My HealthESeat Project
Motivation:
Make “Seat Time” Less Harmful, More Healthful
Show-and-Tell Session
QS PDX
April 11, 2017
Mark Leavitt
mark@markleavitt.com

Introducing Me, Circa 2007
• Too much sitting at desk
using my computer
• Not enough exercise
• No mindfulness practice

Treadmill Desk as Solution?
• Good exercise, but…
• Motion-induced eye strain
• Accurate mousing difficult
• Noisy
• Awkward start/stop
• Space, power, cost

HealthESeat:
(Might as Well Start Out Comfortable)

Strip It Down
Add Sensors and Microcontroller

Rebuild Arms with Split Keyboard

Hack a Mini-Elliptical Exerciser
Connect to Controller, Add LEDs

HealthESeat 1.0

HealthESeat 1.0

HealthESeat 1.0

“Good” Results
~ 50k added
“steps” / week

“Bad” Results
Too much distance
Bad neck posture

HealthESeat, Version 2.0
3D CAD Model As Built

User’s-Eye View

Capturing Mindfulness Session Data
Electrode pads –
touch with fingertip
(right and left side)
Upgraded controller with
Bluetooth connectivity
and heartbeat sensing
(EKG for best accuracy)

EKG and HRV Signal Processing
Heart rate variability
synchronized with breathing
can quantify mindfulness

What Did I Learn?
Ideas that seem nutty today…
may not be so crazy tomorrow.
Try it! / learn from mistakes / iterate…
until you either reach your goal
or just gain all the learning you can.
Locus of Control matters…
commitment is strongest with
QS tools you design or build yourself.

Thanks for listening!
Questions and Discussion
Contact info:
Email: mark@markleavitt.com
Website: markleavitt.com
Twitter: @markleavitt