Lumo BodyTech crowdfunding newest device, Lumo Lift

Lumo Lift is designed to correct upper body posture

I feel like I have this special connection with Lumo BodyTech because I have such notoriously bad posture that at least once a day, someone comes up behind me and physically pulls my shoulders back. It’s pretty jarring.

So, yeah, I’m pre-ordering Lumo BodyTech’s newest posture-improving device, the Lumo Lift. Unlike the company’s first product, the Lumo Back, Lumo Lift is all about upper-body posture. The device, built on Lumo BodyTech’s ultra sensitive single-sensor model, clips to your shirt so that it’s against your chest and vibrates when you’re slouching.

The device only vibrates when you put it in PowerUp mode—so, specifically those times when you want a reminder to stand up straight. The vibration reminds you to pull your shoulders back and lift your head—to get into the Power Stance.

A research report from Psychological Science found that power postures (standing tall, taking up space) cause the body to release higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisol. When test subjects were asked to adopt a power pose for two minutes (such as standing tall with arms and legs out) prior to a stressful interview, they ended up being calmer and more confident during the interview than test subjects who were told to adopt a passive or neutral pose.

So there’s some actual science behind Lumo BodyTech’s claim that wearing the Lumo Lift will result in higher levels of confidence.

Like the Lumo Back, the Lift is also an activity tracker that monitors how many steps you take in a day, how many calories you burn, and how much time you spend in strong, upright posture. The Lumo Back, which you wear on a belt that secures the sensor against your lower back, is designed more for people who spend the majority of their day sitting at a computer, so it tracks how often you stand and if you’ve spent too much time in a sedentary position.

While the Lumo Lift is designed to correct upper body posture, the Lumo Back is designed more to address lower body posture to prevent and reduce back pain.

Lumo BodyTech is one of many startups offering a wearable health monitor, but while other startups are focused on activity trackers and weight loss, Lumo BodyTech is one of the few that is actually looking to address real health issues with wearables.

Interestingly, the company is crowdfunding the device, which is available for pre-order now. Early birds can get the Lift for $59 to $79. After the campaign, it will retail for $99. As for why the company chose to crowdfund rather than raise venture capital, CEO Monisha Perkash had this to say:

"We want to give our most enthusiastic customers the opportunity to pre-order Lumo Lift. We also want to quickly raise capital for our initial production run of Lumo Lift."

The company has already met $25,000 of its $200,000 goal, which it says is set to meet production costs. The Lumo Lift will start shipping in late spring.

Lumo BodyTech raised $5 million in December 2012.