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Nissan Debuts 'ProPILOT' Self-Driving Chair (pcmag.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the first-world-problems dept.

jasonbrown writes from a report via PC Magazine: The Japanese automaker Nissan this week debuted what it's calling the ProPILOT Chair -- an autonomous chair that automatically queues for you while you sit back and relax. With its built-in cameras, the high-tech chair "detects and automatically follows the chair ahead of it, maintaining a fixed distance and traveling along a set path." Standing (or sitting) in line has never been so much fun. "Nissan drew inspiration for this new chair from its ProPILOT autonomous driving technology, which has been available in the company's Serena minivan in Japan since August," the report adds. "The ProPILOT technology allows the vehicle to maintain a safe distance between the car ahead, and ensures that it stays in the center of its lane." While the product appears to be a marketing stunt, Nissan is actively looking for restaurant partners in Japan who want to offer this technology to their customers. Japanese restaurants can tweet their name and website along with the hashtags #NissanProPilotChair #Wanted in an effort to be outfitted with the technology. You can watch the joyful and jazzy launch video here.

48 comments

  1. Wow by NotInHere · · Score: 1

    finally some device which you can use to wait for the new apple iphone!

    1. Re:Wow by tburkhol · · Score: 2

      I imagine that the largest market for self-driving chairs will be departments of motor vehicles. I just wonder if you'll be allowed to ride one before you get your license.

    2. Re:Wow by ctrl-alt-canc · · Score: 1

      Indeed: you will need a self-driving chair to assist you while on rehab after the car crash caused by a self-driving char.

    3. Re: Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry nobody gets excited about your shitty Android products.

  2. Learning from queue implementations in CS by Novus · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't it be simpler to have normal chairs and move the head and the tail of the queue, as in a circular buffer, rather than moving all the chairs? Of course, that would require the queue to be somewhere else than leading to the thing people are queueing for...

    1. Re:Learning from queue implementations in CS by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 2

      Or do what some restaurants already do (I first saw this in Tokyo): they hand out a small pager-like device that buzzes when your turn comes, as well as (an estimated) 5 minutes beforehand. No need to stand or sit anywhere in particular, you can go to a nearby bar for drinks while you wait for your table.

      Of course some venues (certain restaurants, clubs, Apple stores) want a highly visible queue outside, it's good avertising.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    2. Re:Learning from queue implementations in CS by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Or do what some restaurants already do (I first saw this in Tokyo): they hand out a small pager-like device that buzzes when your turn comes, as well as (an estimated) 5 minutes beforehand. No need to stand or sit anywhere in particular, you can go to a nearby bar for drinks while you wait for your table.

      That has been basically everywhere for basically forever. The early devices probably were pagers internally. What I've seen used in the USA mostly has been drinks coasters that flash and maybe beep, rather than vibrating pagers that might scuttle off of a table. They're often used to let people in a bar know when space has opened up in a restaurant. They've fallen out of favor, though, and most places just use the old-fashioned method of putting names on a list and then calling them. There's nothing to steal.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:Learning from queue implementations in CS by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 2

      Don't know why, but I had a sudden vision of a hacker taking control of a bunch of self-driving chairs and shuffling them, organizing and manipolating them in all the ways allowed by STL. It would be very funny to look at, but not so pleasant being sitting into it...

    4. Re:Learning from queue implementations in CS by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

      Yeah I don't see them much anymore, come to think of it. Most restaurants I go to these days seem to use the "reservation or GTFO" queueing mechanism, with maybe 1 or 2 walk-on parties waiting for a table. Not worth investing in beeping coasters or self driving chairs for.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    5. Re:Learning from queue implementations in CS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I still see them all over the place in many chain restaurants. I've had one that texts you instead but that was because it's in an busy downtown area where people often go browsing in nearby stores while waiting for a table to free up.

    6. Re:Learning from queue implementations in CS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Or use a token- or ticket-based system. Then everyone can wait however they like, be it sitting, standing or walking, and when their turn comes they just deposit their token or throw away their ticket.

    7. Re:Learning from queue implementations in CS by arth1 · · Score: 1

      Yeah I don't see them much anymore, come to think of it. Most restaurants I go to these days seem to use the "reservation or GTFO" queueing mechanism, with maybe 1 or 2 walk-on parties waiting for a table. Not worth investing in beeping coasters or self driving chairs for.

      With the amount of chain restaurants having exploded, I think that more customers find a wait unacceptable - instead of waiting, they can just cross the parking lot to one of four other restaurants. With most restaurants serving largely the same, there's little incentive to wait.

      Back on topic, I see these chairs being more useful for amusement parks (with or without velociraptors), schools and nursing homes.

    8. Re:Learning from queue implementations in CS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I love miscrediting countries and time periods.

      As Drinkypoo responded - this has been in many places, including the US for at least 10 years. Don't aggrandize some other place for no reason.

      Now the thing is just taking your number and texting you (and stealing your number for marketing, tin foil on).

    9. Re:Learning from queue implementations in CS by Nunya666 · · Score: 1

      With most restaurants serving largely the same, there's little incentive to wait.

      Really? Please tell us which Subway stores sell Big Macs, which Wendy's stores sell seafood, which Arby's sell bloomin' onions, or which Denny's sell sushi.

    10. Re:Learning from queue implementations in CS by arth1 · · Score: 1

      Really? Please tell us which Subway stores sell Big Macs, which Wendy's stores sell seafood, which Arby's sell bloomin' onions, or which Denny's sell sushi.

      Two of these don't have any wait-to-get-seated, as they are fast food restaurants.
      But anyhow, whether the details and naming of the food differs, it is to large extents the same. The diversity is minimal in American restaurants. Customers aren't willing to try new things, and the restaurants that try either have to revert to the standard pseudo-Italian and American standards like steaks and burgers, and if there's fish, it's breaded and with lemon.
      Don't expect big differences. None of them will serve black pudding, sardines, savory pies except chicken pot pie, boiled cabbage, or anything much out of the ordinary you can get at a number of these places. It doesn' t really matter all that much where you go - the difference between US restaurants is as minimal as between the US political parties. From an outside point of view, it's all pretty much the same.
      Sure, "Chinese", "Japanese", "Thai", "Mexican" and "Indian" restaurants have different fare from the typical American/Italian one, but it's also standardized and adjusted to the American palate. No surprises; all interchangeable within their "nationality" (to use the word loosely).

  3. And lines just got twice as long... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Even while maintaining a respectable amount of personal space, a standing line will fit way more people in a given amount of space than this system. In a place as overpopulated as Japan I'd think that'd be a dealbreaker.

  4. Aaaand that's how the British Empire started. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    You will NOT mess with our queueing protocol, you bloody foreigners. We stand in line and we tut and shake our heads until you die of embarrassment if you try to break in line or reserve a spot or otherwise fail to get to the back of the queue then shuffle forward in an orderly manner, complaining about everything as we do so. This is how we've done things since 1066 and we haven't been successfully invaded since (the Channel Islands don't count, since they're practically French and only really serve as a setting for Bergerac and VAT avoidance).

    It is our burden so help us God to teach the savages of the world how to queue properly.

    1. Re:Aaaand that's how the British Empire started. by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      Oh pshaw! This is going to help automate turning people into Brits worldwide. They can't help but be British when robotic chairs force them to queue correctly. You don't think MI6 infiltrated Nissan HQ to put this plan in motion?

      5 years from now everyone will drink tea, love dogs and going to the pub for a pint. The world will drive on the left and Lion Bars and Kendal Mint cakes will be sold in every country on earth. Citizens of earth, prepare to start drinking your ale at the correct temperature of 13C (55F).

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  5. Chindogu by bickerdyke · · Score: 2

    This is somehow cool and would definitly have some great novelty factor. And is completely useless at the same time:

    It's a perfect Chindogu.

    --
    bickerdyke
    1. Re: Chindogu by Cassini2 · · Score: 1

      Maxwell Smart would be so proud. He was the hero in that chased the enemy in a desk, powered by ink from Saudi Arabia.

  6. Wall-E, here we come! by JamesTRexx · · Score: 1

    Although at a safe pace and distance from other objects.

    --
    home
    1. Re:Wall-E, here we come! by denis-The-menace · · Score: 1

      yup

      https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22b...

      --
      Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
  7. No thanks, I'll pass this one out ... by cristiroma · · Score: 1

    I'm waiting for the practical version of the self-driving bed, so I won't need to get up at all. I'm sure someone will come up with it. Imagine it, to drive me 20 miles to the work before I even wake up, open the computer small table so I won't require to even get up from bed. Then it drives me to the cafeteria ... then back home in the night ... Oh, the joy!

    1. Re:No thanks, I'll pass this one out ... by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      They will invent that right after I die!

    2. Re:No thanks, I'll pass this one out ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's nearly here, as soon as self-driving car technology is added to this street-legal furniture. I hope you get to choose between Google car and Tesla autopilot.

  8. This is the best solution of all time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is the best solution of all time. Once they find the corresponding problem(s), now THAT will be GREAT!

  9. dr sheldon cooper by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    would LOVE this.

  10. Thank you /. by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

    I'm going to buy a Nissan right away!

    --
    Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    1. Re:Thank you /. by cristiroma · · Score: 1

      Seem to me like I might only need the chair though ...

  11. But will the chair by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

    Great, a chair to wait in line for me!

    But will the chair work in the rain? If it skips the line, who is responsible, me or Nissan; what if there is a collision with a person sitting in a manually operated chair?

    Finally, who is going to trust a chair that operates itself. People aren't going to want to give up the right to sit manually.

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  12. We're one step closer by GrumpySteen · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is looking more accurate every day

    1. Re:We're one step closer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One man's dystopia is another man's all-you-can-eat buffet.

    2. Re:We're one step closer by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Nissans ProPILOT system is actually very disappointing. It only works between 30 and 100 km/h, so it's basically useless. The two times when you want auto-steering/adaptive cruise control are when in stop-start traffic below 30 kph and when cruising on highways at over 100 kph. The speed limit in the UK and most of Europe is around 120-130 kph, for example.

      Nissan really seem to have been caught out by their competitors lately. Their Leaf electric vehicle has a 30kWh battery, but for about 10% more money the GM Bolt has a 65kWh battery. The Leaf is also looking rather old, having an interior and tech from five years ago. ProPILOT is looking fairly rubbish compared to other manufacturer's efforts, particularly Tesla but most of the other big players have at least the low speed stuff working.

      It's such a shame when they were the real pioneers of electric vehicles. Tesla get a lot of attention but Nissan has sold a lot of Leafs and proven that limited range was actually quite acceptable to many people.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    3. Re:We're one step closer by cristiroma · · Score: 1

      The corporations wants you to THINK you want this! They'll give you all you need, just make sure to pay your subscriptions on time.

  13. shakes head by MitchDev · · Score: 1

    As we move another step closer to Wall-E world....

  14. Wall-e? by MikeTheBike · · Score: 0

    And this is how Musks new Mars spaceship will contain it's inhabitants... ðY

  15. Wow? WALL-E!!! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 1

    Human blob of motorized screen-junkie, full of HFC, HERE I COME!
    http://the-void.co.uk/wp-conte...

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
    1. Re:Wow? WALL-E!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! you saved me the effort of posting this myself. Almost choked on my coffee when i read the summary.

  16. I would like by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

    I would like to have a "self driving" wagon that would follow me (or a BT beacon in my pocket) that I could use to walk or bike to the store and get groceries with.

    My back is not what it used to be and carrying a large amount of groceries (especially kitty litter) is hell for my lower back if it is more than a few miles. Also, all the personal shopping carts I have used are clearly designed for someone a foot shorter than me as I have to hunch over just to pull or push the thing.

    --
    My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  17. drivable desk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm still waiting for my drivable desk.

  18. Seems excessive by Solandri · · Score: 1

    A queue is virtual. There's no need to make it an actual physical queue. A "take-a-number" ticket system accomplishes the same thing with a lot less work and energy.

  19. So it's a pilot then? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since it's named pilot, I expect it to be able to automatically fly me into the side of a mountain, and I refuse to be convinced that is not it's purpose even if I'm required to agree otherwise every time I use it.

    Chair? No, it's named 'pilot' so it does exactly what I think it does.

  20. Benches by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you are just so averse to taking numbers, then how about a long bench? Just scoot over when there is room.

  21. so... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    foot rest?

    Let the third world peasants deal with scuffed heels.

  22. Shades of Wall-E by Archfeld · · Score: 1

    It looks like the developers were fans of the animated movie Wall-E. A population of huge fatties bound in chairs would be easily controlled. Just add a few stairs here and the to restrict general access and Voila' a flock of sheep to be herded by a little herd-bot.

    --
    errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
  23. The state-of-the-art in self-driving by edtice1559 · · Score: 1

    is about at the level that you can safely have a self-driving chair. Unfortunately, the technology isn't much more advanced than this.

  24. This isn't what I was imagining by dcooper_db9 · · Score: 1

    I expected this to be a scooter for the handicapped that's equipt with robotics. Being able to have your wheelchair come to you would have all sorts of practical applications. I was thinking about this the other day when I saw Walmart's carts sitting out in the rain. How much would retailers save in wear and tear if those things parked themselves? They already use electric motors. How hard would it be to automate them?

    --
    I do not block ads. I do block third party scripts.