Orrb pod lets employees relax inside a hi-tech bubble

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Orrb pod lets employees relax inside a hi-tech bubble

Posted by sciencetech-blog on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 Label:

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Ever get so stressed at work that you feel like you just to need to relax in a world of your own?

Now you can thanks to a 'bubble' designed to provide a calming refuge for stressed office workers.

Called the Orrb pod, it allows the user to escape bustling open-plan workspaces and find time for themselves in a secure and enclosed space.

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A bubble designed to provide a calming refuge for stressed office workers is set for launch. The Orrb is a pod in which the user can escape bustling open-plan workspaces and find time for themselves. It is described as a 'corporate wellness facility' or like using a 'mind gym'

The pod was designed by London-based designer Lee McCormark.

Described as a 'corporate wellness facility' or like using a 'mind gym', individuals access an online account when they first enter.

Here they can choose from a selection of wellness routines under the banners of relax, learn, test and boost, in either 10, 20 or 30 minute allocated time slots.

CAN WORKING TOO HARD MAKE YOU A HEAVY DRINKER?

People who work longer than 48 hours a week a more likely to develop a dangerous relationship with alcohol, experts from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health have warned.

More than 14 alcoholic drinks a week for women and more than 21 drinks for men is considered 'risky', raising a person's risk of liver disease, cancer, stroke, coronary heart disease and mental health problems.

The European Working Time Directive gives people the right to work no more than 48 hours each week, including overtime.

However, vast swathes of the workforce across the continent put in much longer hours to achieve faster promotion, salary increases or simply get their job done.

Past studies have found a link between working longer hours and 'risky' alcohol consumption.

Aside from being confined to an office, developers also see Orrbs possibly being placed in airports, universities and public spaces.

Devices are currently being hand-finished in the US and UK, the two initial territories targeted by the company, and Orrb is set to launch officially in Spring with the subscription service Orrb X.

Orrb will be launching in San Francisco and London, and they are aiming for 250 initial orders.

'We've been hearing back from the wellness training industries and it's all positive,' said Mr McCormack.

'The timing is right for something like this, it's taken the wellness industry a while to build up the traction with corporate work culture, companies now get it and are receptive to what they are saying.

'We've now come along to say "we can go that extra distance, we all know how hard it can be to fully engage with content like this in the workplace, we can offer a user experience that will be exactly the same quality right across the network."'

What is Orrb? Founder Lee McCormack explains

London-based designer Lee McCormack also sees Orrbs being placed in airports, universities and public spaces (illustration shown). The devices are currently being hand-finished in the US and UK, the two initial territories targeted by the company, and Orrb is set to launch officially in spring

Inside individuals access an online account on a touch screen (shown), from where they can choose from a selection of wellness routines under the banners of relax, learn, test and boost, in either 10, 20 or 30 minute allocated time slots to take a break from work

The pods will come in a variety of colours including white and black, and include a comfortable seat inside to let the occupant adequately relax. 'We've been hearing back from the wellness training industries and it's all positive,' said Mr McCormack

Orrb investor Khajak Keledjian, Chief Executive of Intermix, said: 'Taking a moment out, for 10 or 20 minutes a day, is vital in business.

'You need a moment to close up, to see and feel for yourself, and in order to do that you need somewhere to go; you need the tools to be able to do that.'

Mr Keledjian cited the stresses of running a successful business as the key factor in seeking out meditation and then further investigating how wellness could be incorporated into our environment.

'The idea is to really have it available so that it can reach out to a wider population and the beauty of this device is that it can be used for many purposes,' he explained.

'You can meditate, you can relax, if you choose to, people can buy it and different people have used it for different purposes, I see it in airports, universities, public spaces [in the future].'

Perhaps in the the future these small enclosed spaces will be seen in airports, train stations and more, as seen in this illustration. Orrb investor Khajak Keledjian, Chief Executive of Intermix, said: 'Taking a moment out, for 10 or 20 minutes a day, is vital in business

When closed the sleek and stylish design is all but impenetrable, so no-one can ruin your time spent by yourself inside. Mr Keledjian cited the stresses of running a successful business as the key factor in seeking out meditation and then further investigating how wellness could be incorporated into our environment

Steve Kahan, program director for HAPI, a New York based wellness research company, worked with Mr McCormack on the Orrb.

He said: 'All the way along we've made sure that it's for everybody, not just for a particular personality type.

'A happy heart quietens down the busy brain, putting in place a programme that is part of an environment is a wonderful combination, it's going to reach globally.

'This is where we are heading, Orrb is using technology to go back to the roots of who we are as human beings.'

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