Concept

As the business environment changes so does seating posture.
Until recently, computer work mainly involved inputting data while looking down at paperwork and the keyboard. But now computer intensive work is shifting toward tasks that involve long periods of thinking while looking at the monitor. Working posture in this new mode of computer oriented work tends to tilt the upper body away from the monitor in an effort to find the best angle and distance from it. Okamura focused on this to develop a posture ideal not only for working but thinking as well.

Cruise is the product of a collaboration between industry and academia.
The low-seat, rear-tilt theory was formulated through collaborative research with human body engineering advocate and Keio University Department of Science and Technology Professor Nobutoshi Yamazaki.
Human body engineering research seeks to understand the physical characteristics of the human body and the body's essential requirements in order to apply this knowledge to the development of tools, machinery, and other objects. The low-seat,rear-tilt posture is the result of accumulated experiments using chairs, desks, and other equipment in a variety of shapes.

Human body engineering research to find a new work posture.
Okamura undertook human body engineering research to determine what the best posture is for doing computer work today.
Using human body engineering, we quantified measurements and analys is of human physical characteristics and applied the data to develop a product that achieves the ideal work style embodied in the Cruise Personal Workstation.

The low-seat, rear-tilt posture is the result of doing research on how people actually work in front of computers.
Our exclusively developed low-seat, rear-tilt posture places the seat in a low position and sharply tilts the body back to reduces tress on the body even when working several hours before a computer. Since this posture was developed based on research on how people actually work in front of computers it provides comfort that past posture systems were unable achieve.

Even after several hours, the low-seat, rear-tilt posture keeps the body relaxed.
The low-seat,rear- keeps the body relaxed and makes it possible to concentrate many more hours compared to sitting in other chairs. Compared to the old upright sitting posture, the low-seat, rear-tilt posture is a major step forward.

Low stress on the body also minimizes changing posture. (Graph 1)
Compared to the upright sitting posture, the low-seat, rear-tilt posture provides stability that makes it possible to work long hours at the computer. Body movement is a reaction to stress on the body when it stays in the same posture for a long time. The minimal body movement achieved by the low-seat, rear-tilt posture shows how effectively it reduces the stress felt by the body.

Rear-tilt disperses body weight, while low-seat reduces swelling.
(Graphs 2 and 3)
The changes that occur in the body also clearly show the reduced stress achieved by the low-seat, rear-tilt posture. The dispersion of pressure received from the back and seat of the chair means that the body is supported over a wider area. Reduced leg swelling is a result of bringing the height of the heart and legs closer together so that blood circulates more easily. This data shows just how effectively the low-seat, rear-tilt posture reduces physical discomfort.

Comparison of different sitting posture.
The graph shows measurements in the change in sitting posture over a two hour period while working at a computer. The comparison shows that there is much less upper body and hip movement in the low-seat, rear-tilt posture than in the upright sitting posture.

Body stress dispersion comparison.
Various measurements were taken on the distribution of weight on the body while sitting.Compared to the upright sitting posture, the low-seat, rear-tilt posture reduces stress on high pressure areas of the seat by increasing the area in contact with the back by an average of 2.1 times.

Comparison of leg swelling.
Leg swelling was measured for the upright sitting and low-seat, rear-tilt postures. In contrast to the increased swelling that occurs as time passes in the upright sitting posture, very little swelling was evident in the low-seat,rear-tilt posture.