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Toshiba 'Space Chair' ad redefines armchair viewing (video)

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 16th 2009 at 6:15AM

There's something wrong when an advertisement is more memorable than the product. Nevertheless, here we have Toshiba's Space Chair ad campaign promoting its new 2010 REGZA SV LCD TV series, Toshiba's first with LED backlight and local dimming. The campaign will later expand to include a second take featuring the Satellite T Series of 11-hour CULV laptops set for introduction in 2010. The ad follows the journey of "an ordinary living room chair" to the edge of space before falling back to Earth where the ground crew relied upon a GPS beacon to locate the craft. A few facts about the shoot:

A helium balloon lifted the chair and Toshiba's own IK-HR1S ultra-compact 1080i camera to a height of 98,268 feet above terra firma
FAA regulations required that the weight of the rig had to be less than four pounds
The chair is made of biodegradable balsa wood at a cost of about £2,500
The rig was launched in Nevada's ~~Burning Man~~ Black Rock desert
The temperature dropped to minus 90 degrees at 52,037 feet
The chair took 83 minutes to reach an altitude of 98,268 feet and just 24 minutes to fall back to earth

Truly amazing stuff. Now buckle up and click through for the show.

Gallery: Toshiba 'Space Chair' ad redefines armchair viewing (video)

Continue reading Toshiba 'Space Chair' ad redefines armchair viewing (video)

Shape-shifting 'Breathing Chair' looks to make the beanbag fashionable

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 27th 2009 at 3:49PM

Shape-shifting chairs may not always be the most attractive additions to your living room, but Taiwanese designer Yu-Ying Wu is hoping to change that with her so-called "Breathing Chair," which has already won a few prestigious design awards but hasn't yet snagged any commercial partners. The secret, such as it is, is the array of "professionally calculated" holes spaced out through the three layers of foam plastic, which are designed to compress into the shape of an armchair when someone sits in it and spring back into a cube when they stand up. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any video of it in action, but the chair will soon be on display at Red Dot Design Museum in Singapore if you happen to be in the area.

Update: Thanks to commenter Deny for digging up a video of the chair. Check it out after the break.

[Via MAKE]

Continue reading Shape-shifting 'Breathing Chair' looks to make the beanbag fashionable

TGS 2009 video moment of zen: game chair rocks

by Ross Miller posted Sep 24th 2009 at 7:36AM

What's one way to capture the attention of a jaded tech writer who's seen his fair share of game chairs in life? Simple: put glasses filled with rocks on an active model and watch as onlookers get caught in its hypnotic dance. Video after the break.

Continue reading TGS 2009 video moment of zen: game chair rocks

Video: Wii Nunchuk controls motorized Beancat chair

by Darren Murph posted Jun 7th 2009 at 7:59PM

Nintendo's Wiimote (and the Nunchuk, by extension) have certainly been wired up to control their fair share of oddities, but we honestly can't think of a more suitable use for a spare 'chuk than this right here. The so-called Beancat is nothing more than a motorized beanbag chair that takes direction from a wired Nunchuk, and while we can't exactly speak from experience, it certainly looks thrilling from afar. Have a glance yourself just past the break, and tap the read link if you're eager to see how it all came together.

[Via MAKE]

Continue reading Video: Wii Nunchuk controls motorized Beancat chair

Gamerox gamer chair keeps you on your toes, so to speak

by Darren Murph posted Dec 16th 2008 at 7:02AM

We've been acquainted with all sorts of strange exercise / gaming apparatuses, and while the Gamerox is far from being the strangest, it's pretty high up there. Rather than just letting your kid grab any nearby stool and have a seat while melting their brain on games for hours on end, why not force their nates into this contraption? Put simply, it forces kids to continually balance and adjust in order to stay seated. Will it really tone muscles and improve posture? Doubtful, but it's practically guaranteed to frustrate and / or enrage your offspring.

[Via Slashgear]

Suzukaze air conditioned seat cushion keeps the hindquarters cool

by Darren Murph posted Aug 9th 2008 at 2:23PM

Kuchofuku is on the loose again, this time creating an air conditioned seat cushion to keep your fundament breezy. Reportedly, the unit can be powered via an AC adapter, car adapter or rechargeable batteries, and the built-in fan can move over 170 liters of air per minute in order to "dissipate heat and moisture around the buttocks that causes discomfort and sweating." Well, when you put it like that, $89 seems like a real bargain.

[Via Gearlog]

Backball chair lets you mouse by the seat of your pants

by Donald Melanson posted Aug 6th 2008 at 2:33PM

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.

Tristar Massage Chair isn't built for the average living room

by Darren Murph posted Jun 23rd 2008 at 3:17AM

Really, we've yet to pinpoint a massage chair that fit in well with typical furniture and didn't cost a small fortune, but we're tempted to believe that the Tristar Massage Chair was actually created with Martians in mind. This rather terrifying seating device includes all sorts of apparatuses that will reportedly remove stress from your back, feet, face and fingertips. There's also an integrated audio system for surrounding yourself in Kenny G or Killswitch Engage, whichever group helps you cope with all that you dealt with during the workday. Too bad you'll be burning that midnight oil to pay off the €5,000 ($7,807) credit card bill.

[Via Ubergizmo]

Armchair Paradise pod puts you in an embryonic state... almost

by Darren Murph posted Feb 20th 2008 at 10:20PM

With each passing moment we grow ever closer to reaching the year 2193, thus, having some sort of futuristic pod / chair hybrid in your home is likely more acceptable today than yesterday. Nevertheless, we can't recommend the Armchair Paradise to anyone with any level of self-respect with a straight face, though the amenities do seem quite nice. Besides a totally comfortable place to put your tush after a hard day's night, you'll also find a built-in sound system that quite literally envelops you in sound. Unfortunately, pricing information doesn't seem to be readily available, but fast-forward a few decades and you might find out.

[Via CNET]

Bose patent app sees electroacoustical transducers in our chairs

by Darren Murph posted May 24th 2007 at 12:04AM

While finding hidden speakers tucked neatly away in one's headrest, rocking chair, or gaming seat isn't exactly surprising, Bose is hoping to integrate the technology one step further by getting "surround sound" into practically every seat imaginable. According to a patent application filed by the company, it's hoping to develop an audio system that includes an "electroacoustical transducer mounted in the back of a seat" so that surround sound is radiated and focused around the ears of the listener. Obviously, said technology could be placed into cars, recliners, office chairs, and beach loungers with relative ease, and while musical entertainment is clearly the primary candidate for use in such a system, the filing also mentions possible telephone integration. Unsurprisingly, Bose didn't mention any details surrounding RMS ratings, frequency ranges, or driver sizes.

[Via Wired]

Reee chair made from recycled PlayStation 2 consoles

by Peter Rojas posted May 15th 2007 at 2:35PM

Where do old PS2s go to die? Well, apparently they go right underneath your lazy, game-addicted ass now that Britain's pli design is introducing a chair with a seat and back made entirely from recycled PlayStation 2 casings. Suggested retail price for the Reee chair is £99, which is actually MORE than you'll pay for a brand new PS2 these days, even in Britain.

[Via Inhabitat]

Danielle Sobik's electroluminescent couch encourages nearness

by Darren Murph posted Feb 1st 2007 at 3:29AM

Although today's not exactly a good day for some furniture manufacturers, Danielle Sobik's electroluminescent couch is looking to cure the boring couch blues by offering touch / location-sensitive lighting in an ultra-mod sofa. Clearly designed with the female in mind, the couch emits blue flower patterns when a couple is sitting apart from one another, and as the two move nearer, the patterns change in relation to their proximity. Once the two are close enough to finally get over that gripe they had earlier, the deep blue colors begin to turn to a light pink, presumably aiding everyone in just getting along. Nah, it doesn't look like Danielle has landed a deal with Berkline just yet, but this would definitely be the perfect seating location when typing away on your Luxeed keyboard. Psychedelic, man.

[Via ShinyShiny]

Matsushita recalls 68,000 potentially fiery massage chairs

by Darren Murph posted Jan 31st 2007 at 11:52AM

We're all very aware of how often Li-ion batteries have been on the literal hot seat over the past year or so, but now it looks like Matsushita has yet another recall to deal with outside of those overheating laptop batteries. The company best known for its Panasonic brand has recalled 68,762 of its electric massage chairs after two cases were reported of the "internal motor burning out" and sparking fires. Thankfully, no one was injured while getting all the kinks worked out of their spine, but considering there are much safer ways to heat your bottom while kicked back in a recliner, we doubt the unadvertised warming functions were appreciated. So if you just so happen to own one of these vibrating chairs, you should probably make haste in pulling the plug and phoning Matsushita for an RMA number.

[Via Fark]

Sanyo massage chairs also detect lies?

by Darren Murph posted Jan 17th 2007 at 7:16PM

Sure, there's quite a few ways to sniff out fibs for those who just can't "read" body language all that well, and there's certainly a entire market saturated with massage chairs that supposedly coax your muscles in return for a hefty sum of cash, but it looks like Sanyo's lineup of massage seats just might sport a hidden agenda. According to Sanyo's ever-descriptive website, its array of massage chairs sport "physical shape sensors, power recline, and GK roller technology" among other things, but the standout feature is the "stiffness detection sensor" that "locates areas of physical stiffness and gauges fatigue by changes in skin temperature, perspiration, and pulse." Interestingly enough, those three measurements are the things lie detection tools are made up of my friend, so if you've got the 1337 skills to wire up a massage chair to some swank analytical software, you could potentially extract just about any truth you ever wanted while the culprit simply enjoys the ride.

[Via CNET]

Swiss designers create LED-based assembly instructions

by Darren Murph posted Nov 30th 2006 at 10:08AM

Sure, step-by-step instructions by some of the best modders we've ever seen can help you turn your Jaguar into a portable or stuff a Linux box inside an Apple monitor, but what if that newfangled computer desk just magically assembled itself as soon as you got it home? While we're not quite there just yet, a group of Swiss gurus have devised a prototype system that utilizes multiple series of LEDs that glow and fade based on user input, direction, and tasks remaining. Designed to be used on typical flat packed tables, chairs, and other forms of IKEA-derived furniture, the diodes act in "proactive fashion" and "adapt to each movement the user makes" in order to guide the assembler to screwing the right bolt in the correct location and in the appropriate order. While there are far too many specifics to get into here, be sure to hit the read leads for the full skinny, including a comparison to the often used "paper and frustration" method. [Warning: PDF links]

Read - LED furniture assembly explained
Read - LED furniture design details
[Via infosthetics]