Bionic Inc: Prototype #1
Bionic Chair
Imagine a future where the wearable revolution has happened and embedded technology is a reality. Objects have become bionic extensions of our body. Developments in metamaterials have enabled us to create a seamless blend between body and object. Bionic Inc. Prototype #1 is an exploration into chairs for that future.
An electromagnet is suspended from a steel wire. A magnetic surface, with chains to distribute the weight over the back, is embedded in a second skin which is glued to the users back. The user is suspended from their back relieving the spine of the compression it normally experiences when sitting.
“What do chairs look like in a bionic future?”
The second skin in the prototype is attached with specialised skin glue, however it is already possible to use nanotechnology based on gecko feet as a dry adhesive to skin.
If the glue would be replaced with the dry adhesive it could be integrated into clothing and seamlessly integrated in our daily lives.
Back pain is one of the most common health problems in the world. In our increasingly sedentary lives we tend to sit most of the time we are awake.
When we sitting your spine gets compressed, which can cause lower back pain. In Prototype #1 you are suspended from your spine elongating it rather than compressing it.