Too lazy to stand in line? Nissan has autonomous driving chairs

WASHINGTON — Nissan is showing off its intelligent mobility technology with an invention called the “ProPILOT Chair,” a chair that replaces standing in long lines with sitting in long lines while the chairs move customers through the queue.

Nissan says the chair, named after its autonomous driving technology, detects and automatically follows the chair ahead of it, maintaining a fixed distance and traveling along a set path. The concept was inspired by Nissan’s ProPILOT technology, currently available on its Serena minivan in Japan, that allows the vehicle to keep a safe distance behind the car in front of it.

Nissan is serious about the autonomous-driving chairs.

It says to make sure it gets real-world testing, it is launching a social media campaign, and from Sept. 27 to Dec. 27, restaurants across Japan will be able to apply to use the chairs.

Nissan says restaurants chosen that fit the criteria will be able to use the chairs at their restaurants starting next year.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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