“Sit up straight!” was a common command in my household growing up. My mom was right; not only does good posture make you look more confident, it comes with a host of physiological benefits. It keeps your body properly aligned, prevents muscle fatigue, and helps avoid abnormal wear and tear on your joints. According to a recent SciTechDaily article, a team of scientists developed a vest that uses machine learning to improve the wearer’s posture.
The vest is made from fabric containing nylon fibers and conductive fibers that stretch and compress as the user moves. Sensors inside the vest are self-powered by triboelectric nanogenerators that use the movement to harvest energy. An integrated machine learning algorithm analyzes the data gathered by the sensors and provides immediate feedback on a screen so users can see how to correct their posture. It is able to accurately recognize the wearer’s posture 96.6% of the time.
