In recent years, due to the advent of personal computing and consequently its rapid spread into consumer lives, more and more people spend time on computers. The increasing hours spent in front of computers leads to many developing bad sitting postures. This bad sitting posture leads to many serious negative consequences on one’s health. Therefore it is more important, now more than ever, to create a solution that prevents bad computer posture.
Humans are creatures of habit. On average, it takes many years to develop lasting habits. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to simply stop one that has been recurring for many years. Due to their habit of bad posture, it is nearly impossible for them to stop. In the case of back posture, the issue is not simply a mental one. People who have bad posture for long periods of time have physical changes in their muscles and joints which prevent their bodies from simply straightening out. Therefore, as the user can not stop bad posture alone, it’s important to create alternative solutions.
Instead of having any sensors physically touch the user, this research will use the computer’s webcam to monitor the user’s posture. I developed a machine learning model that identifies the user's face and the face's area. If the user leans towards their computer, their face will appear larger in the webcamera. Therefore by measuring the change in the face's size, we can determine posture. In addition, by tracking the face's displacement, we can determine if the user is leaning left or right. Again helping determine posture.
If the algorithm deems that the user has bad posture, it sends out a computer notification informing the user about their bad posture, telling them to correct it.
- Download
polishedPostureDetection.pyandhaarcascade_frontalface_default.xml - Edit
polishedPostureDetection.pywith the updated file path of thehaarcascade_frontalface_default.xmlclassifier online 8 - Download
cv2,sys,numpy,time,win10toast. (You may already have some installed) - Open the Python terminal at the location of
polishedPostureDetection.pyand runpythonw .\polishedPostureDetection.py
(Technical Note, pythonw runs the program in the background. Use just python, if you don't want to run it on the background)
Bad sitting posture leads to many serious negative consequences on one’s health. More specifically, human spines are not straight; they have a natural curve. The spine has three important spine curves: One in the neck, upper-mid back, and lower back. Poor posture changes those natural spine curves. These misaligned spinal sections often pull on different muscle groups, overworking some and shortening others. This often squeezes the stomach and intestine, resulting in poor digestion. In addition, because the misaligned spine pushes on the stomach, it also pushes one’s hearts and lungs, making it harder for the heart to beat. Specifically, researchers have found that those with bad posture have reduced respiratory function. In short, bad posture misaligns the spine, and over time, results in severe pain in specific regions (such as the neck, upper-mid back, and lower back), poor digestion, and trouble breathing (100% Chiropractic, 2019).
This is the only solution that requires no additional hardware, and is free to install! Below are a few other solutions, that require additional hardware and cost money! One such solution is the “DARMA Pro Comfort Foam Cushion Posture Coach and Activity Tracker.” It is a cushion that one sits on while using their computer, and the built-in sensors in said cushion tracks their posture. If it detects someone, for example, slouching to one side, the cushion will vibrate. In addition, it syncs with one’s smartphone and displays their posture statistics (Darma Inc., 2016). However, this solution comes with a few issues. Users report that the cushion does not accurately detect posture; it is not possible to detect if a person’s back is slouching based on sensors on their seat (Raphael, 2017).
A more accurate solution is the “Upright Pro”, which is a thumb-size tracker that sticks to one’s back on their spinal cord. It uses an array of sensors that is able to detect a person’s posture. It then wirelessly syncs with one’s smartphone to display their posture statistics and history (UPRIGHT, 2020). Users report that it almost always correctly detects when one has bad posture. However, it takes two minutes to stick on one’s back, which is both uncomfortable and time-consuming. In addition, users say that it’s very noticeable (Raphael, 2017).
Another solution is the “Lumo Lift”, which is a peanut size tracker that clips onto one’s clothes below their collarbone. It wirelessly syncs with one’s smartphone and tracks their posture. The tracker uses an accelerometer that detects any change in posture (Lumo). On average, users report that it recognizes bad posture approximately 80% of the time. However, users report that it is more intrusive, uncomfortable, and noticeable because it must be placed on the front of one’s shirt (Raphael, 2017).
100% Chiropractic. (2019). How bad posture can impact your health. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://100percentchiropractic.com/how-bad-posture-can-impact-your-health/
Darma Inc. (2016). Darma: Sit smart for a healthy body and mind. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/junhao/darma-sit-smart-for-a-healthy-body-and-mind
Department of Health & Human Services. (2015). Computer-related injuries. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/computer-related-injuries
Grohol, J. (2020). Changing our routines and habits. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://psychcentral.com/lib/changing-our-routines-and-habits
Lumo. (n.d.). Lumo Lift. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://www.lumobodytech.com/lumo-lift/
Raphael, R. (2017). I tried five high-tech solutions that promised to fix my terrible posture. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://www.fastcompany.com/40438857/i-tried-five-high-tech-solutions-that-promised-to-fix-my-terrible-posture-did-they-work
UPRIGHT. (2020). Everyday posture coaching. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://www.uprightpose.com/
Your Body Posture. (2020). Why is it hard to maintain good posture. Retrieved January 1, 2021, from https://yourbodyposture.com/why-is-it-hard-to-maintain-good-posture/