IKEA Launches Interactive AR Game to Teach Children About Marine Life

On February 13, IKEA launched an educational and interactive AR game called Lilla Äventyret (The Little Adventure). The AR game was made possible through IKEA’s partnership with Meta and Warpin Reality and lets users learn more about marine life and ways with which they can protect them.

This isn’t IKEA’s first foray into leveraging AR to deliver better experiences for customers. A few years ago, the company launched IKEA Place, an AR-driven app that makes it easier for homeowners to imagine what IKEA products will look like in their homes.

With Lilla Äventyret, IKEA aims to help make children’s stay in select IKEA stores more enjoyable, aside from providing them with a fun and engaging way to discover and virtually interact with marine life found in our oceans.

“This project is an interesting step in creating a richer customer experience at IKEA by weaving in technologies such as augmented reality as part of the shopping experience,” said Josefine Billström Raasakka, Creative Strategist at Meta, in a press release shared with ARPost.

Promoting Environmental Awareness With the BLÅVINGAD Collection

IKEA’s BLÅVINGAD collection is an ocean-inspired collection of soft toys and accessories like cushions, duvet covers, and towels. The toys from the collection are produced partly from a mix of recycled PET and plastic collected from oceans. BLÅVINGAD aims to bring awareness to future generations about marine life and how human activities, such as pollution and littering, can affect nature, including marine life.

“The game is based on our collection BLÅVINGAD, as well as children’s interests and curiosity, but also on their concerns related to our oceans,” said IKEA Retail Sweden Marketing Manager Helena Gouiveia. “Thanks to the game, children can learn more about marine life and what happens under the surface while they are in our stores.”

To boost interest and share more knowledge about life in the ocean, as well as pique children’s curiosity, IKEA has partnered with Meta and Warpin, an immersive tech company based in Stockholm, to develop the AR game Lilla Äventyret, which is currently available in 21 IKEA stores across Sweden.

While the AR game is designed for younger children, older kids and adults are welcome to participate and create memorable and unique experiences for the family.

Once the player is inside the AR game, they can uncover facts about marine life and take photos with the collection’s underwater creatures, such as turtles and killer whales, in AR using the game’s filters.

IKEA’s partnership with Meta and Warpin has also made it the first global retailer to explore the Meta Spark AR platform on a large scale.

“It’s been great to create this innovative family experience in AR with Meta and IKEA. Working closely with Meta, we’ve challenged and tested the boundaries of Spark AR, moving from a simple filter to creating a unique experience for the whole family,” said Warpin CEO Emma Ridderstad. “It will be exciting to see how all families with children play and have fun together with IKEA’s Lilla Äventyret.”

How to Access the AR Game Lilla Äventyret 

The game, which is based on the BLÅVINGAD collection, can be accessed as a filter on Instagram.

To play the AR game, users need to have the latest version of Instagram installed. Once done, they should scan the QR code found in select IKEA stores. They will start their little adventure by finding and scanning images at different stations to access different parts of the game. In each participating IKEA store, there are four different stations that hold information about marine animals.

The game is suitable for children ages three years old and up and will remain available across 21 IKEA stores in Sweden for four weeks during the winter sports holidays.