An art student in California has come up with an ironic idea which he says will help people stay in shape at work. However, many people are put off by the design because it looks like a hamster wheel, and some have said that it would make them feel like a lab-rat.
In a recent presentation, designer Robb Godshaw said to an audience, “You are not reaching your current productivity potential, Rise up, sedentary sentients, and unleash that untapped potential within by marching endlessly towards a brilliant future of focused work. Step forward into a world of infinite potential, bounded only by the smooth arcs of a wheel. Step forward into the Hamster Wheel Standing Desk that will usher in a new era of unprecedented productivity.”
Godshaw has posted the plans for the device online where they can repeated for free by anyone who wants to build one of these for themselves. Godshaw literally calls his invention the “Hamster Wheel Standing Desk” and according to a press release it took him and a group of friends a total of 24 hours to plan and create.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R1PUkd4co8]
One interesting aspect about the design is that it does not have brakes, “we considered adding in brakes but decided against it in order to really force the productivity out of the desk user. In the end, we decided on a wheel 80″ in diameter that would be supported by a 24″ wide base that contained a set of four skateboard wheels on which the wheel would rest. This design allows fluid rotation without requiring an axle for the wheel.”
For someone to make one of their own wheels at home, they will need four sheets of plywood, four skate wheels, two pipes, 240 wood screws, and a pint of glue. In theory, this plan would save someone the estimated $500 that it would cost to buy a new treadmill and set it up for the office.
Would you set one of these things up in your office?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITJXPH5FtXU]
