Capacitive sensors in furniture for health monitoring

Furniture with sensors that detect movement without even making contact can help monitor health. We developed a smart chair that can detect sitting positions and movements, and then send guidance to a PC, smartphone or smartwatch. Those who spend the majority of their workday seated are shown an ergonomic sitting position or reminded now and then to stand up for a little bit. To achieve this, a commercial office chair was outfitted with capacitive sensors in the seat, backrest and armrests. Their decisive advantage over pressure sensors: They can detect a person’s sitting position and movements even without making direct contact.

Smart chair monitors health exercises

Position detection is relevant at the workplace not just for preventing back pain from prolonged or incorrect sitting. After an operation, patients can be prescribed targeted exercises as part of their follow-up care. By connecting to an app, they are not only reminded to stick to their exercises, they also get direct feedback on whether they are performing their exercises correctly. For this exercise tracking, machine learning is used to teach a number of possible motion sequences in advance, then users select the exercises prescribed for them along with duration and frequency. Chair and app become personal health assistants and can even give healthcare professionals valuable information for monitoring follow-up care. At the event, these functions will be demonstrated on an internally developed app. It is also generally possible to connect to existing health and fitness apps.