VIDEO: Nissan invents autonomous chair

Nissan has released a viral video of office chairs fitted with its Intelligent Park Assist technology.

With a clap of the hands, in the Japanese car-maker’s office of the future, it seems an entire boardroom full of chairs will automatically perfectly self-park.

The same chairs are then shown in a busy office at the end of the day when, again, a clap brings order with all the office chairs moving autonomously back to their designated desks.

The new technology, said to harness the car-maker’s autonomous hardware and advanced software that’s currently used in its self-parking mode, works by mapping out the entire office or boardroom as a guide for each individual chair.

When the noise of a single clap is detected and recognised, the autonomous chairs swing into action.

Each seat uses its electric motors that power its wheels to manoeuvre to find its parking spot. While they move chairs are individually live-tracked by four motion cameras to help them ‘see’ their way home to their desks.

The cameras and chairs communicate to one other over the office’s wifi network.

Any obstacles detected in the way of the futuristic furniture will cause the chairs to automatically plot a new course back to their designated parking space.

Sadly, for those who work in small, cluttered offices, Nissan has no plans of putting its autonomous chairs into production.