There’s an old episode of The Simpsons in which Homer lies in a hospital bed while waiting for heart surgery, raising and lowering the bed while saying, “Bed goes up, bed goes down.” That’s the first thing that came to mind when I checked out the Stir Kinetic desk, a “smart” height-adjustable desk with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a built-in touch screen that aims to get you moving around while you work, instead of just sitting at your desk all day. 

During a demonstration at an apartment in San Francisco’s Soma neighborhood, Stir founder and CEO JP Labrosse told me the idea for the desk stemmed from his time as a member of the original iPod team at Apple, where he first encountered colleagues with adjustable desks and got hooked on using one himself. Labrosse says the ability to change his working position throughout the day makes him feel more energized and focused.