While the world was busy looking at Google, Uber, and Tesla for the self-driving cars, Nissan has introduced an autonomous chair system to ease the experience of waiting in lines.
The mobile chairs shuffle forward, just like humans do, as the queue progresses. So, instead of standing and waiting in an endless queue, you just sit in a chair and relax as the line moves forward.
Embedded cameras in the chairs detect the position and motion of the chair ahead. The technology is essentially the same as the semi-autonomous, ProPILOT system embedded in the Serena minivans that allow the vehicle to move along autonomously in stop and go traffic. The chairs also employ the pathfinding technology developed by Nissan.
The chairs have currently been installed in Nissan’s headquarter and will hit the select restaurants in Japan next year.
The technology is quite remarkable, and can be a handy tool for the development of assistive technologies for the old and the sick. On the other hand, it is indicative of a dystopian future where standing becomes obsolete and everyone grows fat and lazy.
What do you think of these autonomous chairs? Let us know in comments!