Slashdot Mirror
DIY BMW Computer Chair
vortimax writes "Roger Arrick has put up a web page describing his quest to build the ultimate computer chair. It's based on the powered passenger seat from a late-model BMW. Add a power supply, a frame with a working surface, and you've got one unique computer workstation." Nothing
like automated lumbar support while you're gam^H^H^H working. Just good
luck getting the parts on your own ;)
Now if I can justify the cost for the darn thing, itll be perfect. The ultimate computing machine
Add a refridgeration unit in the base so I can store beer/soda/etc. and then we'll talk.
I -hate- having to get up when I'm on a hot streak in Q3A, just to get more beer. Damn that beer! Give me a chair with a fridge!!
What about a seatbelt and airbag for racing games?
All it needs is an automated dashboard plug-n-suck and he'd be set for life.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
Can someone offer to fix CmdrTaco's TERM export? :)
hm. you know, it would be hundreds of times easier to mod a panasonic massage chair. feh.
next time try looking for a massage chair instead of ripping apart a BMW
Maybe because it's powered, but you can buy a Recaro racing bucket seat as a desk chair as well. Maybe it's because he can (marginally) do it cheaper than $3500.
THIS is a computer chair... :)
Where's the airbag for the windows users in case of the good old Blue Screen 'o death!!?
Talk about getting the priorities all wrong!
Roger Arrick has put up a web page... and Slashdot has taken it down again.
Sailing over the event horizon
Isn't it too low? It would be like stepping into a F355 or something, and feel totally... wrong. I suppose you could get used to it. Suppose you were using it when you hit a button by accident? Cue comedy slapstick scene like in Carry On movies when the occupant of a hospital bed loses control of it...
Well, maybe there's a good point - does it have heated seats? It might be good for those cold coding nights.
We Build Beautiful Websites
...it's slashdotted. God I love this site.
People shape laws. Not the other way around.
Oh this just makes me hate my cube chair of pane all the more!
He spends 3+ hours in his?! Oh for release from my 10 hour days in the cube of pain!!
Damn you slashdot- and your cool toys made by people with more time, money and initiative than I could ever have!!
.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
The chair that I sit in at school in my dorm is a wooden rocking type chair. The first time I sat in it, and rolled back, I felt like I was going to fall over. Its nice, but not my ideal.
To me, this idea looks nice, but alittle cramped. I also like to turn on an instant, with this chair, that is impossible. I would rather have a adjustable office chair.I need back support and I like a chair that pushes on my back when I lean back. A car chair just doesn't cut it for chairs that I need.
How I need one of those chairs to sit and wait for the slashdotting to end, so I can see the chair.
what is the difference between 1337 d0oD speak and moron^H^H^H^H^H speak?
Hint: it flows says the poet and is measured says the scientist.
Answer: Nothing except the time frame! Thats right folks, it is as excruciatingly stupid as was 1337 #4x0r when it was first introduced. You know back before there was any internet for the general public... back when 1337 was assigned to a 4800 modem?
Don't worry my little friends, you will sound just as stupid. (to many, you already do) So continue on saying such stupid bullshit to try and make yourself something your not... reminds me of losers that think their car and clothes are status symbols.
Here is another computer chair. Interstingly enough, the computet has a BMW logo on it. Atleast, I think it is. I don't read Korean nor can tell for sure if it says "BMW"
Sheesh, if I only spent 3 hours a day on my computer, I don't think I'd need a BMW workstation.. more like honda civic.
I make these: http://beatseqr.com
Please note, I pay like 7 bucks a month for this hosting, so be gentle...
Ahhh forget it, I know you won't.
"Why should we leave America to go to America Junior?" - H. Simpson, on visiting Canada
Laz-y-boy made a "E-Cliner" a while ago, it showed up on slashdot too... http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/01/10/144823 5&mode=thread&tid=159
;-)
It's not a ultimate chair, but I doubt this one is too. When it comes to getting lazy, people get aweful inventive
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
...you can buy something similar
If you are going to have a chair like that you don't want to be cramped in a computer desk like you are disabled or something.
A chair like that deserves a huge wall sized screen and voice activated controls.
I'd place it in the middle of a room, take a seat and say things like:
"main screen turn on" or
"Make your time",
"make it so",
or even "Yes, we're gonna have to go right to.....ludicrous speed!"
* * Always question "the National Interest" - 9 times out of 10 it is a cover for evil
wtf wuss.. i spend 16+ hours.. and i sit on my floor..
.cig
...but how does it work when I'm browsing pr0n?
I mod down anyone who uses M$ in their posts. I like to live on the edge.
A: A porcupine has its pricks on the outside.
Disclaimer: I live in the Silicon Valley and am therefore, by law, entitled to make fun of the assholes driving their beemers around in the far-left lane at 5 miles below the speed limit, changing lanes without signaling and generally acting as if they purchased soverign right to the roads along with their overpriced German-made Civics.
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
I thought it would be interesting to note that Mr. Arrick is a man of many talents. He produces a line of Moog style modular analog synthesizers. http://www.synthesizers.com/
If it's the same kind they have in the dorms here, that rocking computer chair has other uses. The rocking can be ... uh ... stimulating.
Since I spend 3+ hours a day on the computer working and playing
Imagine what he would have built if he had spent 10+ hours a day at the computer!
I know I spend a lot more time than 3+ hours a day at my computer (work and home).
Visit the Arcade Restoration Workshop @ http://www.arcaderestoration.com
The idea here is a great one, but I have 2 suggestions for version 2.0
1) I would rather have the remote control up by my mouse for easily accessible seat adjustment.
2) The thing is a bit more than a chair obviously, but it would have worked better on a mobile platform maybe with "anchors" similar to a wheelchair that can be made to hold it's position.
Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it. -Samuel Johns
Years ago -- and I mean something on the order of a decade -- I remember the famous racing-seat manufacturer Recaro offering an office chair. It was simply one of their less aggressive (read: touring instead of racing) seats attached to an office chair base. There was even a model that included power adjustments and bolted a small 12v battery to the frame.
Now, all I can find is this sad example. ~$1000 for fabric upholstery, ~$1500 for leather... but that's just one site I found on a Google search.
It's a shame the site is buried under the load, I'd like to see that chair. I've had the same idea for some time... I used to own a VW Corrado (which came with Recaro seats), and I often thought about mounting one of those on a swivel base for non-car use. That thing was comfy! However, looking at the prices for a new Recaro, I think I'll just search ebay for an Aeron.
"...America's great minds of today, teaching America's great minds of tomorrow. Poor bastards." -- A Beautiful Min
here
composite seat, gas shock, aircraft cables, & the seating position stolen from my favorite lazyboy
- tensions in our lives that are attacking our minds, unite themselves together to make our consciousness blind - op'ivy
Why not use a seat from a car that actually has a nice interior like an Audi? Not that the fact I own one makes be biased or anything. ;)
Keep Austin Weird!
From the article:
Since I spend 3+ hours a day on the computer working and playing, I figured that it should be comfortable.
If that's the formula, I should be sitting on Shakira's lap when I'm computing.
--Blair
Then where is the hole and plumbing for...you know? If I still have to move to survive then I wouldn't go throwing around superlative adjectives.
-MB-
If you want to do a similar project with a power seat from YOUR car, check out car-part.com for a listing of used car parts from junk yards in your area. Great for finding good deals on car parts
-dk
BMW installs fine seats in their automobiles... for firm support needed in performance driving. If I were to build a computer desk around an automobile seat, I would probably use something a bit more plush from a Lincoln, Cadillac, or Jaguar. Or better yet, get an overstuffed leather chair from a furniture store.
Anything I can do with a seat from a Metro?
why run from Vincenzo?
integrates the chair, computer, and controls in a more
mototcycle-like geometry.
Still, it's cheaper to sit in an Aeron.
Now, if it gets wrecked like my last car I guess I could go to the junkyard and steal (er...) obtain the seats.... The sheepskin covers would make it extra comfy.
Fantastic idea. Just add a cooler, built-in joystick, and frame to hold your 21" LCD -- I like it.
Now this is what I consider to be a proper computer workstation...
http://www.sara.nl/hpc.www/images/unite/unite.jpg
Ok... so it's 1997 technology, but you get the idea.
Plus it's cooler looking than SARA's current monster.
Since I spend 3+ hours a day on the computer working and playing, I figured that it should be comfortable.
3 hours? I thought this was someone who actually had a purpose for building the chair.
...the usefulness of a cool power-chair, versus why you sawed a hole into the side of your PC to peer inside.
on.
This would an excellent project with which to combine a racing wheel. I could hook up the PS2, sit in front of a 51" tv, and be even more convniced that I am actually driving.
there is the Corvette office chair. i can't find any links online but the ad is *always* in Car & Drivers' ad section in the back. just go flip through it at a supermarket and you will find it.
not that i would buy one -- but for those of you who have such fetishes...
My life in the land of the rising sun.
If that's the formula, I should be sitting on Shakira's lap when I'm computing.
[/quote]
Wouldn't that be better the other way around?
Still, with a plan, you only get the best you can imagine. I'd always hoped for something better than that. -CP
... just ask any geek!
personally, i think their newer teras is a much cooler looking supercomputer. it has 1024 cpus, but is broken into six partitions each running an instance of irix, the largest partitions has 512 cpus. some large usa gov't org, nasa i think, has kinda one-upped sara by running their 1024 cpu origin as a single partition, running just a single copy of irix. either way works pretty well, the interconnect on an origin is 3.2 gbyte ("25.6 gbit") per sec per 4 cpu and has a linear scale, it's a mesh/fabric of interconnects rather than a bus or a star. a modern origin can operate as a single machine or as an insane cluster with a few commands and a reboot.
My computer chair for the past (nine, ten, ??) years has been the driver's seat from a 1984 Mazda RX-7, mounted on the base from an old office chair. It's a bit high, but putting the desk on a couple of 2x4's and finding a suitable footrest solved that problem. No power gizmos, but it's the most comfortable seat in the house. I could sleep in it (and back when I used a dialup connection I often did ...)
----- Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est.
I can see that even being in my early 40s that I would have a hell of a time getting out of the damned thing and on to my feet after about 30 mins of sitting in it. It would be even harder to convice my body to get into it a 2nd time!
Don't people need to have their legs bend once in a while?
-- Many men would appreciate a woman's mind more if they could fondle it
Is it like the the MAIN goal of 'Taco and crew to post ALL of the pages on the internet about cool stuff that have the worst page design (break the story into separate pages) with the biggest images (and no thumbnails)?!?!?!
I had a sig, but
The previous comment reminded me of this joke:
On the farm lived a chicken and a horse, who loved to play together.
One day, the two were playing, when the horse fell into a bog and began to sink. Scared for his life, the horse whinnied for the chicken to get the farmer for help.
Off the chicken ran, back to the farm.
Arriving, he searched and searched for the farmer, but to no avail, for he had gone to town with the only tractor.
Running around, the chicken spied the farmer's new Z3 series BMW.
Finding the keys inside, the chicken sped off with a length of rope, hoping he had time to save his friends's life.
Back at the bog, the horse was surprised, but happy to see the chicken arrive in the shiny beemer, and managed to get a hold of the loop of rope the chicken tossed to him.
After tying the other end to the rear bumper of the farmer's car, the chicken then drove slowly forward, and with the aid of the powerful car, rescued the horse!
The friendship between the two animals was cemented - best buddies, best pals.
A few weeks later, the chicken fell into a mud pit, and soon, he too, began to sink and cried out to the horse to save his life!
The horse thought a moment, walked over, and straddled the large puddle.
Looking underneath, he told the chicken to grab his "thingie" and he would then lift him out of the pit. The chicken got a good grip, and the horse pulled him out, saving his life.
Moral: When you're hung like a horse, you don't need a BMW to pick up chicks.
Unfortunatly, it looks like I may have more trouble finding the chair, I called the local junk yard, the guy answered, I explained that I was looking for a chair, he said "Let me guess, from a BMW for a project?" I was the third to call in 5 minutes, and he has none, any one else got good suggestions, on where to find them cheep?
I got the seat of a wrecked car, and mounted it on a swivel base. A word of caution: Check for broken glass... I found a few bits of glass in seams the hard way.
This winter while restoring my Alfa Romeo, I had the Recaro front seats out and sitting in my living room. A friend brought over his PS2 with GT3... It was a perfect gaming setup.
...right, "Blair"?
"Since I spend 3+ hours a day on the computer working and playing..."
Less than four hours in front of your computer per day and you need a fancy chair? When I was your age, we sat on rocks (hard, pointy ones) in seven feet of snow, for 32 hours a day (days were longer then, you know), and we were THANKFUL!
What's up with the other 20 hours in your day? I certainly hope you're not out getting fresh air or talking to girls instead.
Buckle down, slacker.
Once you get the fridge, you *know* that your going to be asking for a built-in urinal.
And that won't be good for anyone...
I am not a number! I am a man! And don't you
You need to hook the power supply up to some metal plates in the seat (or something).
The possibilities are endless... For instance, say your annoying neighbor comes over and wants to sit in it. After 20 minutes, he still won't get out - AND he starts to screw with your computer. Fed up, you grab the wireless remote. At the simple press of a button, he gets 20AMPS up the wazoo!
Just an idea...
Disclaimer: This comment was generated by a Flock of Trained Microsoft Programmers for Aqua_Geek.
i've only been doing this for about 10 years: http://www.coochieology.com/temp/IMG_0165.JPG this is one of the origional concept seats for the oldsmobile bravado, completely stitched by hand, then the handle for reclining is made out of prototyping resin. the next one is a captain's chair from a toyota sienna(with integrated cup holders!) although the idea of integrating it into a desk is great, i like mine for being able to use it with any desk, and also as a stand alone chair(i scoot it around my apartment for using different gear)
Hey Taco, perhaps you should bother to actually look the site over a smidge. That's not a seat from a 'late model BMW' as you incorrectly state in the lead-in, but rather it is from a Mercedes Benz 300CE.
http://www.robotics.com/chair/300ce.jpg
Ooooh, yep- it kinda looks like your years of driving mom's old chevette are starting to seep through there...yep.
-gurpvnunfzlubhfrohttrqnaqlbhefvfarkg!
Try www.oem-car-parts.com and www.car-part.com.
Incidentally, I used to have a special seating system set up in my school apartment for playing gran turismo (a game I excelled at until i moved in with my girlfriend and suddenly lost all time to play). It consisted of an old Chevrolet AstroVan seat (price: $6 at Gary's U-pull-it) screwed into a carpetted plywood board on lockable casters, two pedals and a suspended steering wheel. We'd roll it in front of the shitty RCA TV and take turns smoking the competition. Afterwards, it would roll back up against the wall, for easy storage of dirty dishes.
Hey freaks: now you're ju
synthesizers.com is the name of the site and the product line
I applaud the creator for his ingenuity and originality. However, it seems that a comfortable chair mounted on quality castors would be more versatile.
It's still a very cool project though. When I see people actualize ideas like these, it makes me appreciate the fact that maybe everybody doesn't have to grow up and turn into an old cynical conformist.
bwm -> B===D (_*_) <- the people
And you can remotely control your chair. Or allow a program to subtly change your seating position to reduce fatiugue. Of course there should be some safeguards to prevent the seat from performing the Christine manuver...
-tpg
The car that donated that seat was a well optioned E34 platform BMW. i.e. a 1989 to 1995 5-series.
:-)
That particular seat is a 10-way adjustable (counting power headrest up/down) leather seat, found on most US model 525i, 535i, 530i and (some) 540i cars from model year 1989 to 1995. US M5 and many 540is had sport seats (no armrests give them away), while "stripper" models sold in the US usualy had vinyl covered 10-way power seats ('leatherette' they called it).
BMW sold a much wider range of E34 cars (wimpy engines, diesels, 4-wheel drive, etc) in Europe, where cloth seats and manual adjustmens were more prevalant than leather and power.
Now you know too much about it....
hello,
and welcome
to your party
dfag
ytfu
cv
bcvh
ty
Hello, Police?
Somebody broke into my car. I'd only left it for a few minutes.
Yeah, they smashed the window and took the seat.
No, NOT the CD - the seat.
Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
I'm beggining to think it would be really easy to build a racing computer seat. Recaros have a carbon fiber frame. Just buy a shitty chair with a tild base at Office Depot or something and then bolt it up into the Recaro. It would be about 800 bucks without the 5 point seat belts.
Tim Smith - Ramblings from Nerd Land
I've owned 2 different BMWs and done moderate interior work on both of them. The seat he's pulled here looks like its from an E34 5 series (1989-1995). It might be from a similar vintage 7 series as well.
Had he chosen a slightly earlier seat, mounting it would have been significantly easier, as the E12 and E28 5 series seats simply bolt to the floor of the vehicle with 4 17mm bolts.
Incidentally, you can often get these seats _extremely_ cheaply at junkyards. I got an entire 1985 528e interior (non power seats, however) for $60 bucks at a junkyard.
Also, the seats he has pictured are in no way high performance seats. they have the collapsable arm rest which makes them more like captains chairs. BMW sport seats have thick deep side bolsters that keep your body planted during high side loading conditions. These seats are from a comfortable touring car, not a racing machine.
My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
I just can't sit well with the whole method of creating things purely for usability with no thought for asthetics. It's all function over form... Not to say that going completely form over function is clever either... but just look at how much room this thing takes up!
You've just rendered a large chunk of whatever room the computer's in unusable, whereas if you're using a normal chair you can roll it back under your desk, thereby freeing up floorspace.
*- Too Much Time On Your Hands
:-)
So let's see... you did ALL that work, and have a seat that will give you the dreaded sweaty-ass.
If I'm home, unless I'm eating, sleeping, or using the bathroom, I am in front of my computer. That's a lot more than 3 hours per day-- so I'm saving up for a Herman Miller Aeron. Comfy as all hell, and made of breathable mesh so sweaty-ass is no longer a concern.
This year's performance bonus should just about cover a new G4, a nice 18" LCD, and an Aeron to sit on while I use it. Maybe even a 10GB iPod, if I get pulled into a few weekend client projects.
I don't think so. A few minutes of her sitting on my lap and I could see myself getting stiff.
-no broken link
It looks cool BUT it should be computer controlled so that you can adjust the settings from the machine and when you login to the console it adjusts the chair to the users preset settings :)
fed up with the standard office furniture, my dad made a couple of chairs like this ... except that since his desk is a standing-height drafting surface as well as a computer station, his two pilot-seats are each mounted on 4-foot pedestals with casters
09
ROFLMAO
Check out this computer in a BMW:
t ml
http://www.vb.quik.com/jmciver/pages/computer.h
Now if I can justify the cost for the darn thing, itll be perfect. The ultimate computing machine
Hey, that seat is a really good idea. However, it disturbs me that the guy didn't go all out and make a powered top, so that it slides into position when you sit down. A couple of power window motors would do that job very nicely.
Even better, those Lincolns with the seat memory don't have magic seats. All that's needed is appropriate software, and an interface to the computer.
Imagine it: Sit down. Log in. Immediately, the computer adjusts the seat and desktop position. Heated seats could be employed, which would warm your tender buttocks on those days when the air conditioner is just set a notch too high. Do your work, log off. Instantly, the desktop rolls back and the seat reclines to a position where egress is easy.
Save money, too. Why bother with a regulated supply to run DC motors? The computer to seat control electronics could run off the computer's power supply. A bunch of relays would control the seat motors, desktop and heater. If they're just DC motors, use a car battery charger - they're cheaper and provide lots more current.
Jeez. I gotta build me one of these. I've got a set of leather bucket seats from a 1971 Chrysler Imperial kicking around my garage, just begging for a home.(Well, the back seat has already made an excellent sofa in the basement den.)
Fire and Meat. Yummy.
Ok why don't more people design somthing like this netsurf or like eropodI have always thought that reclining was the way to hack.
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
If you sit a lot during the day, the body heat stored up in the cushions causes you to sweat into the chair. Eventually the chair gets moldy and that's a bummer because it will transfer to your carseat.
1 1-pss2-p8,00.html
0 ,1254,c75-k12,00.html
The Aeron is very comfy and it's like sitting on curved trampoline. Nothing to absorb heat and sweat.
http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/product/0,1469,c2
Whitepapers on seating:
http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/Whitepaper/index/
Good luck copyrighting Dermatoglyphics. ; )
And, thanks. I got the tagline out of a trivia database and thought it was kind of appropriate to Slashdot. Didn't bother verafying it though. See what lazyness got me? : )
Dreamy C!
racing seats are made to keep your body in place during high acceleration motion (particularly transveral accelerations) and are generally "harder", ie. more firm because of that. There's not a lot of acceleration going on when you're sitting behind your pc at home (not compared to racecar levels anyway). I think luxury cars seats are probably way more comfortable to use at home then racing seats, not in the least because their design conditions are closer to home use then racing seats'.
I did this with a ford thunderbird chair. All you need is a junkyard and a loose 12 volt power supply to get the motors to work. There are a lot more crashed t-birds than BMWs.
Looser.
Since the safety belts (an integral, legally required part of the vehicle's restraint system) are not included in the office chair, wouldn't that be a violation of DMCA and the Biden DRM amendment? After all, this "pirate" stole BMW's intellectual property by "reverse engineering" the protection systems's protection system (in this case, a bolt) in order to remove it, then modified the content (the chair) for an unauthorized purpose without BMW's permission, in advance, in writing, et. al. Even worse, he disseminated this information on a web page -- it's as though he's BRAGGING about his brazen theft of BMW's IP! Since BMW sold far fewer automobiles than Chevrolet last year, it's clear that this seat modification procedure is to blame. How do you shameless, seat-modifying pirates sleep at night?
--
JonTurner
"Don't just do something, stand there!"
The Corvette Office Chair
Ow fuck
OK, I'll admit it. I'm not the best grammarian or speller, but has anyone noticed the glaring errors that always show up on geek prepared sites?
;)
Here's a good example from the BMW Chair site:
"Misquitos were terrible in my garage on a hot Texas summer evening but progress prevailed and the whelps diminished over time."
First, it's mosqito, not misqito. And I can only guess he meant "welt" (lump on the body) rather than whelp, which is generally a puppy. Unless his garage was in fact infested with puppies, in which case diminishing whelps might be a good thing.
And how progress can prevail over mosquitos is anyones guess.
* As is generally the case, my opinions do not reflect those of my employer.
For those of you who can't afford a BMW seat, progress has been made on taking a seat from a Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 (police package) and converting it into a desk chair.
This site contains the instructions, near the bottom. Scroll down to 01/06.
Chevy, Like a Rock!
My friend has had one of these before slashdot even existed. except he had 5 monitors and 3 keyboards attached to it.
Honestly it's less convient than you may think, and do not promote good posture. The only advantage is that you could buckle yourself in (if you managed to grab the restraint brackets along with the seat).
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Her hands are free.
And then they aren't.
And then they are.
And then they aren't...
You have to get out of it to fart.
Not really worth the effort.
gotta be recaro seats:
http://integra.vtec.net/driving/recaro_srd.html
-gk
trickchairs.com just a different take on it all