Has Nissan Designed the Workstation of the Future?

RICKMANSWORTH, UK -- May 11, 2015: Ever suffered a drop in productivity at work? Fallen asleep at your desk? Or missed out on the morning coffee run?

Well that could all be a thing of the past following the creation of an innovative office workstation - inspired by the technologies in the all-new Nissan Qashqai and a novel approach by Nissan engineers.

The prototype crossover workstation was created following an observation by an engineer at Nissan's European Technical Centre, that the car's technology could boost productivity in the workplace.

The principles of Nissan's Around View Monitor (AVM) and Moving Object Detection (MOD) were installed to help workers stay one step ahead of their colleagues, while the addition of the vehicle's Driver Attention Alert (DAA) helps prevent any loss of concentration and the occasional mid-afternoon lull in productivity. 

The workstation also comes complete with the Qashqai's NASA-inspired spinal seat and provides continuous support of the pelvis, lumbar, vertebrae and chest.

"Admittedly the Qashqai desk is a bit of fun, but it ably demonstrates the crossover potential of our technologies to help make people's lives easier," said David Moss, Vice President at Nissan's European Technical Centre. 

"As cars become more connected, this technology is finding uses outside of our vehicles.  Another recent example of this has seen Nissan provide our AVM technology to the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology and Top Industries Ltd., in a project that may help uncover the mysteries of the oceans.

"There aren't currently plans to put the workstation into production, but you never know!"

How the technology works in Nissan's workstation:

Around View Monitor

Activated by clicking on the reverse gear icon, office workers can benefit from a 360⁰ view around their desk.

Moving Object Detection

An audible beep will sound when a colleague approaches the desk from any direction up to a five metre radius.

Driver Attention Alert

Sensors in the keyboard and mouse monitor levels of productivity; if no activity is detected after the programmed time (this can be set to any length of time e.g. five seconds or 50 minutes) a visible and audible cue are deployed.

How the technology works in the Qashqai:   

Around View Monitor

Designed to assist with parking, AVM provides a virtual 360⁰ overview of the car from a bird's-eye view as pictured from above. The technology helps drivers visually confirm the vehicle's position relative to parking spaces and adjacent objects to manoeuvre into parking spots more easily.

Moving Object Detection

Moving Object Detection combines front and rear parking sensors, which deliver audible warnings to the driver when manoeuvring - with a visual display accessible via the Qashqai's dashboard combimeter - to help the driver to detect obstacles around the vehicle while parking or moving slowly. 

Driver Attention Alert

The new Qashqai cleverly learns your driving style so that it can tell when you are getting drowsy. After learning driver patterns, the system will monitor driving inputs, flashing an alert (a coffee cup symbol) on the dashboard if steering becomes erratic, indicating that the driver should take a break.