Ergonomic chairs: the evolution from airline seats to smart offices

Ergonomic chairs, as an important part of modern office furniture, are designed to improve the comfort and health benefits of seats through scientific methods. The emergence of this type of chair is not accidental, but has undergone a long period of development and evolution, and its history can be traced back to the middle of the last century.

 

Origin Background

The origin of ergonomic chairs can be traced back to World War II. At that time, the Allies deployed a large number of long-range bombers in the UK, which often needed to fly for more than ten hours across the European continent. In the early days of the war, the seats of bombers were not much different from ordinary chairs, but pilots sat for a long time and lacked opportunities for activities. If the seats were not comfortable enough, they would get tired in advance, reduce combat effectiveness, and even cause accidents. In order to maintain the physical strength of pilots, engineers began to improve aviation seats, which were very close to modern office seats after the end of World War II.

 

Technological Development

After the war, a large number of military technologies turned to the civilian market, including radar, electronic computers, jet aircraft, etc., and aviation seat technology also entered the civilian field. This is the technical origin of ergonomic chairs. Ergonomics, as an independent discipline, also gradually matured during this period. It studies how to make the design of external machinery more in line with human physiological conditions and usage habits, so as to improve labor efficiency and reduce physical injuries.

As early as the 1950s, scholars began to systematically study the design of seats and applied ergonomics to them. By the 1970s, ergonomic chairs became a major design trend for chairs. By the 1980s, there was a boom in research and development and trial use.

 

Design and Innovation

In the development of ergonomic chairs, many classic designs and innovations have emerged. For example, in 1964, Finnish designer Jolio Kuccapuro designed the Karuselli chair, which was made of fiberglass, with a hyperbolic design and a swingable structure composed of steel springs and plastic adjusters, which was an innovative move at the time.

In 1978, Kuccapuro designed the Fysio chair, which had a very obvious curve on the back of the chair and a headrest. At the same time, Stokke of Norway launched the Balans series of chairs, including two products: chairs and stools. The main features are the ability to swing forward and backward and the addition of knee support, which is known as the most radical chair design in the 20th century.

 

Market demand and changes

The market demand and changes of ergonomic chairs are also closely linked to the background of the times. After the second industrial revolution, electric equipment gradually replaced steam equipment, machines became smaller and smaller, and production lines became more and more complex, creating a large number of white-collar jobs for processing documents. After the emergence of typewriters, a large number of people who sit and work all year round appeared in developed countries. These people have an urgent need for comfortable and healthy office chairs.

In China, the market demand for ergonomic chairs started late. It was not until after 2005 that China began to create millions of technical and management positions every year after full industrialization. At this time, computers were rapidly popularized like typewriters in those days, and the new generation of white-collar workers needed more ergonomic chairs to support long-term work.

 

Intelligent trend

In recent years, with the maturity of semi-automation and automation technology, the field of ergonomic chairs has also achieved a huge leap from manual adjustment to adaptive adjustment and intelligent adjustment. Intelligent ergonomic chairs can not only automatically sense the user's body shape, sitting posture and physical condition, but also allow users to free their hands to achieve self-adjustment of the chair, bringing users a personalized healthy and comfortable experience.

For example, Xihao launched the first domestic intelligent ergonomic chair T6, which integrates audio, massage, and health detection. Through voice, mobile phone APP, touch screen and other control methods, it improves the convenience of use and personalized experience.

The origin of ergonomic chairs is the product of the combination of scientific and technological progress and human needs. From the initial aviation seats to modern intelligent ergonomic chairs, its development process has not only witnessed the leap of science and technology, but also profoundly affected our work and lifestyle. In the future, with the continuous development of smart home and health care, ergonomic chairs will continue to play their important role and bring us a healthier and more comfortable work and life experience.