Wearable Posture Tracker and Coach ALEX Blows Past $50,000 Funding Goal on Kickstarter

Seoul, February 11, 2016 (Newswire.com) - ​​Wearable posture tracker, ALEX, has taken Kickstarter by storm, crowdfunding over $60,000 – or 120% of its original funding goal. With the project fully funded and just seven days left to go, ALEX is said to be delivered to backers starting May of this year.

Created by NAMU, a team of biomedical engineers out of South Korea, the device coaches wearers to improve their neck posture and guard against common afflictions like Text Neck and Forward Head Posture. These serious but seldom diagnosed syndromes can cause short-term stiffness and long-term pain.

"We have all experienced neck aches - or know someone who has - and it is an incredibly painful annoyance to say the least. With ALEX, we wanted to help people fight back against the epidemic of poor posture and pain, caused by looking down at digital devices for too long. ALEX coaches people toward good long-term habits, rather than just trying to relieve the immediate symptoms."

Prof. Youngjoon Chee, Co-creator of ALEX

How ALEX Works

ALEX sits lightly on the back of the neck, the ideal spot to measure neck posture.  If a wearer’s posture reaches potentially painful positions, the device gently vibrates reminding the wearer to correct their posture. The device is equipped with a three-axis accelerometer and an accompanying smartphone app to accurately measure posture and track progress.

ALEX in the Media

Now backed by more than 750 people on Kickstarter, ALEX has attracted the attention of some of the top names in media.  Mashable wrote:  “Your neck is probably killing you, and this wearable wants to help”. The Daily Mail informed readers:  “Sit up straight! $49 'Alex' wearable posture coach vibrates to tell you when your head is straining forward”.

​Facebook and Twitter Giveaway

Today NAMU launched  a social media contest to thank their backers and generate some last minute buzz for their  Kicktstarter campaign. Backers and fans who share a post about ALEX on Facebook or Twitter have a chance at winning a free ALEX posture coach. (See this post on Kickstarter for details.)

The Vision behind ALEX

Conceived by a team led by CEO, Jonathan Kim, and CTO, Dr. Youngjoon Chee, ALEX’s creators aim to help relieve the neck pain experienced by over 80% of office workers around the world.

“We have all experienced neck aches – or know someone who has – and it is an incredibly painful annoyance to say the least,” said Dr. Chee. “With ALEX, we wanted to help people fight back against the epidemic of poor posture and pain, caused by looking down at digital devices for too long. ALEX coaches people toward good long-term habits, rather than just trying to relieve the immediate symptoms.”

People interested in ALEX can pre-order through Kickstarter until February 18, with prices starting at $59.