ROLL Foldable Bed on Kickstarter - Creator Interview

Campaign Overview

ROLL Foldable Bed on Kickstarter explores a different approach to space-saving furniture: a real mattress that rolls into a compact cabinet roughly the size of a TV stand. Instead of folding frames or inflatable solutions, the system, currently Live on Kickstarter, relies on a patent-pending electric rolling mechanism that allows the bed to deploy in under 30 seconds.

• Platform: Kickstarter

• Category: Furniture / Home Innovation

• Funding Status: $348,297 pledged of $80,000 goal

• Backers: 255

• Days Remaining: 15

• Creator: Luka Buljan

The concept targets a long-standing problem in compact living: most “space-saving beds” sacrifice comfort, permanence, or practicality. By combining modern foam materials with a compact mechanical system, ROLL attempts to bridge the gap between full-bed comfort and truly space-efficient design.

We spoke with inventor Luka Buljan, the creator behind ROLL Foldable Bed on Kickstarter, about the engineering challenges behind the rolling mechanism, the prototype journey from garage experiments to patent filing, and how compact beds may evolve as living spaces continue to shrink.

Rethinking Space Without Compromise

ROLL promises the comfort of a real mattress in the footprint of a TV cabinet. What fundamental design flaw in existing solutions like sofa beds, Murphy beds, or air mattresses pushed you to reinvent the concept from scratch?

I was considering a sleeping solution for my study which is quite small, and no current solution was applicable, except an air mattress, which I always disliked in their current form, they are not comparable to a real mattress. In theory, I could have put in a Murphy bed and it is for sure a very good sleeping solution, but it doesn’t really save space, it just converts the mattress into a big closet, which I didn’t’ want for my room for an occasional sleepover. It is also quite expensive, permanent and can’t be put everywhere, for example if you have a window, you can’t put a murphy bed.

If you consider a sofa bed, you either sleep on the sofa part which is made for sitting or there is a hidden mattress inside which is often quite thin and of poor quality. I’m not saying sofa beds are not a good solution for some spaces for occasional sleepovers, but in a room where you don’t need a sofa, they just don’t make sense.

ROLL sits somewhere in the middle, with the focus on space saving and sleeping comfort in a beautiful package.

Engineering the Rolling Mechanism

The core innovation behind ROLL lies in its electric rolling and folding logic. What were the biggest mechanical and engineering challenges in creating a system that can repeatedly compress and release a mattress without damaging comfort or durability?

I knew that a mattress could be compressed and rolled in a big industrial machine, but the question was if it could be done in a small and durable machine at a reasonable cost. In engineering this is a very difficult problem.

What I think was the most clever part of the design process is that I took my original idea of how to roll the mattress and after testing several design options on the proof of concept prototype, I put a constraint on the the development. Everything had to be in “real” size, so any part I wanted to add had to fit inside. This ensured everything was kept simple and I was confident that my design could be recreated for and industrial solution.

If I had to identify one biggest challenge, I would have to be the fact that the mattress changes the diameter of the shaft on which it is being rolled on to, which means that the transmission between the mattress and other shafts is variable.

Comfort as a Non-Negotiable

You emphasize that ROLL uses next-generation foam with improved support, airflow, and responsiveness. How did you ensure that long-term sleep quality would match that of a traditional bed despite the rolling mechanism?

I could talk about foams for a very long time, haha, but in foams you generally get what you pay for, and the rest is marketing, where a lot of companies rather pay less for the foam and more for the marketing. There has been a tremendous amount of innovation in foams over the last couple of decades and in ROLL we are taking advantage of that. Of course, comfort is subjective but in my opinion, if you compare ROLL mattress to a high end 15 inch mattress, it won’t be as comfortable, but not very far off, comparing to similar thickness mattress it will be hard to find a better one. I would like to attach a graph that shows just how much foams compare in durability when compressed to 90% (we compress to around 65%), at 100 000 cycles:

To explain, 10-15% is considered normal IFD loss when “breaking in” the mattress, and if you ROLL a mattress everyday for 10 years, you get to 3650 times.

The test showed is not exactly the same as our application but it shows how far foams have come, we have chosen foams which have a high sag (support) factor, high air flow and are for the comfort layer, more responsive than traditional memory foam. Currently we are testing for durability and we will test a couple of mattress constructions that provide the best comfort.

From Garage Prototypes to Patent Application

Your journey involved multiple proof-of-concept builds using bicycle parts, scrap components, and evolving transmission systems. What was the key breakthrough moment that made you confident ROLL could become a production-ready product?

I think I answered this question mostly in question 3, so not to repeat myself, I can talk more about the confidence part of the question. I think every entrepreneur goes through self-questioning and questioning of their work, especially if working on something new, so I do have doubts still, every day, but then I look at everything and my confidence is back and my motivation stays high. That is how I preserved to work on ROLL for two years now, this month, a year will pass since my patent filing.

What I wanted to add here is that I think the fact I’m not from the mattress industry made me the perfect person to innovate. A lot of people in the industry assumed that the difficulties in creating ROLL would be impossible to overcome, I optimistically figured I could do it in 6 months, but incremental success led me to be persistent and develop the product.

The Future of Hybrid Living Spaces

With urban spaces shrinking and hybrid rooms becoming the norm, do you see ROLL as a niche guest-bed solution or the beginning of a broader shift in how we design multifunctional living environments

I think there is already a broader shift in how people and businesses use their space and in my opinion, there is no doubt that all innovative and good quality products will have a future in this shift. I think ROLL is one of the few true innovation in furniture and now it is my main focus to make it into a good product that people love. If I manage this, there will be a market for ROLL. With new products that will be developed in the future, by us or other forward thinking designers, I think no hassle space saving solutions will have significant traction in the market.

Our discussion with Luka Buljan highlights a project driven by a very practical frustration: the lack of a truly comfortable bed that can disappear when space is limited. ROLL Foldable Bed on Kickstarter approaches this challenge from an engineering perspective, combining modern foam technology with a mechanical system designed to store a real mattress inside a compact cabinet.

From early garage prototypes to a patent-pending rolling mechanism, the project reflects a persistent attempt to rethink how sleeping furniture adapts to smaller living spaces. If the team succeeds in translating the concept into durable large-scale manufacturing, ROLL could represent a meaningful step toward space-saving furniture that no longer forces users to compromise on sleep quality.

About the Creator Behind the ROLL Foldable Bed on Kickstarter

Luka Buljan is an entrepreneur and inventor from Croatia. He previously founded Cute, a medical apparel brand that became a leading regional company before a successful exit after nine years. He also co-founded ScanShop, an EU-funded self-checkout technology startup.

With a background that blends product design, engineering curiosity, and entrepreneurship, Luka spent more than two years developing the ROLL concept through multiple prototypes and mechanical iterations before launching the project on Kickstarter.

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FAQ about ROLL Foldable Bed

What is the ROLL foldable bed?

ROLL is a space-saving bed that stores a full mattress inside a cabinet using a motorized rolling mechanism. The bed unfolds and becomes ready to sleep on in under 30 seconds.

How comfortable is the mattress?

ROLL uses multi-layer polyurethane foams designed for support, airflow, and durability, aiming to provide comfort comparable to traditional mattresses of similar thickness

How much space does ROLL take when closed?

When stored, the unit has roughly the footprint of a TV cabinet, allowing it to fit in rooms where a traditional bed would normally take too much space.

Is the product already developed?

ROLL is currently in late development with tested prototypes and pre-production samples underway while safety features and certifications are being finalized.

Who created ROLL?

ROLL was invented by entrepreneur Luka Buljan, who developed the concept after searching for a compact sleeping solution that could provide real mattress comfort in a small room.