Many of us spend a good portion of our waking hours at desks, using computers and other devices to communicate and collaborate with the world around us. The folks at Stir felt that there was an incredible opportunity to re-imagine the desk as something powerful, life-changing and even lovable and that's how they came up with the pricey $3,890 Stir Kinetic Desk.
The people behind Stir are from places you’ve heard of: Apple, Disney, and IDEO to name a few. This includes industrial designers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, software developers, user-interface designers, marketers, media folks, and a whole bunch of smart business creators.
In recent news Stir has secured $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by Vegas TechFund and Zach Ware. Josh Makower, John R. Woodard, Richard Klein, and other Apple alumni also contributed to the round, according to TechCrunch.
The startup will use the new capital for the expansion of its production and distribution. It will also develop more ways to increase the functionality of the kinetic desk, the report added.
So what makes an almost $4000 desk a worthwhile investment?
Here's how it works:
The Stir Kinetic Desk is driven by software, and adapts to your work style. It knows when you arrive, and tracks standing time and extra calories burned.
The Stir Kinetic Desk also learns from your patterns and preferences. In active mode, the Whisperbreath feature gently moves the desk up and down one inch, inviting you to change position. It’s a gentle, tactile reminder to breathe deeply and change things up. The desk learns when it’s best to remind you, so that being more active is effortless.
Beneath the desk’s sleek exterior, sophisticated electronics learn users’ patterns and preferences and coordinate the desk functions with user goals. A presence sensor identifies when a user is at the desk so that calorie burn and percent-standing metrics are accurate. A database tracks each user’s goals and progress and automatically invites movement at appropriate times. The “active mode” switch on the front of the desk turns on and off reminders. A color display with a touch-sensitive interface provides user interaction and feedback.
The user interacts with the desk through a 4.3-inch color LCD touchscreen (approx. 2” x 3.5”). A user can command and control the desk with gestures through the simple touch-sensitive interface.
Data on progress and history are provided through a series of graphical and text-based data visualization tools. These tools allow a user to be in touch with fitness progress toward individual fitness and health goals each day, week, or longer.
Working at a desk also means connecting to power sources and accessory devices. The Stir Kinetic Desk is equipped with bluetooth and wi-fi hardware and has built-in ports for both AC and USB power. Your desk will be neat, clean, and free of pesky cords that can distract you from being inspired or anchor you in a sitting position.
The Stir Kinetic Desk has a set of proprietary algorithms and custom interfaces to allow the desk to sense, learn, and adapt to the needs of each individual user. The firmware also tracks usage and remembers data and preferences.
Health and Wellness
Stir's surveys indicate that less than 30% of other sit/stand workstations successfully engage their owners and deliver the full health and wellness benefits of sitting less. They are either too hard to use, disrupt other worktop equipment, or simply get left in one position for too long because you’re thinking about something else. The Stir Kinetic Desk was created to eliminate these barriers.
People around the world are studying the ill effects of what is now being referred to as the "sitting disease" and below are a few examples:
• ”Sitting is the smoking of our generation.“ - Harvard Business Review
• Each 8-hour day sitting can cut 2.5 hours off of life expectancy. - British Journal of Sports Medicine reference in NYT
• ”When you sit for an extended period of time, your body starts to shut down at the metabolic level.“ - Marc Hamilton, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri (Women's Health: Your Body's Biggest Enemy - The dangers of living a sedentary life)
• 50-minute daily productivity improvement with sit/stand - Miami University Study
Detailed Technical Specifications*
• Dimensions
Top Dimensions: 58.5” x 29.5” x 3.5”
• Adjustable height:
Approximately 25” – 51”, electrically actuated
• Weight: ~150 lbs.
• Dynamic load capacity: 75 lbs.
• Static load capacity 200 lbs.
• Capacitive Touchscreen input: color 4.3” screen
• Power ports: 8 AC & 4 USB
Two (2) power ports at back corners of desk, with 4 AC and 2 USB each
Each port compartment is 12” x 8.5” x 2.5” and can be used to hide or store cables or other power equipment
Materials and Colors:
• Desktop is a hardwood core with a variety of premium finishes including hardwood and hard-coated polymer options
• Power port covers are powder coated metal, hinged in coordinated colors
• Desk legs are powder-coated metal, available in coordinated colors
• Desk underside is lacquered high density fiberboard, available in 4 colors
Green: Pantone 361C
Ultramarine: Pantone 2728C
Crimson: Pantone 200C
Charcoal: Pantone 426C
Electronics
• Line Voltage: 100-120V AC
• Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz, single phase
• Operating Temperature: 50° to 85° F (10° to 29° C)
• Relative Humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
Simple assembly required including attaching legs with bolts and attaching the middle underside panel.
* Specifications subject to change. Product includes wifi and bluetooth hardware. Software to use these features has not yet been developed. Wifi and bluetooth features will not be enabled initially and the timing for offering any additional features using wireless communication functions will be at Stir's sole discretion, and with terms of use to be determined by Stir. User presence sensing accuracy can be impacted by some environmental factors; 100% accuracy not guaranteed. Stir desktops are made from natural hardwoods and are hand crafted and finished and therefore may have irregularities in the surface and finish.
Order the Stir Kinetic Desk here
Visit Stir for more information