It seems like a modern office is full of different ways to work. From standing desks to ergonomic chairs, there doesn’t seem to be a set way for everyone in the office to work. But what if I told you that there was a chair that could do all the work for you? This chair is called an autonomous chair and it can move around on its own at your command. In the past few years, more and more people have been buying these chairs. But are they actually beneficial or just a gimmick? You may want to read on before you decide!
What Is An Autonomous Chair?
Autonomous Chairs are chairs that can move on their own. They are controlled by wireless sensors that allow the chair to move from one workstation to another, and they feature a computer with a wireless remote control which is used for setting the chair’s speed and direction.
These chairs have many benefits such as reducing traffic congestion in office buildings, saving energy costs associated with moving large numbers of people around an office building manually or via elevators/escalators; these autonomous chairs also provide more privacy since no other person will be able to see what you’re doing at your desk while using it- this may come in handy if you need some time alone during your day!
What Are The Benefits Of Using Autonomous Chairs?
There are a lot of benefits to using autonomous chairs at work. For one thing, it is less stressful for people who have back or neck pain when they can stand up or sit down without having to worry about their chair moving around on its own. It also helps people who cannot sit in traditional office chairs because of pain or other health issues. The chairs are also very helpful in reducing stress levels while working as they don’t require you to stand up and move around all the time.
Below is a list of some of the benefits from autonomous chairs;
- Reduces Stress: Since the chair doesn’t require you to get up and move around, it reduces stress levels when you’re working. It also helps those who have back or neck pain since they can sit in the chair without worrying about it moving.
- Reduces Motion Sickness: If you work in an office that has a lot of walking required, then this will be a big help as well. The chairs can move around without having to worry about being stuck in a particular position for too long or getting sick from standing up and moving around too much.
- Reduces Health Risks: Working at your desk all day may cause health issues such as back pain, neck pain, etc. Autonomous chairs reduce these risks by requiring less physical activity and allowing people to sit on their seats more often.
- Good For People With Mobility Issues: People with mobility issues are also helped by autonomous chairs because they are less stressful for them because the chair does not require them to stand up or move around.
- Good For People With Disabilities: Since these chairs are designed to be more ergonomic, they are suitable for people with disabilities. They reduce the stress of people who have back pain or other health issues by allowing them to sit in positions that they can’t do on their own.
- Reduces Noise Levels: Since these chairs don’t require you to move around, they don’t make as much noise as a normal chair would. They also make less noise when you’re using the chair since it does not have wheels and can be easily rolled around without making any noise at all.
- Increased Productivity: Autonomous chairs increase productivity by allowing people to sit in positions that are more ergonomic and reduce the amount of physical activity required when working at your desk all day.
Cons of Autonomous Chairs
Despite being quite beneficial, there are a few drawbacks to using autonomous chairs. Some of the negative aspects of autonomous chairs include:
- Difficult to Use: Since autonomous chairs are designed to be a more ergonomic option, they can be quite difficult to use. If you have ever tried using an office chair before, you know that they can make it very difficult to get the correct position and posture. It’s also not as simple as just sitting down and then getting comfortable since you must also make sure that your arms and legs are positioned correctly in order for the chair to work correctly.
- Difficult To Program: Autonomous chairs are not as easy to program as normal office chairs because there is a lot more that goes into it. This means that it’s going to take longer for people familiar with programming or electronics to figure out how these chairs work and how they can be programmed.
- Expensive: Autonomous chairs cost a lot more than normal office chairs which means if you’re on a budget, this isn’t going to be your best option. These chairs are more expensive than normal chairs and can cost you around $1,500 to $3,000.
- Ease of Maintenance: If you’re not familiar with how to maintain an office chair, you might want to avoid this option since these chairs take a lot more maintenance than normal chairs do.
The Verdict
Autonomous chairs are definitely not the best option for everyone and are only recommended for some people. However, they can help those who have trouble sitting in a regular office chair or those who cannot sit for long periods of time. So if you fall into either of these categories, it’s definitely going to be worth looking into an autonomous chair.
The categories of people who most need these chairs include;
- People with Disabilities
- People with Multiple Sclerosis
- People with Arthritis
- People with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- People who have trouble sitting for long periods of time.
How to Use an Autonomous Office Chair
Below are some useful tips on how to use an autonomous office chair. They will hopefully help you get the most out of your chair.
The best way to use an autonomous office chair is to sit down in it, see how much freedom it gives you, and then work on being able to move around more freely. If you have trouble with sitting in a forward slouched position or being able to lift your arms above your head, then this can definitely be beneficial for you.
Once you are able to move around more freely in your chair, start getting used to being able to sit back a little. This is especially important if you have a disability where you cannot rest your arms on the armrests.
Once you get comfortable sitting back, then start working on moving around in the chair. This will give you the best results and will teach you how far you can move before becoming uncomfortable. If it takes some time to get used to moving around in your chair, don’t worry. It’s absolutely normal for this process to take some time.
Now that every part of your body is free from restriction, work on strengthening those muscles that aren’t being used too much these days! You can do this by working out or practicing certain exercises. If it makes sense for you, make sure that an ergonomic chair helps with improving those weak areas of your body.
How do Autonomous Chairs Work?
Well, this next part is going to get a little technical…but I’ll try to explain it as best as I can. Autonomous chairs do use input, meaning it takes information in from all parts of the body and inputs it into the chair’s system. Communicating with the chair is done by sensors that are placed around the body on different parts. When you are sitting down, these sensors will signal to your chair when you have stopped moving an inch or so away from the seat. This signal is then used by your chair to move and keep you in place.
When you sit upright, these sensors won’t need any signals from your body since your weight isn’t resting on them at all times yet. Once we give them information about when we aren’t moving anymore, then this will tell our chairs to stop moving because we are resting safely within them!
Since our chairs won’t move when we are not moving around much anymore, this means that they might move you themselves. This is where the arms come into play. The chair will move its arms out to keep you securely in place once you stop moving around. The arms then can either keep you sitting normally or they can be used to move your feet around, underneath the chair, and lift your legs off the ground so that your back is resting safely on the chair’s seat while allowing you to double up on its support!
Are Autonomous Chairs Actually Good?
Autonomous chairs allow people to work in a way that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to do. They may allow people to sit in ways and in positions that they didn’t previously be able to. Most importantly, people who currently have difficulty walking or who need assistance with their daily activities will benefit greatly from the assistance of an autonomous chair! We can start to evaluate how well these chairs are doing by looking at the following statistics:
- 1.64% of all elderly are using assistive devices!
- 29.6% of elderly individuals still use wheelchairs
- 86.2% of wheelchair users live alone
- 85.7% of wheelchair users use both wheelchairs and walkers
This shows that a lot of people are still unable or unwilling to move around without assistance. This is where autonomous chairs become extremely important. Since we can program them for specific purposes, we know that this percentage is going to go down!
With this data in mind, I think that it’s safe to say that autonomous chairs are going to play a major role in helping people move around the world in the future. As a result, we conclude that autonomous chairs are actually good and they will go a long way in helping people that are unable or unwilling to lift themselves up.
Conclusion
I think that we can all agree that there are a lot of things that can be automated. Most of us take it for granted that computers, phones, and other electronic devices can do everything for us and I would like to say the same thing about our bodies! We all know how boring it is to manually eat a meal. So why not have this happen automatically with the use of a robot?
Autonomous chairs would be a great example of this. Currently, they are already pretty popular in Japan where they are now being used by many people. No one is complaining since they report that the chairs are a huge help in feeding themselves.
In the future, we will see a lot more robot assistants like this since they will be able to perform tasks that humans can’t do. We have already seen that many companies have started investing into robotics development and it’s only going to get bigger.