Backball chair lets you mouse by the seat of your pants

While we can't quite picture it improving your Counterstrike game very much, the design-minded folks at Interaction Architecture seem to think that this so-called "Backball" chair of theirs can do its small part to improve human-computer interaction nonetheless. Basically a giant trackball that you sit on, the chair is apparently specifically intended for use in public spaces like airports, although we're sure there's a least a few folks out there that'd ditch their non-trackball ball chair for one of these if they were available to the general public -- which, as you might have guessed, they aren't.

[focuspuller @ Aug 6th 2008 2:37PM]

"Who are you?"

"The new number 2!"

[feffrey @ Aug 6th 2008 2:47PM]

Personally that looks more like one of the rovers with a new paint job
(insert rover scream here)

[phanbouy @ Aug 6th 2008 2:48PM]

rover scream here

[blackfeather @ Aug 6th 2008 2:36PM]

Who painted Mork's chair orange?

[blackfeather @ Aug 6th 2008 2:38PM]

nevermind... it's not a hollow egg on the other side like I thought.

[a @ Aug 6th 2008 2:37PM]

"Is that a giant trackball under your ass, or are you just happy to see me?"

[Corwin @ Aug 6th 2008 7:57PM]

There's nothing funny about hemerroids........

[Derwin @ Aug 6th 2008 2:39PM]

In Soviet Russia, the blending, Doom-playing overlords welcome you.

[fieldcar @ Aug 6th 2008 2:44PM]

wow, your avatar is amazing!

[KEROLiUKAS @ Aug 6th 2008 2:38PM]

So wtf? you gotta move your ass around?

[Reader @ Aug 6th 2008 3:18PM]

Ass Ass Revolution!

[Chuckles McGee @ Aug 6th 2008 9:06PM]

I smell a new Wii Sports game in the making.

[Joe @ Aug 6th 2008 2:40PM]

Needs force feedback!

[Stevo @ Aug 6th 2008 3:13PM]

perv.

[BigD145 @ Aug 6th 2008 3:46PM]

My butt hurts and I'm not even gay.

[phanbouy fan fan @ Aug 6th 2008 2:41PM]

10 points to anyone who can make sense of the hyperlinked "article"

[aquatsr @ Aug 6th 2008 3:00PM]

Click on the links at the top. There's one named "Backball"

[y3k.nik @ Aug 6th 2008 2:43PM]

I cant even use an exercise ball without falling of one, how do they want me to sit down on a giant ball and then move around without falling off?

[Evan @ Aug 6th 2008 2:43PM]

Someone call Leo.

[EricLMcCormick @ Aug 6th 2008 2:49PM]

Want!
I am one of those people that lean into racing games and I could so see this chair being implimented into games like those... you know you do it too.

[phanbouy @ Aug 6th 2008 2:51PM]

yeah that's all well and good until you make a hard left and go face first on your hardwood floor

[egloskerry @ Aug 6th 2008 2:56PM]

This combines the two American pastimes of being lazy and sitting at a computer. Cleaning the pearls that the ball glides on is gonna be nasty, though.

[kjb434 @ Aug 6th 2008 3:02PM]

I would hate to see the joystick these people come up with! OUCH!

Unless that's your think, then ride on.

[h0rk @ Aug 6th 2008 3:14PM]

when men use this it will be so gay - reason: balls will be touching

[Reader @ Aug 6th 2008 3:19PM]

Ah the virtues of pants and boxers.

[phanbouy @ Aug 6th 2008 3:20PM]

or boxer briefs if you need that right combo of support and freedom

[M.Samba @ Aug 6th 2008 3:18PM]

Alright this has got to be some kind of joke, I mean it's a giant orange ball that you have to move with your butt and it's intended for public use? Someone, Somewhere is probably laughing really hard right now.

[Derwin @ Aug 6th 2008 3:22PM]

I would hate to see the joystick version.

[austin @ Aug 6th 2008 4:23PM]

sorry, you fail by 20 minutes

[Derwin @ Aug 6th 2008 4:34PM]

I concede defeat on that one.

[Mag Li @ Aug 6th 2008 3:29PM]

The gang at Google office would love those I'll bet. They practically all sit on those huge exercise balls anyway.

[bob sakamano @ Aug 6th 2008 3:30PM]

hey, at least its not the blueball chair

[cnr1993 @ Aug 6th 2008 3:33PM]

Reminds me of happy fun ball from SNL, DO NOT LOOK AT HAPPY FUN BALL!

[siv_art @ Aug 6th 2008 3:54PM]

"Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball..."
(One of my favorite SNL commercials)
also, "Happy Fun Ball may stick to certain types of skin."
~Trav

[Knives_Out @ Aug 6th 2008 3:37PM]

you lazy americans need so many things to sit your a$$ down on ...

[phanbouy @ Aug 6th 2008 3:41PM]

obligatory that's what she said

[interaction-architecture @ Aug 6th 2008 3:42PM]

1) This thing worked quite well at the CeBit and nobody fellt down.
2) It was adjusted to small movements so you did not have to shake your ass to much. But we can change that...
3) We used it in public !!
4) We thought about a "Joy-Stick"... certainly not for use in public.
5) I would love to give it force-feedback - good idea.

[D W @ Aug 6th 2008 4:08PM]

Things have been around for years...

http://www.amazon.com/FitBall-Exercise-Ball-Chair-Choice/dp/B000CQG1ZA

And if any of you had a back problem, you'd be glad someone thought of it, because they work really well for exercising lower back muscles.

[allston232 @ Aug 6th 2008 3:42PM]

with a ball like that, who needs a boyfriend/girlfriend anymore??!!

[SugarDaddy @ Aug 6th 2008 3:48PM]

Hrm. I thought this was going to be a ball that you sit on that helps your posture while at the desk. That whole 'backball' name seemed to hint that for me. Instead, it's something completely wortheless. Awesome... :-/

[interaction-architecture @ Aug 6th 2008 4:05PM]

actually it does help improving your posture while at the desk..

and some people who work with handicapped persons liked it because these persons need something more stabil than a mouse to control the cursor.. so it is not completely worthless I think

and also when you think about how many mouses aer stolen during the Cebit.. try to steel this

[phanbouy @ Aug 6th 2008 4:33PM]

you guys aren't into correct spelling so much, huh?

[konshuss @ Aug 6th 2008 4:19PM]

sit on it and spin.

[JDGATX @ Aug 6th 2008 4:46PM]

No, thanks. I have already taken to controlling my mouse with my ass flaps. It's not as difficult as it sounds, and you certainly don't need some new fangled chair to make it happen.

[John Doe @ Aug 6th 2008 6:03PM]

Looked like the ad of discover card at the first glance to me

[McFly @ Aug 6th 2008 8:55PM]

could be cool for a ski game..