Porsche has patented a new seat for autonomous cars

The Stuttgart brand has registered a somewhat intriguing seat design with the Patent Office. Some sources have suggested that this novel seat could be used in future autonomous vehicles.

The patents, recently spotted by a member of the EV Taycan Forum, were filed in Germany with the World Intellectual Property Organization and were published a couple of weeks ago.

The filings show up to three different seat positions. The first is called the ‘driving‘ position and is the same as in any other car. A second driving position called ‘work‘ is also detailed; it keeps the seat upright and changes the position of the steering wheel and pedals to allow a workspace that could be used for things like reading.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9lSOjttgbY

This is what the novel seats for autonomous cars that Porsche has patented look like

Last but not least, is what Porsche describes as the ‘relaxation‘ position. This is the most intriguing of all, as it shows the driver’s seat abruptly reclined, like what you might find in business class on a plane. In this mode the steering wheel and pedals are also seen retracted into the dashboard. It also includes a footrest to make things even more comfortable.

In 2018, Porsche North America’s chief executive, Klaus Zellmer, already assured that the company had no plans to get rid of steering wheels and pedals and build vehicles that cannot be driven manually by a human. However, he added that “Porsche customers always want it all” and may prefer an autonomous driving mode for certain situations.

Here you can view the full patent for the new seats presented by the Stuttgart brand, which may possibly be fitted to the German manufacturer’s future autonomous cars.

It is inevitable that Porsche models will feature some kind of autonomous driving technology, as more and more car manufacturers are already developing it. But this seat suggests a level of full autonomy, where the vehicle has total control while the driver is relaxing. That is level 4 autonomous driving technology, which is probably still a few years away at best. However, that does not mean that Porsche is not taking the first steps to protect ideas that could take ten years or more to materialise. There is also a clear possibility, as with many patents, that this proposal may never see the light of day.

In other words, although the Stuttgart-based manufacturer has just filed the patent for its new seats, it does not mean that Porsche rules out the idea of removing the driver from its much sportier range of vehicles in the short term. Which model from the German house that is part of the Volkswagen group will be the first to fit this type of seat? We will have to wait and see.