City envy: we want auto-queuing
 chairs like Yokohama

Though it’s a proud London tradition, let’s be honest: queuing is a pain in the arse. So three cheers for car company Nissan, which recently trialled what could be the invention of the year: self-driving seats.

In a demonstration outside a busy sushi restaurant, waiting diners stayed seated while their wheeled chairs did the hard work. Fitted with sensors, the seats roll forward automatically to advance the queue. The chairs maintain a respectful distance from the person in front and behind (no elbowing necessary!) and when the seat at the front is vacated, it drives itself to the back to start again:

The ProPilot test models are now at Nissan’s Yokohama HQ, before potentially being rolled out next year to restaurants across Japan. Let’s hope if these babies do get the go-ahead, London’s next in line.

We’re also jealous of Manchester’s crowd-built pub.