If you aren’t doing it standing, you’re not doing it right. I’m talking about work, ya perverts. Researchers have found that sitting isn’t as innocuous as it seems; apparently, “sitting more than six hours in a day will greatly increase your risk of an early death.” This has contributed to a sudden and welcome rise in attention to our work habits and the popularity of standing desks at workplaces. Many swear by the practice. And as has become customary with any product that finds a foothold in the market these days, they’re getting “smart.”
Leading the march towards standing desks that blend right in with the rest of the connected office is the Gaze Desk. They call it the “smartest standing desk ever,” so they must have made it smarter than this smart standing desk that got funded on Indiegogo more than a year ago (it just kinda…stands there). Looking at a summary of features, it does appear to have a significant leg up on the competition.
The Gaze Desk is a two-tier height-adjustable workstation that can be used while both standing and sitting. It has two tiers so that you’re not constantly looking down at your computer screen, which leads to a condition called “text neck.” The smart features are obvious right from the first step users are required to undertake: a calibration process in which an app asks for your height and weight. The desk automatically adjusts its height to ensure proper posture using that information. The height can also be adjusted manually with the mobile app or using the jog dial on the desk.
Posture and health in general are things the Gaze Desk takes very seriously. A sensor keeps track of whether you’re standing or sitting while working. If you remain in a seated position for more than two hours, a smartphone notification will go off to inform that it’s time to stand up. The app also tracks calories burned from the intermittent sitting and standing routine on which it puts users. The passive fitness goals can be tracked and shared using the app.
Coming to the connected features, the standing desk uses Bluetooth (BLE) to link up with smartphone apps. This means it can communicate with the rest of the smart devices that are automated through apps such as IFTTT. You could take advantage of this capability to activate your smart coffee machine as you arrive at the desk or automate the lighting based on your schedule.
The Gaze Desk has raised over $140,000 so far on Kickstarter after setting a goal of $100,000. Just more than a week remains in the campaign. $359 gets you a unit of the smart workbench; that’s 55 percent off the estimated cost through retail. Shipping is expected to commence in November this year.
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Feature image courtesy of www.smartshoppingja.com
