Road trips are about to get a lot more complicated to explain to passengers.
Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Seres, the Chongqing-based company behind the Aito SUV line, has been granted a patent for an “in-vehicle toilet”—a compact commode that slides out from beneath a passenger seat either with the push of a button or through voice-activated commands. According to the patent filing, which was approved by China’s National Intellectual Property Administration on April 10, the feature is designed to “satisfy users’ toilet needs on long journeys, while camping or while staying in the car.” So practical.
The design is more considered than it sounds. The toilet sits on a sliding rail system, tucked under the seat until needed. Say “start up toilet function” and out it comes. A fan and an exhaust pipe handle odors. A rotating heating element handles liquid waste and dries everything else. Solid waste goes into a tank that someone—eventually, inevitably—has to empty by hand. That last part will be a fun conversation at the dealership.
Carmakers Apparently Think You Want a Toilet You Can Chat With
Seres has not announced any production vehicles equipped with the feature, and it’s unclear whether any will actually be built. But the patent reflects something real happening in the Chinese EV market. As the BBC reported, automakers there are packing vehicles with increasingly unconventional features—massage seats, karaoke systems, built-in fridges—to stand out in a brutally competitive industry. A toilet is, if nothing else, a conversation starter.
In-vehicle toilets aren’t entirely without precedent, either. A 1950s Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith limousine, which later sold at Sotheby’s, famously featured a toilet beneath the passenger seat alongside a gold-plated champagne cooler and a built-in telephone—the full package for anyone who needed to close a deal and powder their nose simultaneously. Seres’ version is considerably more utilitarian by comparison, though the voice activation does add a certain flair.
Public reaction has been predictably split. One commenter told Digital Trends that prediabetes had already made them “a public-toilet cartographer” and called the invention a lifesaver. Another responded simply with “Never.” Both positions are entirely reasonable.
Seres hasn’t committed to actually building the thing. But anyone who has spent 45 minutes stuck on a highway with no exits and a very full bladder understands the appeal completely.
The post The Future of Driving Apparently Includes a Toilet You Can Talk to appeared first on VICE.
