This $8,500 'Smart' Office Chair Never Stops Moving

Why does furniture force us to sit still? Dr. Patrik Künzler believes chairs should instead encourage small but constant motions that are good for the body. He spent six years developing a product to challenge the convention that a comfortable chair should have a flat seat and a back. The $8,500 LimbIC chair, released in 2011, incorporates ergonomics and neuroscience to stimulate not just the body, but also the emotions.

Made by Inno-Motion, a company in Zurich that Künzler founded after studying at MIT Media Lab and which he now leads as chief executive, the LimbIC chair uses custom-sized, carbon-fiber shells that wrap around each leg. They allow a generous range of movements—stretching, leaning, twisting—while supporting the spine.