This over-the-top looking setup gives you a comfy ergonomic leather seating unit with touch-screen controls, and a view to kill with three computer displays positioned just right for you to lean back and enjoy. The whole thing is motorized too, so you can adjust the angle of your environment without getting up out of your chair. It’s also got a work surface for a keyboard and mouse, and the monitors can be positioned at a flat eye-level if you want to get some work done.

They system wraps you entirely in its scorpion like design, ensuring an immersive experience equaled only by strapping on a super high-def head-mounted display (which doesn’t exist today.) Each LED-backlit LCD screen is a full 24″ display, with HD resolution, and they all connect up to your computer via a set of three HDMI cables. It’s also got built-in LED lighting both above and below the seating area, and a THX surround sound system. Each one is hand-built to your exact requirements, and even has an air filtration system on board.

MWE offers the Emperor 200 in other colors, so if white isn’t your thing, you can go with something a little bolder like red or black – which makes the whole scorpion thing much more effective. Priced at a whopping $44,750 (USD), this thing is definitely the Porsche of computer workstations. Though for that price, they should throw in a computer with the proper display cards an Xbox 360 and a PS3. The chair should have a massager too. Really, how much would that eat into their profit margins to throw those in?

If $45k is too rich for your blood, you might want to check out MWE’s “bargain priced” Emporer 1510, which does away with the fancy finishes and touchscreen remote, (plus you need to BYO displays), but is considerably more accessible with prices starting at “just” $6,200.

They’re usually bulky appliances, those irons are. But not for long – that is, if Bernardo Bajana has his way with his 360 Iron concept design.

The 360 Iron looks smooth, compact, and is ergonomically designed. It takes care of the issue of stiff wrists when ironing because of the flexible joint that lets you move the iron this way or that.

The 360 Iron is also one futuristic device, as it comes with a touchscreen display where you can set what type of fabric you’re ironing to optimize settings such as the temperature of the hot plate.

As this is yet another concept device, there’s no current plan to put it into production, but maybe it will come to fruition in the future.

[via Yanko Design]

Designed by Laura Lahti for Designboom’s Fujitsu design award 2011, the Keyless Lifebook at least wins points for creativity and good looks even if it doesn’t solve for the lack of tactile feedback.

Like some other designs I’ve seen floated about, the Keyless Lifebook would replace the lower half of the laptop with a multitouch screen. But where this design blows away any other I’ve seen is the configurable keyboards. The software would allow you to position each individual component of the keyboard wherever you find it most comfortable for your wrists and fingers.

In addition, you’d be able to adjust the positition of the trackpad, and use the keyboard the way you do on iOS devices, swiping your finger across, then releasing on the character you want. The virtual keyboard design would also allow for color and language customization. It would also let you adjust the size of the trackpad and area, allowing you to turn the surface into a large drawing surface when needed.

Despite my concerns about typing speed on touchscreens, I’m still very impressed by Laura’s design, and hope that Fujitsu (or someone else out there) runs with it and adds it to an upcoming OS. It seems to me that it’s mostly just a matter of writing the software to do it.

[via Designboom]

This keyboard was designed by Goran Bobinac, an architect from Croatia. What makes it different from the other ergonomic keyboards that I’ve seen is that the middle part can be occupied by the numeric pad – if you so choose. It works in left- and right-handed numpad configurations as well. I’s a novel approach, but I wonder if it will work well, or if it’s really just for show.

The fact that it’s modular and ergonomic means that it can easily be snapped apart and thrown in your bag for transport too. For now, this keyboard is still a concept, and I wonder if it will ever be made.

[via Plusmod]

This love-child of Luxo and iPad is one of the more unique – and potentially useful – tablet contraptions I’ve seen so far. The stand conveniently mounts to any desktop and provides you with a handy articulating arm for using your tablet with one hand.

I could totally see this coming in handy at work when I want to check something on my iPad while sitting at my desk. Of course, thanks to a flexible mounting bracket, it doesn’t just work with iPads. It’ll actually work with any tablet or e-book reader from 140mm (5.5″) to 255mm (10″) tall, just as long as it’s at least 145mm (5.7″) wide, which should mean the iPad and iPad 2 will fit nicely in either portrait or landscape modes.

The tablet sits in an adjustable cradle that can be tilted in just about any direction or angle you want, then locked in place to prevent movement when in use. The articulated arm measures appx. 95cm (37.4″) long when fully outstretched, but that includes the length of the desk clamp, and it can be compressed down to as little as 53cm (20.9″) when fully retracted.

So this all sounds pretty spiffy, right? So here’s the bad news. The only place I can find this device is in Korea, where it currently sells for the totally reasonable price of 54,000 KRW (appx. $50 USD). If you want to try and deal with getting one imported, you can head over to the Early Adopter Shop [KR] and give it a whirl. If you speak Korean, you might just be able to make it happen. Hopefully someone here in the States will find the manufacturer of these and import a batch. You can find something similar over at ergo 101, but you’ll end up paying about $300 for theirs.

The mouse has a very unique design that looks like a normal mouse set on top of a stand and it is ambidextrous. The idea is that the mouse section you put your hand on can pivot in any direction for more comfortable use and to allow a more natural hand position. That should mean less stress on your wrist.

The mouse has an 800dpi laser engine and uses 2.4GHz wireless connectivity. It will work with Mac and PCs and you can order one up in several colors now for $49.95 (USD). Colors include Carbon Fiber, Black, Blue, Silver, Red, and White.

The TrulyErgonomic keyboard works its magic by aligning your hands, wrists and fingertips in the optimal neutral position for typing. That all sounds good, but the main problem is that if you use a laptop or another computer at work, you’ll have to change the location of your hands and the way that you type if you use an ergonomic keyboard at home. This could be an issue.

This keyboard certainly looks different. It’s got a symmetrical look, that might work well. Also, they have high-quality key switches and an integrated palm rest. It can be ordered with a different layout, as well as blank for all of the braver touch-typists out there. The only catch is that it costs $169 (USD).

[via CrunchGear]

The M570 looks like a mouse with a big blue ball on the side. That ball is what controls the mouse pointer on the screen and you can swirl it around using your thumb. The M570 also has a scroll wheel, two mouse buttons, and two more buttons on the side.

The wireless device connects using a nano receiver and the batteries promise up to 18 months of use per set. The M570 might also be a good thing for users who have too little workspace for a normal mouse. The M570 will work with Windows and Mac computers and can be pre-ordered for $59.99 (USD).

The RollerMouse Free is meant to alleviate stress in the arms, shoulder and neck caused by repeatedly reaching out for the mouse. It’s not that evident in the picture, but the heart of the RollerMouse is a roller bar – it’s the black bar beneath the left hand. The bar rolls forwards and backwards and also moves side to side, allowing the user to control the cursor. The functions of the buttons are not that hard to guess – left click, right click, dedicated double click, and a scroll wheel. There are also dedicated copy and paste buttons. See what I’m saying? The exact opposite of Apple’s hardware.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Contour Design does have one thing in common with Apple – their prices. At $220 (USD), the RollerMouse costs more than 3-times what the Magic Trackpad sells for. Fortunately Contour Design is offering a 30-day trial period on all purchases, so customers have plenty of time to test the RollerMouse Free and figure out if it works for you. You can order the RollerMouse Free at Contour Design’s website

I need this product. My right shoulder and arm start to hurt after a few hours in front of my computer because they’re extended for most of the time. This simple piece of plastic will allow me to be in a sitting position with much less stress on my shoulder, arm and back. Below are the simple “Installastion” procedures. Hopefully, their product is better than their spellchecker.

You can order the Arm-Rested Mouse Pad at USB Fever for $43 (USD).

[via Gear Diary]

How does this work? Every so often – depending on your workload, the keyboard slightly moves around so that your wrists don’t ache. This helps avoid stress injuries that come from repetitive use.

I know that I’m using a keyboard almost all of the time, every day, and I know that if you’ve got the wrong posture or aren’t careful enough, you’ll end up with some kind of an injury or pain. Personally, this has never really been an issue, but I can imagine that if you are in front of a screen 10 hours-a-day, typing away, it could be a concern.

It’s either brilliant or ludicrous. The two halves move about and the base subtly vibrates one or twice an hour to massage your wrist. This all depends on the how hard you type and for how long. Whatever it is, it will be available in mid-April for $150 (USD).

[via DVice]

No product is perfect, and just by looking at the Advantage I can already see a couple of problems with it. First of all, it’s butt ugly. Second, the keys on the top row are too small for my comfort. Cool Tools commenters also complained about the hard and loud keys.

If the Advantage was reasonably priced I could overlook all of those complaints. Unfortunately, Kinesis is selling the keyboard for $300 (USD). The model with the switchable layout is priced at $325. Right now Kinesis is offering a 10% discount for online purchases, reducing the Advantage’s price to $270, but still. Kinesis should work on improving the keyboard’s aesthetics or at least the quality of the keys.

The WeraMouse V2 (aka the Ergotouch Mouse) is just a little smaller than a conventional mouse, but you don’t put it on your desktop. Instead, you hold the WeraMouse in your hand and operate your computer wirelessly from up to 25 feet away.  Technically, it’s not a mouse at all – it’s a trackball with a scroll wheel and a pistol-grip button. The one-handed wireless controller is said to reduce wrist strain and allow you to remain in a more neutral posture than you do when using a traditional mouse (although the guy in the picture above looks like he’s setting a pretty bad example for “good posture”). Battery life for the WeraMouse is rated at up to 28 hours on a single charge, and when it’s not in use, there’s a charging dock that’ll juice the WeraMouse back up in about 90 minutes.

The WeraMouse V2 retails for $99 (USD), and it looks like the Ergotouch guys are working on a WeraMouse V3 that uses a trackpad instead of a trackball, in case you prefer your mice without any balls.

There are two types available: lingerie torso and cropped World Cup t-shirt torso. All of the torsos are wearing lacy painted underwear which only serves to highlight their unfortunate limblessness.

To add to the perviness factor, the mice are given names like Francesca and Michaela, depending on nationality. Oddly enough both the French and Spanish torsos are named Luisa. Then again, I’m guessing if you are the type to buy a mouse of this nature then such trivialities will not bother you.

As far as a novelty mouse goes, I will grudgingly admit that a woman’s curves do seem like they would make for a pretty ergonomic mousing experience, and it’s clever to make boobs clickable, but that doesn’t make this any less creepy. And if you’re willing to shell out €30 ($45) for one of these, then you’re not only kinda pervy, you’re also pretty spendy. Get them here.

What you’re looking at is a truly unique beast, the Ergonomic Dual Screen Split Keyboard Notebook Portable Personal Computer – I’ll just call it EDSSKNCPPC for short The model shown is actually known as “the Executive” (because what executive wouldn’t want one of these in place of his or her Crackberry?) – and offers up a split keyboard that opens to reveal a hidden LCD touchscreen monitor.

The split keyboard design is said to provide benefit in keeping your wrists in a more neutral position, so why not take advantage of that empty space between the QWERT and the YUIOP to get some more work done? The second screen acts as an independent Windows desktop, complete with pen-based input capability.

Although the patents for the technology date all the way back to 1994 to 1997, the guys over at Ergonomic Keyboards now say “Shipping in 2008″ on their website, so you’re finally in the right place at the right time. As an added bonus, the patents for these are up for sale, so if you want in on a piece of the action, you’ve got a shot.