posture
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Samsung's latest experiments include an ASMR recorder
CES is right around the corner, and that means Samsung is unveiling a new batch of C-Lab projects -- some stranger than others. Take aiMo, for instance. It's an ASMR recording tool that combines a phone with a case that simulates the human ear, right down to the shape. It looks silly, to say the least, but it promises both better spatial audio and more realistic sounds thanks to some AI sound rendering magic. In theory, you can produce top-notch tingling audio wherever you are, even when you're outside.
A posture trainer works, if you want it to
In our line of work, everywhere is an office. Particularly at trade shows and other big events, you can find Engadget editors writing stories in hotel lobbies, the back of cabs or anywhere there's a power outlet. I'm no more consistent at home. Sometimes I stare at my laptop from the comfort of the couch or sit on the floor if my desk isn't proving to be an inspiring location. I hadn't given it much thought until an Upright Go posture tracker arrived on my doorstep. Had a complete disregard for ergonomics made its mark on my spine? Well, I'm still not quite sure.
ICYMI: Humanoid moto bot, engineered desk marvel and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-121846{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-121846, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-121846{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-121846").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Altwork Station is a $3,900 computer desk that can sit, stand and fully recline, levering the screen and desk up to keep that ergonomic alignment you've realized you need to actually care about. Being an adult can be so overrated. Meanwhile there are two pieces of fun robot news: Yamaha is teasing its autonomous motorcycling robot and MIT researchers built a robotic cube that can jump over uneven terrain.
60 seconds with the wearable that might save your back
This Insert Coin contender could well cure what we call "Engadget back": the slightly unappealing hunch that some editors (read: this editor) descend into after typing away at one too many articles or trade shows. The Upright sticks (through a hypoallergenic adhesive strip) to the small of your back, where it uses multiple sensors -- an accelerometer and a strain gauge -- to monitor the line of your spine -- and tell you through gentle vibrations when you're doing it wrong. We just tested it briefly here at Expand, and the reminder vibrations are far more gentle than, say, your smartphone. It kinda feels like soda water on your skin: enough to remind you that you're slouching but not enough to grate. The team behind it reckons that 15 minutes a day will be enough to reeducate your back muscles and a Bluetooth connection links the device to your smartphone to keep everything recorded for future posterity.
Valve worker's controllers let you steer games with your butt and tongue (video)
Valve's engineers may spend much of their time building practical hardware like gamepads and VR headsets, but they still have room to work on some intriguing side projects. Just ask the company's Ben Krasnow, who recently created prototype game controllers that use the player's butt and tongue for input. The backside-based system centers on a modified bathroom scale that translates posture shifts to software commands; players just have to lean or spin to move their character. The tongue controller, meanwhile, stuffs a mouse's optical system into a custom retainer. As you'll see in the demo videos after the break, neither device is especially practical -- you'd need extra equipment to have any chance of competing with fellow gamers. Still, the experiments show just how daring Krasnow can be when exploring alternative control schemes.
LUMOback smart posture sensor hands-on
We first met Andrew Chang -- one of the co-founders behind LUMOback -- when he approached us at the end of our panel at SXSW and offered to show us his smart posture sensor. He was wearing it right then and demoed it for us on the spot. We were impressed enough to stay in touch. Fast forward four months and the device has launched on Kickstarter and already surpassed its $100,000 funding goal. We recently caught up with Andrew to learn a little more about the device's evolution from mockup to pre-production and to get some hands-on time. While we didn't get the chance to wear the smart posture sensor ourselves, Andrew gave us a thorough rundown and brought along various iterations of the device which you'll find in the photo gallery below. LUMOback is an 8.5mm thick appliance roughly the size of a credit card that's worn like a belt and rests against your lower back. It's packed with sensors, a vibration motor, an iOS-compatible Bluetooth 4.0 LE radio and a Li-Ion battery which provides about 4 days of operation on a charge. The only visible components are a single capacitive button, an LED and a micro-USB charging port. It's splash resistant and features an adjustable elastic strap.%Gallery-160244% The hardware may be interesting, but it's the software that really makes LUMOback useful. Paired with an iOS device over Bluetooth, the smart posture sensor monitors if you're running, walking, standing, sitting or laying down. When you're standing or sitting, it knows if you're slouching and optionally alerts you by vibrating. It even measures how much you're slouching and to which side, and knows if you're laying on your stomach, back, left or right side. Best of all, the app logs your posture over time, gives you feedback, and lets you journal how you feel. There's a social networking component as well, and you're able to share some of that information with others. Andrew and his team are still tweaking the hardware and the software (nothing we saw is finalized yet), but the LUMOback smart posture sensor should cost between $100 and $125 when it ships this fall. Hit the break for our hands on video, and be sure to check out the screenshots gallery below.%Gallery-160245%
Insert Coin: LUMOback Smart Posture Sensor thrums when you slouch, charts your laziness (video)
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. LUMOback wants to show all those DIY posture dilitantes what's what with its Smart Posture Sensor, an app and hardware combo that tracks your carriage and vibrates when you hunch. The thinnish 8.5mm sensor is worn like a belt, and on top of the tactile nagging, it provides detailed iPhone or iPad charting of the sitting, running and even sleeping you did, complete with an xkcd-like stickman video replaying all your crooked moves. So far the team is about a third of the way to its $100K mark, and a minimum $99 pledge will get you a jet-black model if it's built, with a $125 chip-in letting you vote on a a second shipping color, to boot. If some of your activities consist of, say, blogging in front of a computer screen all day, check the video after the break for relief.
Bad Posture tells you to sit up straight, replaces your mom with an Arduino
At certain point in every geek's life, their mother gives up and stops yelling at them to sit up straight. If the lack of constant reminders to maintain good posture has you slouching and hunching, there are countless technological substitutes. Even a few nice DIY ones. But we've got to give Ellen Sundh props for the simplicity of her solution. While similar projects rely on accelerometers, which can be difficult for the budding hobbyist to work with, to monitor the angle of your body, Bad Posture sticks with a simple bend sensor to keep tabs on your spinal cord. The flexible plastic is arranged vertically in a fabric belt that also houses an Arduino, a Wave Shield from Adafruit and a push button for calibration. Sit at your optimal angle, press the button and you're ready to go. Bend too much and the Wave Shield plays a warning -- "bad posture!" Check out the video after the break to see it in action.
Philips' new ErgoSensor desktop display demands that you sit up straight
Remember those halcyon days when your mother would chide you to sit up straight should you ever start to slouch? Good news, desk jockeys, because Philips' ErgoSensor desktop monitor is here to stop your stooping now that mom's no longer around -- and it doesn't require you to wear some silly plastic pendant or occupy any of your USB real estate. The 24-inch, 250-nit, 1920 x 1080 display has a sensor in its bezel that watches you while you work, and warns you when your posture becomes poor or if you've been staring at the screen too long. It also informs users how to set up the monitor for optimal viewing distance and ergonomic position. Plus, it can tell when you're not around and shut the screen off to conserve power. We don't know how much money the monitor will cost or even when it'll be available to fix your poor sitting form, but we do know you can learn everything else about it at the source below.
iPosture review: it ain't no slouch!
The iPosture is a button-sized device designed to help you self-correct your posture by vibrating every time you slouch. We were lucky enough to score one for review, and we spent three solid work days (10+ hours each) and some relaxing time wearing the annoying reminder of our ill-postured ways. Here's our epically long-winded opinion of the device.
iPosture unleashed upon world, wants you to know you're not standing up straight
Remember the iPosture? That little button-sized nano-sensor you attach to your body which then vibrates any time you slouch or strike a less-than-optimal pose? The one which supposedly improves your posture, making you look thinner and taller, feel more confident, and also doubles as a hot piece of jewelry? Well, it's available now for the pretty reasonable price of $89.95 with a free copy of "Young, Sexy and Healthy" -- which you were probably considering buying anyway. If you're one of those people who can never get enough of being nagged at over your seemingly minuscule flaws, this just may be the perfect device for you.
iPosture annoys you when you slouch, does so because it loves you
Mama always said you'd regret slouching one day, and while you've still got a few decades left before ultimately determining whether the sage-like advice was right or wrong, why take chances? The iPosture does the same thing as wearable posture reminders that we've seen in the past, but this one does so in a much more discrete fashion. The diminutive nano-sensor detects when your angle deviates just three degrees from the optimal position for greater than a minute, after which it emits a warning to straighten you out. Users insistent on keeping it crooked can turn the device off by powering it down, removing it or flinging it furiously into a wall. Life's next big nuisance will be shipping soon for $99.95.[Thanks, Eric]
Neck-worn posture reminder keeps your back in check
No, we don't honestly expect any of you to actually lower your pride enough to replace those Mr. T-styled chains with a posture reminding bird, but at least you've got the option, right? The admittedly zany Sitting Pose Corrector and Reminder Alarm is apparently designed to hang 'round your neck and use internal sensors to determine just how far you're slouched over, and if that spine gets a bit too crooked, we assume it emits an embarrassing array of noises to straighten you back out. Again, we've no idea who'd submit themselves to this type of inhumane torture, but for just $8.43, it'd make for a swell gag gift.[Via CNET]
USB-powered Posture Reminder keeps slouching in check
Those kind, considerate folks over at Brando are continuing to look out for the chair-sitter's well-being, as the USB Posture Reminder ranks right up there with the USB drink chiller and USB hair trimmer as goods that any desk-strapped individual should keep nearby. This USB-powered device clips onto the top of your monitor's frame, but instead of enabling video chats, it keeps a constant eye on the distance of your forehead in relation to the screen. The VISOMATE uses an ultrasonic sensor to determine whether your eyes are too close (or not close enough) to your screen; if you see a blue light being emitted, you're doing just fine staying in the 35- to 60-centimeter range, but if you manage to slouch too close and break the 35-centimeter barrier, a flashing red light will alert you to your mistake. If blinking lights aren't enough to cause epileptic fits straighten you out, you can even turn a "Chime" function on to reinforce the severity of bad posture, and you can take the first step in correcting your atrocious leaning habit by plopping down $26 and vowing to actually install it when it arrives.[Via Uber-Review]
