The Premise. Most people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. This can have many causes, but the two leading reasons for back pain are bad posture and immobility. Office workers may find it hard to address either of these problems due to their sedentary jobs.
The Product. ChairBot makes sitting at one’s desk, but staying mobile with good posture, possible. The chair features a moveable seat that splits in two. The seat, either manually or automatically set by a timer, will alternate supporting each leg. What this means, is that the user stands on one leg, while sitting on the other. When the chair switches sides, the person’s weight shifts keeping them in constant motion to avoid injury caused from sitting too much. Good posture is maintained because the person is in a standing position, without actually having to stand.
The Pitch. ChairBot’s campaign video features Simon Hong, its creator, talking about the dangers of sitting too long and why it causes pain. He goes into the scientific reasons for back pain and his explanation is actually interesting and informative. Hong is aiming to raise $100,000 in his 30-day Kickstarter campaign.
The Perks. Backers looking to avoid back pain need to shell out $2,700 for the ChairBot… ouch. The top two reward tiers come with a crystal etched version of the ChairBot for super chair enthusiasts. Hong also offers a footstool specifically designed to go with his chair for $100. Reward tiers that include the product have an estimated delivery date of November 2014.
The Potential. There have been so many products aimed at fixing the various aches and pains of office worker bees. Most back support systems are attachments or accessories for existing chairs, like PostureME. ChairBot, however, really pushes the envelope with its weight switching capabilities. A couple of drawbacks of this product are that the desks of people using this product need to be at a higher position for standing and that a constantly moving chair may make it difficult to focus on actual work. The price is also very high for a powered chair. Other power or motor chairs go for around the same price or even less. Still, ChairBot’s ergonomic possibilities and well-thought out design make it a great tool for serial sitters in pain.