Use your webcam to fix your sitting posture

If you’re sitting in front of the computer all day (for work or for play), having a good posture is pretty important, especially if you want to avoid chronic back problems later in life. There are many ways to deal with it – you can get a ergonomic chair that forces you to sit up with good posture, you can get somebody who’s willing to watch over you while you’re on the computer, or you can use this new training method devised by some researchers from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.

The researchers created a system that utilizes a webcam to let you know if you’re sitting right. Users set up the webcam that monitors them and continually displays the feed on the user’s screen in a pop up window. Next to the live feed will be a still frame image of how they should be sitting as a constant reminder which they can use to correct themselves.

According to the results of their tests, it’s been working out pretty well, with noticeable improvements in posture, especially for women. It sounds like a pretty good idea, except that you’ll have to figure out a way to place your webcam (which usually has a short cable) far enough for you to capture yourself at the desk.