Kickstarter focus: The standing desk

Need a desk that you can stand comfortably at, but still stay productive? Steven Yu may have the answer. The StandDesk is height-adjustable from 71cm to 114cm and has various design features that allow for the fact that the desk will be adjusted quite often. 
 

Source: Kickstarter. The all-black StandDesk version.

"StandDesk is more than just a product: it is a step in the right direction to change the lives of people everywhere, for the better," said Yu on his Kickstarter page.
 
A nifty 'up/down' control button automatically raises or lowers the desk to a desired height, stopping just by tapping the button again. A customised motor balances reliability, power, and price. 

There is an optional integrated cable management tray for power cords, for example, that moves up or down as the desk moves so the wires don't get dislodged.

Yu has thought of everything, and offers the desks in black or white as well as desk surfaces in three colours and various levels of customisation. A pledge of US$399 will get a backer a StandDesk in either gloss grey or matte black with the standard two-button control, plus a laminate top in either midnight black or frosty white, for example. For US$499 backers have the privilege of joining a hackathon where they may design or create new features for the StandDesk, with prizes for the top three designs. Shipping is extra, however.
 
The funding request ends May 17. View the associated video here.

Kickstarter focus: A better chair that eliminates back pain

Simon Hong, a neuroscientist, wants to get funding for the Chairbot, a robot that suggests a new position for the user based on his or her existing posture.

Source: Kickstarter page

The ChairBot does away with back pain with a split seat that basically means the user 'sits' by being supported on one side and standing on the other. 

"The basic design of frequent alternation prevents trauma to the spine caused by maintaining a single posture for an extended period of time. In addition, the chair encourages the proper degree of extension of the spine, as in a standing posture. That is because you are practically standing, while half of your body weight is supported," says Hong on the Kickstarter page. "It's 2014, and we still suffer from sitting-related back pain; that's not acceptable!"

US$2,700 will get a backer a Chairbot. The funding request ends May 4.
 
View the associated video here.