Liesbeth Van Hauwermeiren
Designing an Intelligent Wearable to Make People More Aware of Their Posture
As a physiotherapist, Liesbeth Van Hauwermeiren learned how difficult it is to rid people of bad habits (i.e. postures). But when she started her PhD at Ghent University, she also learned which technologies already existed or were being developed that could have helped her do so.
It was the start of SpineWise, which develops intelligent wearables that measure a person's posture and movement throughout the day, providing real-time feedback through vibration signals. This not only makes users more aware of their posture, it also enables them to perform their work more ergonomically. Additionally, the collected data provides valuable insights that companies can use to further improve the working conditions of employees.
In 2022, the company tested the wearables in two branches of Colruyt, where around fifty employees wore SpineWise sensors on the collar and at the waist for a month. At the end of the trial period, they observed up to fifty per cent fewer physically stressful postures among the staff. Meanwhile, the wearables have also already been used at other major companies such as Canon, ATS, and DHL.