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Wednesday November 5, 2008
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Those soft, relaxing couches got nothing on this - this is the Oki Leopard chair that uses, believe it or not, a robotic leg. Developed by Oki Electric Industry and Okamura Corporation, Leopard uses the same technology seen in Oki's "Robot Leg." If you take a look at the picture on the left, you'd see that the leg robot technology serves as some sort of a spring; the seat itself becomes the thigh part.
Empty, the chair is tilted forward (see picture below), but as soon as someone sits on it, it sinks and the net-like back embraces the form of the person, making "seating comfort akin to being held in someone's arms." Because of the springy robotic leg, the chair guides you as you stand up, tilting the chair forward back to its unoccupied form. The Oki Leopard chair will be released on May 2009 and can accommodate people from 55 to 60 kilograms. Further development would ensue so there would be Leopard chairs for a much wider weight range.

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