The Chairless Chair – Wearable Chair to Let you Sit Anywhere

There are many professions that require people to stand for majority of their shift while working in the factories, assembly lines, production lines and distribution centers. But a startup in Zurich called Noonee, is looking to give hope to those people.

Noonee has come up with a solution which is a futuristic exoskeleton wearable that is simply called Chairless Chair. It is an amazing upcoming technology that company is trying to perfect which will allow production line workers to simply retain mobility while locked into place with the wearable exoskeleton.

The device’s frame is made of aluminum and carbon fibre, and weighs around two kilograms as it can be strapped to a user’s waist and thighs. The person can walk as well as run while wearing the gadget, and with a simple button the device can be stiffen while allowing a comfortable support to your lower body in various configurations. And in an instant, you will be in a perfectly positioned chair, which you did not have to pull over. The below image from company’s website illustrates how it looks like.

The development of this contraption has been started in 2009 when company’s CEO Keith Gunura was a student in the Bioinspired Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich research institute. He got inspiration for this resourceful gadget from his first job where he had to work while standing at a packaging line.

Company has already a prototype version ready and is actively marketing its products, but it will be interesting to see more detailed usage, or say a video demo of this unconventional device.

The device makes utilization of a powered variable damper, which supports the wearer’s body weight. The person simply needs to bend their knees in order to get themselves down to the level at which they like to sit, and then simply engage the damper. The Chairless Chair then locks into that configuration as all the weight is directed to the heels of the user’s shoes as it is attached to it and also with the thighs via straps and to waist using belt.

The factory and industrial applications are obvious, but it can also be used for leisure activities like during camping, but with five pounds of weight, it is sort of heavy than using a lighter camp chair. And since the final product is yet to be completed we don’t know how stable this thing is. It will be suitable for in situations when workers have to perform long and repetitive tasks in non-optimal postures. This wearable exoskeleton will work as a preventive measure for employees who are involved with manufacturing, packaging, food service, and courier service industries. This technology might be the future for most of the diverse job personnel as it will also help in decreasing the down time of the production line. So, it will apparently prove helpful to the both employee and employer.

Company has plans to drop down the weight of commercial model to 2 Kg (4.4 lb), and to be able to get approximately eight hours of usage out of its 9-volt battery on one charge. There is no word on the pricing detail of the final product, but rest assured it should be interesting if company plans to sell it to mass population as millions of people have to stand during their work shift.