Working from home has its own perils. Pets can be demanding, your back aches from hours at a desk, or you simply forget to move. There are a few apps that nudge you to move around or indicate that you’re not sitting in an ideal position, but they’re easy to dismiss.

I’ve spent the better part of a decade at a home desk, iterating on the setup as I go — gaming chair, lumbar support, the works. None of it guarantees good posture.

Then I came across Isa, a desk device from German startup Deep Care that takes a different approach entirely. It tracks posture, hydration, light, sound, and movement. And it does all of it without a camera or an internet connection, which, in an era of always-on surveillance, is a meaningful differentiator.

Here’s how it works and what’s inside. Isa has a 5.5-inch IPS HD screen and looks like a table clock. It is powered by USB-C; the company supplies a power unit with it, but you can use any of your existing chargers too, as it has a power consumption rating of roughly 2.45W.

The key sensor for the device is the Time-of-Flight (ToF) 3D depth sensor on the front — the same technology used in facial recognition and some smartphone cameras — that tracks posture and movement. It also enables beta features, such as counting the number of times you’ve had water or other liquids. The company said that the sensor works in the range of 0.15 meters to 1.8 meters. That means if the device is sitting on your desk, it can measure your movement, even when you stand up and move about. It also packs several other sensors: a ToF 1D sensor, a gyroscope, a barometer, a light sensor, a sound level sensor, a CO₂/VoC sensor, and a temperature and humidity sensor.

Getting started is straightforward — the device asks for a few details about you and your work routine. I found it strange that there was no option to set the device to India time (or any other Asian time zone). The company said Isa currently supports only EU and US time zones. Fair enough for now — but broader time zone support, or even a simple world clock, feels like a basic expectation for a desk device.

On the screen, Isa displays your posture with a squircle (a rounded square) ring that fills or empties based on how well you’re sitting, while a water-tank-style widget tracks your drinking. If you are not sitting in the correct posture, the indicator will turn yellow. The Apple Watch-style ring is a surprisingly effective nudge — when I see yellow or red, I straighten up almost instinctively.

The device vibrates to alert you if you’ve been slouching for too long, and I’m okay with that kind of mild shaming. That alert also indicates if you are leaning far too forward or back and helps you correct your stance.

A similar widget tracks movement, and if you have been stationary for a while, Isa suggests you get up, with on-device guided exercises to follow. When you return to your desk after a break, the movement tracker resets.

Deep Care chose not to include a cameras, which helps with privacy, but it comes with trade-offs.

If a bottle or some other object sits between you and the sensor, it may read that as a person and log you as stationary. Pets or housemates passing by can trigger the sensor, too. Isa usually figures out that you’ve stepped away and goes to a digital clock display, but I would have liked a manual button to tell it I’m not at the desk so it stops tracking.

Because of the sensor-only approach, the device occasionally told me I’d been stationary for too long when I’d been sitting for under half an hour. These are minor inconveniences. On balance, the device made me check my posture more often than I used to, and the exercise suggestions are truly useful.

To process all these features, the device uses a quad-core 2 GHz processor. The device can connect to Wi-Fi for software updates, but you can turn it off at any time.

Deep Care was founded by three former Bosch employees and initially sold Isa directly to businesses. It recently expanded to consumers — a shift that signals confidence in the retail market for workplace wellness hardware, and a test of whether a subscription model layered onto premium hardware can find a mainstream audience.

Isa is priced at €299 ($354) with two subscription tiers. The core plan (€4.99 per month) gives you access to posture tracking, healthy sitting habit tracking, drinking habit detection, and its exercise library. The Pro plan(€7.99 per month) lets you track light, noise, and CO2 levels for a healthy working environment.

The company plans to use Isa’s sensor suite to venture into mental health-related tracking. It claims that by using signals like posture, head movement, and chest movement, the device can measure breathing patterns. Plus, paired with environmental data like noise, light levels, and CO2 level, the company wants to introduce a stress-related score.

Even if you skip the mental health features, Isa is a solid device for anyone serious about posture and movement. It isn’t cheap, and the subscription adds to the long-term cost. But if you or someone you know works from home and has been meaning to do something about their desk habits, it’s one of the more thoughtful options out there.

By Aderonke Ojo

Dr James Amidu, Vice-President of the Cycling Federation of Nigeria (CFN), says outdated racing equipment is hindering Nigeria’s cyclists performance at the ongoing 2026 African Track Cycling Championship in Abuja.

Amidu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN ) in an interview on Saturday in Abuja that Nigeria’s cyclists are competing at a disadvantage, with outdated riders equipment cited as the primary barrier to winning more medals.

According to him, Nigerian riders are using ordinary bicycles, while their continental rivals compete with advanced, race-specific machines because they lacked modern racing bicycles used by other countries.

He said the technology gap between Nigerian cyclists and stronger African nations was evident on the track.

“The equipment gap has placed Nigerian riders at a disadvantage against stronger cycling nations on the continent.

“You can see the kind of equipment they are using here in Abuja is not what we in Nigeria are using.

“We are still using ordinary bicycles, while others are using more advanced machines specifically designed for each event. I think that is part of the problem,” he said.

Amidu cited the performances of South Africa and Egypt over the last two days as evidence of the disparity in equipment quality.

“South Africa claimed the majority of gold medals on Friday, while Egypt and South Africa dominated Thursday’s events.

“It’s not that they are better than us. The issue is that the equipment is not available.

“Other countries come with bicycles specifically designed for each race they are participating in. We usually improvise,” he said.

The CFN vice-president said the federation was making efforts to acquire modern racing bicycles to improve Nigeria’s competitiveness at future championships.

Amidu, however, said the official medal tally for the current championship is still being compiled, and the federation would release verified figures once the process is complete to avoid misinformation.

“I cannot give you the exact medal figures for now because we are still compiling them.

“Whatever information I give now may not be accurate, and as journalists, people expect verified facts from you,” he said.

In spite of  the equipment limitations, Amidu said Nigeria won 16 medals at the 3rd Confederation of African Cycling (CAC) Para Championship held from May 9 to May 11 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Velodrome in Abuja.

He said Nigeria topped the medal table with nine gold, five silver and two bronze medals ahead of Egypt, Kenya, South Africa and Algeria.

Amidu said the performance of the para cyclists demonstrated the potential and resilience of Nigerian athletes in spite of inadequate equipment challenges confronting the sport.

“I do not think it should discourage us because if physically challenged athletes can win medals, then we too can succeed even without the best equipment.

“We will continue to make use of what is available, but we must upgrade our equipment for better results,” he said.

He also decried low spectator turnout and poor media coverage at the championship, attributing it to inadequate publicity.

Amidu, who also serves as the board representative for North Central Nigeria and Chairman of the Plateau Cycling Federation, said that the National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman, Shehu Dikko was present to witness the championship on Friday for the first time.

The African Track Cycling Championship in Abuja is currently in its final stages with medal events still ongoing.

NAN reports that the total of eight countries participating are Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Benin Republic and host nation Nigeria.

The championships, which commenced on May 11 and is expected to end on May 17 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Velodrome Package A, in Abuja, is the 12th Confederation of African Cycling (CAC) Track Cycling Championships.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Joseph Edeh