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Nissan Debuts 'ProPILOT' Self-Driving Chair (pcmag.com)
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.
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.
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.
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
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...
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...
This is looking more accurate every day