In recent weeks, Uber launched autonomous cars in Pittsburgh, Tesla updated its autopilot software and researchers in Amsterdam announced an initiative to explore driverless boats. And now, Nissan offers the world self-driving chairs. The Japanese automaker unveiled a high-tech, battery-powered autonomous chair it says is designed to make waiting in line "easy and fun." The ProPilot chair transports passengers along fixed paths without any instruction from the user. The ProPilot chair "drives" on a predetermined path.

Carmaker Nissan claims to have just the thing for those sore legs. A company video released Tuesday re-enacts a busy restaurant with patrons waiting outside. They're all sitting in a row of chairs but they won't have to stand when the next hungry diner is called to a table. Instead, the chairs -- equipped with autonomous technology that detects the seat ahead -- glide along a path toward the front of the line. The system, which is similar to the kind used in Nissan's autonomous vehicle technology, will be tested at select restaurants in Japan this year, Nissan said.

Lyft is planning a subscription service, Tesla has shipped their vehicles with the feature, and Uber currently offers self-driving cabs for folks living in Pittsburgh. You can also count Nissan among these--the company's ProPILOT tech has appeared in its Serena minivan in Japan since August. But it isn't just limited to cars. Nissan has brought their ProPILOT tech to an unlikely receiver: chairs. The ProPILOT chair is Nissan's gift to line-sitters residing in Japan. Between the dates of September 27 and December 27, you'll be able to tweet out the hashtag #NissanProPilotChair to try one out.

Legally self -driving cars may be a few years away, but self-driving chairs are already here! TC Newman (@PurpleTCNewman) has the details. A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Legally self -driving cars may be a few years away, but self-driving chairs are already here! TC Newman (@PurpleTCNewman) has the details.

Standing in line for the latest iPhone at the Apple store, queueing for tickets to Wimbledon or even just waiting at the post office might just have got a lot easier. Japanese car-maker Nissan claims to have just the thing to relieve the sore legs of weary queuers. The new system of'self-driving' chairs is designed to detect when someone at the front of the queue is summoned, and automatically move everyone else one step forward in line. The chairs are equipped with autonomous technology that detects the seat ahead. When the person at the front of the queue is summoned, the empty chair at the front can sense it is empty, so moves out of pole position.

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your highly caffeinated Automaton bloggers. We'll also be posting a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months; here's what we have so far (send us your events!): Let us know if you have suggestions for next week, and enjoy today's videos. A reminder: Next week is the premiere of NOVA's "Rise of the Robots." You don't want to miss this show because it's an awesome overview of the promises and challenges of robotics today, focusing, in particular, on the robots and humans of the DARPA Robotics Challenge.