Poor posture is a topic that my poor mother constantly harped on me about as a child. And considering how poorly I'm sitting as I type these words, her efforts were largely for naught. Nonetheless, her spirit lives on in Philips' 24-inch ErgoSensor Monitor, which leverages a built-in front-facing image sensor and software developed by DigitalOptics Corporation in order to implement multiple functions beyond conventional videoconferencing purposes:
- It measures inter-pupillary distance (spacing between your eyes) to ascertain if you're sitting too close to (or for that matter, too far away) from the display
- It also claims to be able to discern if your neck is non-optimally angled
- It reminds you to take a rest break if it decides that you've been lingering too long in front of it
- And if you're conversely away from it for a while, it automatically enters a low-power state
Currently available in the European Union, it costs 285 euros (~$375 USD). U.S. availability and price are not yet available. For more, see the coverage here:
- Ars Technica
- Gizmodo, and
- Wired
And hey…don't slouch!
