Remember those floating chairs that our uber-lazy future offspring rode around on in the movie Wall-E? Chevrolet just installed the real-life version in two of its assembly lines. Meet the fully automated, gesture-controlled Ergo-Chair.
True, the comparison to Wall-E isn’t 100 per cent accurate: the Ergo-Chair-riding employees use them for work, not for slovenly laziness of the highest order. The chair, manoeuvred by body motion and equipped with assembly parts and the tools needed to install them, allows assembly line workers to install air bag components and electrical wiring in the back seat of the Chevy Traverse without having to hunch over or reach awkwardly through door or window openings.
Of course, watching the workers glide around on their future-chairs makes me want one for myself. Never mind that there’s essentially zero movement involved in this job — I’ll find a way to justify it. [GM]