This talking desk will do everything for you but your actual job

By Jenny McGrath Published May 1, 2015

the autonomous desk is a standing that talks talking — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Science tells us that sitting at our desks all day is no good. But standing desks can be expensive, and sometimes you just need to sit in your chair and despair. What’s a person to do? Get a desk that does both, obviously. And one with Siri-like voice recognition that can also turn off your lights would be even better, according to one new Kickstarter.

Launched today, the Autonomous Desk from Robotbase will automatically raise and lower to your preferred settings when it senses your presence. There’s an Ikea desk with similar functionality, but you have to press the buttons. And the Autonomous Desk will offer gentle reminders when you’ve been taking advantage of your chair for too long.

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But the desk is even smarter than that. It can sync with your Nest thermostat and Lifx or Philips Hue light bulbs. You can even lock and unlock the Lockitron bolt on your door, all with the sound of your voice. It has an HD speaker and built-in speech recognition, so it can understand you when ask it to order you lunch or send a Lyft.

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The 52-by-28-inch desk has a maximum height of 49 inches and a minimum height of 23.5 inches and comes in either oak or walnut. There are a few other nice features, like a wireless charger, two USB chargers, and a hook where you can hang your bag. Robotbase successfully launched its Personal Robot on Kickstarter earlier this year, and it seems like the Autonomous Desk has some of the same functionality built into it.

There are still lots of opportunities to snag the $399 early bird price, which is $100 off the expected retail price. Robotbase plans to have all the desks shipped by September — we just hope anyone who buys one doesn’t work in an open office, where everyone can hear them conversing with a desk.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Jenny McGrath is a senior writer at Digital Trends covering the intersection of tech and the arts and the environment. Before…

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