
The Chairless Chair, an invisible chair that you can wear - 51Cards
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/20/tech/innovation/the-chairless-chair/index.html?hpt=hp_c4
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jasonkester
A few hundred years late, and a bit on the expensive side compared to its
competition:

[https://www.google.com/search?q=strap+on+milking+stool&tbm=i...](https://www.google.com/search?q=strap+on+milking+stool&tbm=isch)

I built one of these for backpacking trips for a little less than $5 for a
wooden disk, a couple plumbing bits and a clip belt. Silly looking when you're
walking around with it, but infinitely better than sitting on a wet log next
to the campfire.

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Terr_
There's some NSFW content in that first page of search results...

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markild
Only if you have safe search turned off.

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Terr_
I didn't _turn_ it off, but that's the default if you block cookies.

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bane
This appears to be something that's solved with the Asian Squat. It's not
fashionable in the West to do this so we don't build up the right flexibility
and tendon strength to do it comfortably. But if you can train yourself to do
it, you can do it for hours. It's basically human's default "sitting"
position.

[http://www.mykoreanhusband.com/asian-
squatting/](http://www.mykoreanhusband.com/asian-squatting/)

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girvo
Whoah. I'm not asian, far from it (though I did spend 12 months in Busan,
South Korea when I was 16) and I "sit" like that. I find it extremely
comfortable; whenever my legs are feeling sore from standing or walking
around, that's the position I will rest in. Didn't realise it was a thing, or
tied to a culture! Neat.

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PeterisP
It's tied to a culture because if you don't ever use that position, then for
many adults it's extremely uncomfortable or even impossible to achieve, as the
lower calf tendons don't allow you to squat with your feet flat on the ground,
but only while balancing on the balls of your feet - which is not that
comfortable for long 'sitting'.

For cultures that habitually use squat toilets, everyone can hold that
position; but for other cultures many people can't.

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StavrosK
But why not? I tried weightlifting, and that's the position you do squats in,
but I found that I can only do it with > 50 kg on my back. That's very weird.

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wuliwong
My buddy has been pitching the idea of "chair pants" to me for a decade at
least. Glad to see someone finally executed on this. :)

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rsl7
Now we just need those keyboard pants. you know, with half a keyboard on each
thigh.

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skeoh
Keyboard pants exist!

[http://www.nieuweheren.com/products/beauty-and-the-
geek/](http://www.nieuweheren.com/products/beauty-and-the-geek/)

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zheshishei
It's too bad they didn't split up the keyboard. Putting your fingers on the
home keys looks like it would basically put your right hand over your crotch.

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rsl7
I had one of those old split Apple ergo keyboards back in the day and when
trying to use it on my lap one day this occurred to me but I thought it too
ridiculous. Also there were no wireless keyboards that weren't terrible.

But hey, you know with the right cargo style pants you could just conceal the
halves and...

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tofof
Sure playing fast and loose with "invisible", aren't we CNN?

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crazypyro
Clearly, invisible only means able to be hidden by cloth.

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drcode
It's gotta suck or be vaporware, given that no single video exists on the
entirety of the internet of the device in action... only cheesy renderings and
stills.

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ChuckMcM
Interesting concept. I used to carry a 'nada chair'[1] in my backpack when
hiking, I suspect this is much heavier though. I could totally see it as a
huge win for folks who had to stand while customers were around (think the guy
selling food from a cart on the street). If you motorized it so that it helped
older people stand up then it could be a double win for them.

[1]
[http://www.gingerbreadshows.com/nadachair/](http://www.gingerbreadshows.com/nadachair/)

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mcguire
Also found at: [http://www.nadachair.com/](http://www.nadachair.com/)
Reasonably comfortable, too.

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anigbrowl
I expected the worst from the headline but this is actually pretty neat. Seems
like it could improve safety as well in production environments where
workbenches or sit stools could present a trip hazard (eg if you're
manhandling large objects that obstruct your view of the ground).

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kalendae
found a 2008 article on similar honda 'legs'
[http://www.wired.com/2008/11/honda-
announces/](http://www.wired.com/2008/11/honda-announces/)

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josephschmoe
This sounds really useful. If it's less than 100$, I could see it selling very
well outside of a convention.

If a future iteration is cheap, light and can be worn below clothes, I could
really see this catching on.

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swombat
Awesome invention. If they can make it even less intrusive people might start
wearing it in daily life. Not sure how to feel about the "Chairolution"
slogan, though.

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iovar
It looks really uncomfortable to me.

Straps holding it in place, only two pads beneath your butt and no back
support.

Maybe in a two minute demonstration it's ok, but wear it all day and I bet it
will feel like a jail.

As for the assembly worker video example, it doesn't seem like a well-thought
use case.

Why not use a stool? Cheaper and might have some back support.

Also, off the top of my head:

What happens if you forget and lean backwards, even a bit ?

How much time does it take to put it on and take it off?

How easy is it to put it on in a slightly incorrect manner and twist and break
your leg?

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Guvante
> Why not use a stool? Cheaper and might have some back support.

Look at what the guy is doing. A stool will probably only cover 30% (if that)
of his work.

> What happens if you forget and lean backwards, even a bit ?

What happens if you are on a stool without a back and lean backwards?

> How much time does it take to put it on and take it off?

It sounds like you only put it on once per day and just leave it on disabled
without significantly impacting your movement.

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snowwrestler
If you lean back on a stool you will kick your legs out to cancel the
momentum. It's an unconscious reflex. Can't do that if your legs are strapped
down though.

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jonknee
We've come full circle--from a standing job to a desk job to a standing desk
job to a standing job where you can sit on your pants.

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colordrops
This seems to be a stepping stone to widespread fully powered exoskeletons. I
could imagine the next version of this supporting lifting capability.

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EGreg
I remember when I was singing in the Juilliard pre college chorus as a kid, we
had to stabd for hours on end in a concert. I wanted to make pants that go
above the knees and lock into place, so they support me standing. So I wanted
to build a low tech version of this when I was a kid :)

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haversine
I bet pregnant women would like a version of this which supported their body
weight sporadically throughout the day, especially in the late third
trimester.

Hell, I want one to help me do the dishes. There's somewhere a stool wouldn't
make much sense.

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mivanov
The name reminds me of this SNL sketch: [https://screen.yahoo.com/art-dealers-
susan-greg-meet-0000008...](https://screen.yahoo.com/art-dealers-susan-greg-
meet-000000810.html)

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ScotterC
Guessing that a lot of people are going to read the name as no-one.

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Shivetya
Question, if standing desks are so great then why is standing at work
considered bad? Only reason I can come up with is that with the desk you can
set its height

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stang
Invisible chairs have been around for a long long time:
[http://i.imgur.com/tIIBKCY.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/tIIBKCY.jpg)

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socceroos
You are correct sir. And as an added benefit, it keeps you nice and limber.

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m-app
These guys are definitely streets behind:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxzypwdDdo8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxzypwdDdo8)

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reddog
This would perfect with my standing desk!

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2810
I think it can be even more invisible.. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkmkGFHTjRg

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allochthon
A tiny step closer to mass-market robotic exoskeletons.

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wehadfun
seems like it would hurt.

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trhway
Last slide suggests that RyanAir would love it.

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fnazeeri
Sitting is the new smoking. This thing is like the e-cig of chairs...

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crazypyro
I don't understand this analogy. Care to explain?

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anigbrowl
Sitting too much can cause health problems (not because of the sitting itself
but the lack of exercise that often accompanies sit-down jobs). It's been
fashionable to say 'sitting is killing people' and suchlike in the popular
media.

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tveita
Spending too much time sitting down is believed to increase mortality even if
you exercise regularly.

E.g. [http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/too-much-sitting-
linked-t...](http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/too-much-sitting-linked-to-an-
early-death-201401297004):

“Even if you are doing the recommended amount of moderate to vigorous
exercise, you will still have a higher risk of mortality if you’re spending
too many hours sitting,” says Dr. JoAnn Manson, one of the study’s authors,
and chief of preventive medicine at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s
Hospital.

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fidz
What is "too much"? So what should we do? In school, we studied in class by
sitting on the school chair. That habit continue in campus. Also, some worker
are forced to do their job by sitting (e.g. taxi driver, pilot).

Btw, The article said that 8+ hours and it applies to woman.

