Porsche Patents Novel Seat Design For Autonomous Cars

Porsche has trademarked an intriguing seat design that could be used by future self-driving vehicles from the carmaker.

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

Three different seating positions are detailed in the filings. The first is dubbed the ‘steering’ posture and is the same as that in any other car. A second driving posture dubbed ‘working’ is also detailed; it keeps the seat in an upright position and alters the position of the steering wheels and pedal to allow for some working space that could be used for things like reading.

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Last, but not least, is what Porsche describes as the ‘relaxation’ posture. This is the most intriguing of them all as it shows the driver’s seat steeply reclined like something you may find in the business class on an airliner. This mode also sees the steering wheel and pedals retracted into the dashboard. There is also a footrest to make things all the more comfortable.

In 2018, Porsche North American chief executive Klaus Zellmer said the company had no plans to ditch steering wheels and pedals and make vehicles that cannot be driven manually by a human. However, he added that Porsche’s “customers always want it all” and may like an autonomous driving mode for certain situations.