Nagging Cushion

Process

Let people who have been sitting in front of the computer leave their seats to rest (students/staff)

-->

data: X% of people work in the Office (or X% of people use computers for a long time, more than XXX hours / there is an inseparable relationship between X's occupation and computers now)

-->

the impact of sedentary (lumbar vertebrae/vision/impact of work and rest time - what's the delay of eating due to long-time work) + data --> why they sit for a long time (Research + data)

-->

Now there are some technologies to help people improve this, such as a mobile app and so on.

-->

But XXX (disadvantage)

So XXXX, in combination with the project we chose, our goal is to make people change this habit by designing a fidgety, playable and meaningful thing. （physical computing + annoying + playful + meaningful）。

Concept: cushion:

1. Start to count the time when you sit down. After a period of time (1 hour), the cushion will make you uncomfortable (cushion bulge/heat). It will return to normal after 5 minutes.
2. Enter your daily routine - for example, as a biological clock: remind you when to eat, if you are still sitting, remind you to eat, or if there is something you need to do, remind you
3. Playful: voice – "you sit me for a long time", "I'm in pain", "don't throw me away because of trouble";

Results

It is a cushion that reminds people to stand or walk after they have seated for long periods. Specifically, the cushion starts to count the time after user sits down, and the semicircular particles on its upper surface will be raised and move after he/she sat for one hour, which aims to create an uncomfortable feeling to user so that he/she is not able to keep sitting on the chair. The state will turn back to normal in five minutes.

In addition, it has a playful and annoying feature: when a user has seated for long time such as 2 hours or, ignore the reminder, the voice system inside the cushion will talk to the user such as ‘You have seated on my face for two hours! That hurts!’, ‘Do not throw me away just because I am annoying’, and ‘Do you know how heavy you are?’. They all aim to divert user’s attention and remind them they have been working for long time so it is the time to take a break for a while. In order to make sure user is standing or walking, user is required to carry the cushion. The cushion will then record the number of steps or the change of the height. If the system did not detect anything, then it would say something like ‘Hey, come on, just few steps’ or ‘I knew you gonna be lazy again’. On the other hand, this system can also read the current time and user’s daily plan set on phone. So, it will remind the user the upcoming plans, as well as daily routine such as lunchtime.

Reference

Sitting time

Daily Sitting Time

MOVE MORE SIT LESS