A preview of the next generation of autonomous vehicles

October 5, 2016 4:49 AM

Take your seat and let the technology do the work!

I'm not convinced that this is not an ad ... but as I can't read Japanese it's hard to tell. The Grauniad seems to take it seriously.

posted by carter (14 comments total)

Chair the road?
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:54 AM on October 5, 2016 [4 favorites]

I didn't see a cup holder.
posted by furtive at 5:44 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

It's definitely an ad for Nissan's semi-autonomous vehicle technology: they're building it into lawn chairs and placing those at venues around Japan so people can "road test" the technology and (I presume) get used to the idea.
posted by adamrice at 6:06 AM on October 5, 2016 [3 favorites]

Japan is also quite interested in assistive technologies as their population ages. I wouldn't be surprised if mobile chairs do turn up in their museums in a few years.
posted by bonehead at 6:44 AM on October 5, 2016

Can't help but think of Johhny Cabs
posted by k5.user at 7:16 AM on October 5, 2016

Call me crazy, but I'll predict here Riyadh will be an early and major implementation for a few reasons-- a work around for women drivers, amenable and constant weather, no grades, and its roads are designed with the most recent conventions to facilitate flow.
posted by lazycomputerkids at 7:27 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Top Gear covered the Toyota iReel in 2009. As far as I'm aware, nothing's been seen of it since..
posted by Paul Slade at 8:31 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Don't understand how this is better than some combination of conveyor belt/chair lift.
This would only work in places where people actually wait in queues, which . . . isn't most of them.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:52 AM on October 5, 2016

You know what the world really needs? Luggage and shopping carts that follow you around.

(Go ahead and develop that, people, just sent me the royalty checks when it's ready.)
posted by Soliloquy at 11:03 AM on October 5, 2016

You've been beaten to the punch.
posted by I-baLL at 11:44 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Ofcourse, unless they've already address this issue, you won't be able to check it into an airplane (unless you're doing carry-on) since you can't put lithium io batteries into check-in luggage.
posted by I-baLL at 11:50 AM on October 5, 2016

Also, to be clear, Nissan is not selling these as products. They're providing them free of charge to select companies and restaurants that submit applications between late September and late December. They're technology demos/technology advertisements.
posted by Bugbread at 3:45 PM on October 5, 2016

These presumably cost an assload of money to make... why make the chair part almost the most uncomfortable style of outdoor chair? I mean barring the hard plastic ones these are ALWAYS bad.
posted by emptythought at 6:06 PM on October 5, 2016

I shocked if versatile seats do turn up in their historical centers in a couple of years. Japan is likewise very inspired by assistive innovations as their populace ages.
posted by StanleySimmons at 12:59 PM on October 6, 2016