Luraco Technologies iRobotics 7 Medical Massage Chair Review

Improving modern massage chairs is tricky; you have to think outside of the box to come up with creative designs and improvements. That is why the latest massage chairs all use technological advancements to improve massage programs, techniques, and customization options. The Luraco iRobotics 7 is a prime example of a massage chair that has improved on many of the industry shortcomings.

In this article, we will be looking at what makes the iRobotics 7 different from its competition. By doing so, we will better understand what makes it one of the top-selling chairs since 2019. It all starts with where the iRobotics 7 is built and the quality of that build. Luraco produces the iRobotics 7 in the USA, which ensures that only the best materials are used, and cheaper Chinese materials are avoided. That isn’t to say that Chinese made massage chairs are worse, in fact, we have found some great ones. Nonetheless, the materials used by Luraco are hard to match, and the high-quality impacts almost every aspect of its performance.

Main Features and Details

History of Luraco

Luraco is a tech firm located in Dallas, Texas and it has manufactured massage chairs for parlors, nail salons, and spas in the United States. Having success in this market, Luraco set out to develop and manufacture massage chairs for regular Americans. They started with the i6, but after having issues, they discontinued it and recently created one of the best-selling massage chairs in the country, the iRobotics 7.

Awards

Not surprisingly, the i7 has won multiple awards for its innovation and design. In 2016 it was awarded the “Best of Show” award, “Best Quality in Home Furnishings” and in 2017 it won the “Best of CES Award”.  What makes these awards special is that they showcase the versatility of the i7. The awards were given from the CEDIA Tech Show, Tech Today Magazine, and Health & Fitness Consumer Show.

Additionally, the i7 has been approved by the FDA as a medical massage chair and is used on United States Military Bases. Lastly, the i7 is the only chair that has been studied by an independent research institution. The findings proved that the i7 provides pain relief and health benefits.

Innovative Improvements

i7 Massage Programs

The highlight of the i7 was the unlimited customization options. It is pre-customized with 9 massage programs, but the best part is the manual customization. When you first open up the massage program settings, you will notice that each program is displayed like an app. As we worked through each of the 9 programs, we were impressed with the wide variety of techniques. There are stretch modes, deep massages, shiatsu techniques, soft touches, etc. To sum it up, you get a lot of flexibility in choosing what you want. You can also customize your massage through the manual button. The best part of the manual customization was how effortlessly the i7 lets you choose your massage area. You can easily move around your spine, emphasize your arms, and adjust the roller intensity.

Body Scanning

Earlier we touched on the 9 automatic programs and some other aspects of massaging for the i7. The chair starts with an automatic body scan that is about 2 minutes long. Out of all the chairs we have tested, it takes the most time to analyze your body. This scan happens every time you use the i7, which some people find annoying. We found it beneficial because your body changes over time and by taking the time to have it scanned you can figure out what is best for your body. However, if you want to skip the scan, you can go into the “User” settings and memorize the program you want. When you use the chair again, simply go into the “User” settings and select that program and the chair will skip the automatic body scan.

This feature is one of the coolest of the i7. It is made possible by an automatic memorization aspect that keeps your details stored in the chair. When you sit down to use the same program again, the chair won’t need to go through the scanning process.

You are probably wondering; how accurate is the body scan?

We had 20 different people use body scanning and then come back later to re-use it to see how the chair reacted. Of the 20 people, 16 of them said they felt that the chair got their settings 95% right, and 4 people said it was perfect.

Luraco designed their scanning technology to scan the shoulders and head positioning, as well as the shape of the entire spine. Additionally, we found that it does a great job of measuring and aligning your legs which removes the constant leg adjusting folks go through.

i7 Rollers

Luraco opted to go with dual rollers and 3D functionality with the iRobotics 7. We weren’t surprised that they decided not to implement quad rollers for a few reasons. The main reason is the direction that Luraco wanted to go with in regards to roller functionality. The rollers work methodically and slower than most massage chairs. Direction and functionality of the rollers show more purpose than what we are used to seeing in most chairs. They also feel sturdy and fairly firm so that you feel the quality when they move along your back.

Another benefit of having a 2-roller system is that you can target your back muscles more precisely and penetrate deeper. Luraco also included 5 intensity settings which provide flexibility for users that want to jump between gentle and intense massages. However, even the gentlest setting proved to be fairly strong. If you find that you can’t handle it, we recommend using the back pad which helps reduce the overall intensity. Furthermore, you can target roller intensity for specific areas. For example, you can fiddle with intensity settings for your shoulders or upper back without affecting your lower back. Lastly, we loved the roller movement around the tailbone area; the i7 was able to provide a deep and slow massage for an area that is hard to massage through.

Lower Body Massaging

For your lower body you a lot of airbags and foot rollers that massage the heck out of your calves and feet! Luraco used foot airbags and mechanical foot rollers to create their lower body massage. The main massage features are the rollers and the complementing airbags that move your feet in a trimming motion across the rollers by going side-to-side. Moreover, the rollers are intensity adjustable with foot pads under and around the rollers. When we compared the rollers to other massage chairs we tested, the biggest difference wasn’t in performance.  It was in comfort. The i7’s rollers were much more comfortable and didn’t require you to take a “break” because your feet couldn’t handle the intensity.

Smart Touch Screen

The remote control for the i7 is intuitive, patented, and works unlike any other remote. It is designed to make the complex operations of an advanced computer system easy to use. Furthermore, it is the industry’s first structured and polished touchscreen controller. Frequently, we see keypads using rubber buttons that are flimsy and do not work in different environments. The good thing about the i7 controller is that it can be used at night which makes switching massage programs and intensity easy.

Luraco Massage Chair Therapy Study - Weber State University

Technology - 10/10

Scoring the i7 anything other than 10/10 for technology was hard. It has 9 automatic functioning massage programs and gives users limitless manual function combinations. The chair also has full body heating (back, feet, and seat), along with 5 adjustable intensity levels.

One thing that stood out about the i7 massage features was the focus on extremities. The chair uses a two positioning foot and hand stretching feature which complements the 3D robotic system used for massage programs. We found the zero gravity positioning to rise a little higher than traditional massage chairs, but it felt sturdy and completely weightless.

Our favorite technological component was the multi-sectional control for the intensity levels. Usually, chairs will give you 3 levels to choose from, but the i7 comes with 5. Furthermore, the intelligent sensor technology combined with the chairs body diagrams outlining reflexologies and acupuncture points shows how Luraco improved on accurate massaging from the i6 to the i7. As we finished analyzing the technical parts, we dived into the i7s’ intelligent self-diagnostic component. Luraco states that the chair can figure out what is wrong and make the right changes to fix it. Unfortunately, we did not find an exact way to test this functionality.

Design - 7.9/10

To be frank, we expected a better design from Luraco. The chair doesn’t look bad but having a chair with the technological abilities of the i7 and traditional design is a bit lackluster. On the other hand, if you enjoy the traditional appearance of massage chairs, then you will love the design.

The seat and memory foam back are finished with symmetrical stitching, and it comes in three different color options (cream, brown, and black). For the most part, the chair is upholstered in synthetic leather which is what we would ordinarily expect. However, Luraco used real leather where your skin touches the chair (neck, hands, arms, calves, thighs, and feet).

Comfort - 9.9/10

We felt insanely comfortable each time we used the i7. The padding is placed in all the right spots, and its movement from program to program is flawless. Airbags that normally take you time to get used to, feel like they were designed for the human body and the chairs in-depth intensity control goes into more areas than competing chairs.

Durability & Warranty - 10/10

Assembling this chair is super easy. In fact, you don’t even need the white glove delivery to help you set it up. The armrests are secured with two large bolts, electric plugs/air hoses, and a zipper on the back. The only you will need is getting the actual boxes into your house as they are heavy.

Overall, the durability of the chair is one of the most impressive things about it. We often see high-end chairs have many maintenance issues, but through our experience and many consumers, we found that performance sustainability was high. The chair comes with a complete 5-year warranty for all the parts and a complete 3-year warranty on labor. One of the most underrated parts was Luraco’s customer service. Often we find that customer service jobs are outsourced and utterly useless in regards to quality. With Luraco, the manufacturing of the i7 is in the USA and so is the customer service. It is, without doubt, one of the best customer service teams we have dealt with.

Price - 7.1/10

The price is probably the worst thing about the i7. It costs a lot, and there is no other way to put it. Nonetheless, it is hard to give it too low of a rating because you get so much with this chair. Chairs that are categorized as “medical devices” usually go for over $10,000 which is a lot of money to spend on a massage chair.

Cons

Overall Rating

Technology - 10/10

Design - 7.9/10

Comfort - 9.9/10

Durability & Warranty - 10/10

Price - 7.1/10

Total Score = 9/10