Problem:
As people interact more and more with technology, a problem with sedentary lifestyles is the toll it takes on people’s bodies. One way to alleviate these problems is to promote good posture while sitting.
A General Solution:
A device that would sense the angle of a user’s back and give feedback based on its interpretation of the user’s posture.
Proof of Concept:
An Arduino with an accelerometer to act as input data to control some transducers which represent a more extensive network of physical actuators. When the accelerometer senses that the user is sitting up straight, none of the actuators move. When the accelerometer senses that the user is slouching or is leaning too far forward, the vibrations move in sequence to guide the user to lean forward or backward in the correct direction. If the user decides to not correct their posture, the device will eventually get to the point where it will just constantly vibrate unless the user fixes their posture. This occurs for a duration of time until the user’s ‘probation’ period has expired (expires when user doesn’t slouch for a while). When the accelerometer senses that the user is asleep, it vibrates gently, fading from nothing to a softer vibration to wake the user up.
Fritzing Sketch:
The Fritzing sketch shows how the accelerometer is setup to send information into the Arduino as well as how the transducers are connected to the Arduino to receive outputs. The transducers have been represented by microphones, which have similar wiring diagrams. Not pictured, is that the Arduino would have to be connected to a battery source.
Proof of Concept Sketches:
The transducer senses when the user is asleep, slouching, or sitting with good posture and sends a corresponding output to the transducers which vibrate to inform the user of how they are doing.
Proof of Concept Videos:
Demonstration
LED Demonstration
Files:
