4 Class X students design unique posture corrector

Bad posture and problems like back ache, cervical, headaches etc associated with it have been aggravated during the Covid pandemic as the number of hours spent in front of computer screens has increased due to work from home and online classes. 

Recognising the massive scale of this problem and in their endeavour to find a solution to this  four students of Class X of Shiv Nadar School have developed an innovative product that not only “alerts” the user to correct his/her posture, but also provides a relaxing massage  in one’s work chair. 

Sparsh Jha, Gayatri Brijesh, Vihaan Motwani and Varnika Motwani are the four young minds behind the path breaking “Postura” that is not only easy to use and portable but also cost effective. 

The innovation is an outcome of the Capstone Project at Shiv Nadar School, where students are encouraged to ideate and devise economically viable and creative solutions to address real-world problems. 

Talking about the inspiration for their project Gayatri says, “During the lockdown many of us were facing a lot of back problems and that made us start looking for a solution and we thought why not make a product that would not only help correct one’s posture but also serve as a massager as most of the posture correctors available in the market were either just correcting the posture or giving a massage. We tried to combine both”.

The team first successfully made a small-scale, pilot model and worked on the electronic components. Then they finalised where the different components of the device — the massager and sensor — were to be placed and validated for medical clearance for posture correcting and massaging. Finally, under the mentorship of their teacher they assembled all components to create the prototype. 

What makes their product “Postura” unique is the fact it is a portable device which can be battery operated and individuals can carry the same while travelling.  Explaining the science behind the project Sparsh says, “It has a gyro sensor in which you set a base angle, say at 90 degrees and it can calculate the deviation from that angle. Whenever the person moves the device moves along with him and the angle will change and the gyro sensor can calculate that the posture is not correct and it vibrates alerting the person to correct his posture”.

Designed using electronics and robotics, the product measures the number of times the body tilts and the period it was in an incorrect posture. 

This data is then synced with the device’s mobile app to provide users with intelligence on their posture and overall improvement journey.

The total cost calculated from the working model is around Rs 2,400. “But a major component of it is the cost of the foam used in the product which is likely to come down considerably once the product goes into mass production. We are hoping to make it available for Rs 1,500”, says Gayatri.

-Geetu Vaid

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