JLR pioneers 'morphable' front seats
Suffering from lower back pain? You are by no means alone. JLR thinks it might have the remedy...
Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...
Comfortable or not, it turns out that sitting for prolonged periods probably isn't the best thing fitness-wise. According to the World Health Organisation, more than 1.4 billion of us are living "increasingly sedentary lifestyles." And while that may sound like something to aspire to, it can also lead to a shortening of the muscles in the legs and hips, increasing the likelihood of injuries and back problems. Ah.
In order to help combat this, JLR's Body Interiors Research division - which sounds like something a person you'd avoid at the pub might have printed on their t-shirt - has developed a pioneering new 'morphable' seat.
This "seat of the future" constantly micro-adjusts, using a series of actuators in the seat foam to simulate the rhythm of walking. This movement, known as pelvic oscillation, not only attempts to mitigate the health risks of extended sitting, but apparently makes your brain think you're actually walking, too. So if you've ever arrived somewhere after a long drive and thought, "I wish I felt like I'd walked that" you're in luck!
Jaguar Land Rover Chief Medical Officer, Dr Steve Iley, said: "The wellbeing of our customers and employees is at the heart of all our technological research projects. We are using our engineering expertise to develop the seat of the future using innovative technologies not seen before in the automotive industry to help tackle an issue that affects people across the globe."
There's no word yet on when we can expect to see this technological marvel on a dealer options list, although with the average UK driver spending just nine hours a week in their car, perhaps a morphable office chair might be the better place to start. Hop to it JLR!
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