Sep 29, 2015 | By Kira
It happens to me every single day: I start my morning with a few stretches and a fresh coffee, sit down at my desk, and happily get to working, only to realize—sometimes within a few minutes—that I’m no longer my perky and alert self. I’ve slumped forward, shoulders rolled in, neck extended and entire spine rounded into an unnatural hunch. Not only is this poor posture unattractive, science has shown that it is the leading cause of back pain and can affect everything from our mood, (it makes us feel more tired and sluggish) to how we communicate with others (slouching gives the impression that we are bored, insecure or even lazy rather than empowered, open-minded and confident).
While poor posture particularly affects those of us with desk jobs, it is something we need to keep in mind no matter what our daily activities, including giving presentations, working on an assembly line, or even while walking and running. In order to help make proper posture a top-of-mind activity, Lumo Bodytech created the Lumo Lift, a wearable device that connects with your smartphone to track your posture and provides actionable feedback (subtle vibrations) whenever you start to slouch.
The original Lumo Lift
The device itself is quite small, and clips onto your shirt near your collarbone via a magnet. The small grey square is meant to be inconspicuous, and you could even hide it under a jacket if you want. At least, that’s the modest way to go about it. Alternatively, with wearable technology becoming trendier by the day, you can wear your life-improving Lumo Lift as a customized and eye-catching accessory with these 3D printable designs by TinkerCAD.
The custom clasps can be 3D printed and then fitted with a magnet, covering the Lumo Lift without adding pinholes to your favorite shirts. The designs range from elegant crystal shapes to cheeky conversation starters, like the Deputy clasp or a map of Texas. While colorful and even jewel-embedded Lumo clasps are available to purchase via the website, the 3D printable files are available to download for free, and TinkerCAD users can even design their own completely customsed clasps using the free app and then 3D print them at home.
For the 3D printed versions shown, the designers used Dremel and Objet 3D with MakerBot Sparkle Blue and Photochromic Magenta. Depending on whether you want the clasp to look like actual jewelry or not, you could experiment with metallic 3D printer filaments or paints. As the TinkerCAD team sees it, if the Lumo Lift was designed to fix your posture, then these 3D printed clasps give you ‘posture with panache.’
Just writing this article about posture has, subconsciously, encouraged me to stay a little more alert and upright… although given my bad habits, it surely won’t last. The benefit of wearable technologies, however, is that for the most part they work completely behind the scenes, without getting the way of our daily lives. For desk jockeys like me, the gentle nudge and stylish look of a 3D printed Lumo clasp could be just what we need to get out of this (literal) slump.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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