Posture clip: Sit properly or I won't let you work.

Abstract

Poor posture is a significant concern due to its detrimental effects on health and productivity. This article presents a collar-clipped device called PostureClip, designed to restrict users from sitting and working at a bent angle, by blacking out the screen and resuming on correcting posture, thereby promoting better posture. The device integrates sensors and feedback mechanisms to provide real-time posture feedback to users. To evaluate the effectiveness of PostureClip, a controlled experiment was conducted with participants (n = 165) who were working on a laptop/PC for over 6 hours per day. The participants were randomly assigned to both the intervention group (IG1, n = 54; IG2, n = 55), which used the collar-clipped device, and the control group (CG, n = 56), which did not use the device. IG1 did not get feedback, while IG2 got feedback from the device by notifying and further darkening the screen. The study was conducted in the office environment of the participants, for 4 weeks, and metrics such as posture angle, duration of bent angle, and user feedback were collected. Analysis revealed significant improvements in posture angle (p < .001) and a significant reduction in bent angle duration (p < .01) for the participants' group using PostureClip with feedback and compared to the group without feedback and the control group (who were not intervened). The qualitative analysis of user feedback highlighted the device's ease of use, effectiveness in providing timely feedback, and positive impact on participants' awareness and habits regarding posture. These results indicate that PostureClip is an effective tool for promoting better posture during sedentary work.