The office chair of the future is scary

We might feel trapped living our sedentary lifestyles in front of computers all day, but the alternatives range from either an agrarian society or this frankly quite scary reboot of the humble office chair.

The exo-skeleton project, which uses motion-sensor technology, is termed "segregation of joy" by Dutch designer Govert Flint. His thesis is that full body movement correlates with happiness but yet humans spend days on end stuck sitting down staring at a screen.

His solution isn't to remove the computer screen but reintroduce movement to the chair itself.

"Although our bodies are evolved to move, we tend to design objects based on monofunctional use and posture," Flint writes.

"Furthermore, as technology takes over more functions that formerly required exertion on our part, we are left with a less useful body. We relegate our movements to leisure time. Movement becomes a choice and a lifestyle, segregated from our regular lives."

Working with programmer Sami Sabik he observed ballet dancers in Rotterdam and replicated movements that can be applied on a daily basis.

A person in the chair controls the cursor by moving around in the chair, while kicking the legs registers a click.

With this chair, our bodies are once again functional, stimulating regular movement. After all, that’s what we were designed to do.

• Govert Flint

We're not quite sure how long it would take to send an email like this though.

(Pictures by Ziggy Pictures and Lisa Klappe)

Graphic: [Google's 'right to be forgotten' requests]2

More: [Another reason not to believe everything you read on Facebook]3

More: [This is why it looks like there's a giant eye on Jupiter]4

More: [This student could have just saved your life]5