Last June, during finals week, Chaitanya Agarwal was in the library at UC Davis, and the students were all complaining about how much their backs and necks were hurting. He knew words wouldn’t ease that pain, so he decided to build something that could help.

His startup, SitSense, is a posture coach powered by AI to alert users when they’re slouching in real time. The tool uses your webcam to monitor your sitting position and provide data on how to adjust.

Agarwal, a senior economics student, grew up building things. He loved Lego and created a fleet of custom ships from Star Wars parts. He sees this tool as an extension of that interest. But his first design was painfully inaccurate. To test out the product, he posted on various socials and found his initial users on Reddit, engaging with the posture community.

Using the open-source MediaPipe by Google, Agarwal designed the tool that tracked six (now seven) key points on a user’s face and body. One challenge early on was estimating head position from 2D camera input. But he solved this by calibrating the system for each user. Instead of relying on a fixed baseline, SitSense allows for more accurate, individualized tracking.

Privacy, of course, was something he knew would be an issue for some. A few people online expressed concerns about that.

“Are people going to be fine with their webcam turned on?” he says he asked himself. “It’s all locally stored. But what I’ve found is the people who actually sign up for it never have any concerns with privacy.

The monthly plan is $4.99 with a yearly plan costing $34.99. Currently, SitSense has about 300 users. Data collected from this group shows they have correct posture only half the time, and it’s the worst early in the morning or at the end of the day. About 80 percent report daily neck pain as the reason they signed up.

Adam Steiner is a customer in London, who has been giving Agarwal feedback about his experience and offering suggestions.

“I came across SitSense, I think, via Google Gemini, which suggested it as an alternative to the straps and devices I’d tried in the past,” Steiner says. “Posture correction seems a surprisingly uncrowded market. While many companies offer variations on elasticated braces, orthopedic chairs, etc., I’ve seen little innovation until recently.”

Steiner liked the idea of a non-wearable, AI camera-based solution, especially for neck tilt while working at his desk. He has also used it with a connected posture sensing device made by Upright when he’s out and about.

Agarwal has been listening to feedback from customers. Most of them want the tool to be easy to turn on and off. Right now, it’s a website users access through the browser.

“The ideal solution for us would be to download it onto your computer, so that you can run it easily,” he says. “They also say they want it to be more gamified, which is something I’ve been working on. I’m looking at other models like Strava and Duolingo to see where they might apply to this specific product.”

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