovations using AI and intelligent automation for the needs of different organisations and to pilot them in selected service channels and environments, as well as in the underlying processes of the services.

AI solutions will be used to improve the customer experience of services related to the sale, brokerage, rental, restoration and repair of furniture and the materials used in furniture, and to improve the efficiency of back-office processes. Above all, the solutions aim to preserve the value of the furniture and the materials used in it for as long as possible in the life cycle of the product.

The project will result in:

• A service or process innovations that will be tested in the service channels and/or backend processes of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Reuse Centre and the City of Helsinki.
• Service or process innovations that will be tested in SMEs in the sector
• Prototype of a furniture value calculator
• Customer pathways/requirements for back-end processes and systems
• Training + consultancy in SMEs (roadmap produced for companies)
• Rapid trials to learn from the added value of the solutions
• Video series on AI opportunities and application areas for SMEs