Smart cushion Darma uses fiber optic sensors to measure vital signs

There are many smart hardwares that can correct posture and sitting posture in the market. There are giraffe friends in China, and UpRight and LUMOback are available abroad. However, these products need to be worn at any time, special, more or less inconvenient. For people like me who are so heartless and forgetful, thinking about wearing a bracelet or a badge every day is still a very troublesome thing.

I have recently seen such a product that can help users correct their posture without having to carry it with them every day. Just sit up every day. Although the concept of wearable devices is very hot now, smart hardware can't be worn just for wearables, so I still appreciate the product form like Darma. A few days ago, I talked with Hu Junhao, CEO and founder of this Darma smart cushion.

One of the highlights of the Darma smart seat cushion is that a fiber optic sensor of about 30cm x 30cm is implanted in the seat cushion to monitor the user's heartbeat, breathing and other data, and the accuracy is close to professional medical equipment.

Optical fiber sensing technology was rapidly developed in the 1970s along with the development of optical fiber communication technology. Light waves were used as carriers, and optical fibers were used as media to sense and transmit signals measured by the outside world. Compared with traditional sensors, fiber optic sensors have the advantages of high sensitivity, large dynamic range, fast response, no electromagnetic interference, explosion-proof and flameproof, and anti-corrosion. This technology is widely used in the industrial field. For example, in the field of civil engineering, fiber optic sensors are implanted in buildings to measure the deformation and internal stress of concrete structures and to detect the health of large structures and bridges. In the field of oil exploration, fiber optic sensors are used to measure data such as downhole oil flow, temperature, pressure and moisture content. In fact, it has also been used in medicine, and has been used for the measurement of human body pressure such as intracranial pressure, intra-tracheal pressure, cardiovascular and blood pressure, and intervertebral disc pressure.

However, because of the high price of fiber optic sensors, they have not been used in consumer products. After five years of research, the Darma team has optimized the price of fiber optic sensors, and the price of Darma cushions using fiber optic sensors can already be $200.

The main function of Darma is the sitting posture monitoring reminder. With pressure sensors and fiber optic sensors, Darma can tell you where you are sitting, and recognize if you are leaning forward, leaning backwards, or sedentary. When you sit for a long time or sit in a non-standard position, Darma will remind you through the accompanying app. In addition, through fiber optic sensors to monitor heartbeat, breathing and other data, Darma can analyze whether you are under too much pressure and give advice.

According to Hu Junhao, the founder of Darma, smart cushions are only their first step. In the future, they will implant optical fiber sensors into seats, sofas and even mattresses to try to make the product invisible. Although the accuracy of fiber optic sensors can be measured, Hu Junhao said that they are not planning to make Darma into medical supplies for the time being, and will still focus on the health field.

Hu Junhao is now preparing for Kickstarter crowdfunding in Silicon Valley, USA, and is full of praise when it comes to Silicon Valley's entrepreneurial and cultural environment. The following are some of our conversations. I think it is quite interesting. I will share it with you.

Me: Jun Hao, in Silicon Valley, can you see the big cows in the legend?

Hu: Haha, we are now working in the office of GuitarHero. These people are very good, sometimes an email can be reached. They will be willing to share experiences and give advice to entrepreneurs' projects, which is very helpful for entrepreneurs.

Me: Shouldn't these big cows be busy? I feel that some of the big domestic and entrepreneurs are very busy.

Hu: I think they know what they are going to do. We were also very busy when we were in the HAXLR8R incubator in Shenzhen. Everyone was very busy and kept working on the project. They rarely listened to market feedback and took a lot of detours. These big cows in Silicon Valley are actually more aware of what they are doing and what they need to do. I think the domestic team should also listen to the market, communicate more, and speed up product iterations, which may be better.