Featured in Korea Economic Magazine Article.

[Campus Job&Joy=Reporter Lee Jin-ho] HCLAB is a startup created with the goal of "providing services that enhance human health." HCLAB stands for "Human-Centered Laboratory." Yule Kim, a graduate of the Department of Industrial and Information Design at Korea University, founded the company in August last year.

HCLAB's first product is the functional cushion 'BackKeeper.' The cushion incorporates Internet of Things (IoT) functionality. The product consists of a chair cushion (hardware) that helps maintain proper posture and an application (software) that provides customized content based on the area of back pain.

Kim decided to commercialize this item, recognizing the growing interest in posture correction. The main target customers are students and office workers who spend long hours sitting. Kim said, "According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's medical statistics, the number of patients with spinal diseases in Korea has increased by 900,000 in the last five years. Especially, the increase rate of spinal disease patients in their 20s is more than twice that of those in their 50s." Kim himself suffered from scoliosis during his teenage years, which served as a foundation for his entrepreneurship.

The BackKeeper cushion is embedded with 32 pressure sensors. These sensors check the user's sitting time, seating posture, movements, and habits. If the posture is poor or strains the back, the sensors detect this and send a posture correction signal through slight vibrations of the cushion.

Kim stated, "The pressure sensor is the core technology of our product. Unlike traditional sensors that only measure '0 and 1,' the FRS pressure sensor we use can measure subtle movements from 0 to 128."

The BackKeeper's sensors can measure not only the left-right and up-down positions but also cross-legged sitting. The sensors collect user data and transmit it to a smartphone app. Users can receive personalized posture correction information through their smartphones.

HCLAB's first product, BackKeeper, is scheduled to be unveiled to the public through crowdfunding in March or April this year. Although the product has not yet been sold, the idea has already been validated in competitions. Last year, HCLAB won the KT Social Change Maker technology division grand prize and the Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Digital Open Innovation overall division grand prize with the BackKeeper idea. Additionally, HCLAB has been recognized for its technological capabilities, being selected for a total of five Korean Intellectual Property Office technology patents and as a company for the 4th Venture Camp by the Technology Guarantee Fund.

In addition to BackKeeper, HCLAB is also developing NeckKeeper, a product designed to prevent neck pain by encouraging proper posture. Kim said, "We aim to generate revenue starting from the third quarter of this year and break even by early next year. We will continue to research and develop products that enhance human health."

Establishment Year: August 2019

Main Business: Development of healthcare products and IoT services

Achievements: Korean Intellectual Property Office technology patents, grand prizes in KT and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals competitions.

https://magazine.hankyung.com/job-joy/article/202003029494b