Wearable Chair. (Takahiro Yoshida) (Takahiro Yoshida)
For all those times you've wished you could just take a seat, I somehow doubt that this involved wearing your seat on your body. But hey, what do I know -- I'm not a surgeon, restaurant industry professional, or anyone else who is forced to stay on their feet for hours at a time. Maybe if I were, the wearable chair would seem like a better idea to me.
Regardless of my personal feelings on the matter, it is my duty to inform you that the Archelis (literally, "walkable chair" in Japanese), has been introduced, and will likely be made available in the summer this year. While current workplace trends seem focused on finding ways to get people to stand up, this is looking to solve the opposite problem -- giving people a chair anytime, anywhere.
Interestingly enough, the wearable chair looks a lot more like a leg brace than anything else. It's not as though you'd be wearing a backpack that turns into a seat (because that would just be silly). Rather, the chair wraps around your legs and buttocks, providing support that would effectively allow you to sit down whenever you needed to.
The chair was designed by Yokohama-based mold factory Nitto in collaboration with Chiba University's Center for Frontier Medical Engineering, Hiroaki Nishimura Design, and Japan Polymer Technology. Archelis was initially meant to help those in the medical field who often have to endure grueling operations with no respite for weary legs and lower backs.
It's not just doctors and surgeons who could benefit from the wearable chair, however. The company seems confident that anyone who must stay standing for long periods of time could find a use for the Archelis, as long as they don't mind the rather strange aesthetics.
Who knows, maybe in a few years we'll all be walking around with wearable seats. And next up will undoubtedly be the wearable bed.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.