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Hardware

DIY BMW Computer Chair 213

Posted by CmdrTaco from the now-thats-a-hack dept.
vortimax writes "Roger Arrick has put up a web page describing his quest to build the ultimate computer chair. It's based on the powered passenger seat from a late-model BMW. Add a power supply, a frame with a working surface, and you've got one unique computer workstation." Nothing like automated lumbar support while you're gam^H^H^H working. Just good luck getting the parts on your own ;)
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DIY BMW Computer Chair

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  • Sweet! (Score:2, Funny)

    by sjgman9 ( 456705 )
    Now if I can justify the cost for the darn thing, itll be perfect. The ultimate computing machine

    • Now if I can justify the cost for the darn thing, itll be perfect. The ultimate computing machine

      Hey, that seat is a really good idea. However, it disturbs me that the guy didn't go all out and make a powered top, so that it slides into position when you sit down. A couple of power window motors would do that job very nicely.

      Even better, those Lincolns with the seat memory don't have magic seats. All that's needed is appropriate software, and an interface to the computer.

      Imagine it: Sit down. Log in. Immediately, the computer adjusts the seat and desktop position. Heated seats could be employed, which would warm your tender buttocks on those days when the air conditioner is just set a notch too high. Do your work, log off. Instantly, the desktop rolls back and the seat reclines to a position where egress is easy.

      Save money, too. Why bother with a regulated supply to run DC motors? The computer to seat control electronics could run off the computer's power supply. A bunch of relays would control the seat motors, desktop and heater. If they're just DC motors, use a car battery charger - they're cheaper and provide lots more current.

      Jeez. I gotta build me one of these. I've got a set of leather bucket seats from a 1971 Chrysler Imperial kicking around my garage, just begging for a home.(Well, the back seat has already made an excellent sofa in the basement den.)

  • What, no fridge? (Score:5, Funny)

    by dreamchaser ( 49529 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @07:38PM (#3982575) Homepage Journal
    Add a refridgeration unit in the base so I can store beer/soda/etc. and then we'll talk.

    I -hate- having to get up when I'm on a hot streak in Q3A, just to get more beer. Damn that beer! Give me a chair with a fridge!!

    • Re:What, no fridge? (Score:4, Funny)

      by napa1m ( 154836 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @07:39PM (#3982583) Homepage
      Now if it just had a passenger seat, an engine, four wheels, a gas tank..
    • At least you can use the CDROM tray to put your beer...
    • Actually, my father in law's lazy boy has a fridge under the right arm rest. It's one of those fridges with a fan that sucks all of the air out of the compartment and somehow cools it. Keeps the Murphy's chilly. :)
    • That might not be the best of ideas. The heat displaced by the fridge would cause the seat itself to warm up most likely, and the worst possible quality in a chair you have to sit in for long periods is when it gives you a sweaty arse.

      This is probably one of the most controlling factors in my life. Tip: when checking out universities, the highest priority is to check what the seats in the lecture theatres are made out of. If it's that horrible vinyl plastic stuff, do NOT apply. Personally, I couldn't stand 3-4 years sitting on one of those horrible things.
      • Ack! Tell me about it... my undergraduate astronomy program had the WORST wooden seats in its lecture halls (aka little tiny rooms)...

        So the prof put me to sleep, but I couldn't get comfortable because of the chairs!

        Thankfully that's over ;)

        Doug
    • Beer? During Q3A? Think of your reaction times! Jolt(tm) all the way to fraggin' the other schmuck. Especially if they're drinking judgment-and-reaction-time impairing beverages.
    • Once you get the fridge, you *know* that your going to be asking for a built-in urinal.

      And that won't be good for anyone...
    • With all that beer in the chair, you'd also need to build a toilet into the thing (as seen on The Simpsons, I believe -- Homer invented it).

  • seatbelts? (Score:5, Funny)

    by notanatheist ( 581086 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @07:39PM (#3982582) Homepage
    What about a seatbelt and airbag for racing games?
  • All it needs is an automated dashboard plug-n-suck and he'd be set for life.

  • ^H^H^H (Score:3, Funny)

    by coene ( 554338 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @07:40PM (#3982588)
    Can someone offer to fix CmdrTaco's TERM export? :)
    • Ahh, but his TERM isn't broken. He isn't typing control-H, but the two characters ^ and H. It's a type of joke, based on the old BBS days when you could insert backspace characters in a message and when it printed out over a 2400 baud modem, you would be able to see it print the first message, then backspace and overwrite with the second message. There is no equivalent in todays modern graphical systems. Some of these Slashdot nerds^H^H^H^H^Heditors, however, will pretend that the trick somehow still works. The visual effect is lost, however.

      • Whoever told you that the "old BBS days" involved 2400 baud modems should be shot. If it didn't involve an acoustic coupler, it's not worth talking about.

        In any event, recalibrate your sarcasm detector -- the original poster clearly knew the joke.
      • actually....its still a bit more common than you might think.....

        If I telnet into my university, and start banging away, and start hitting backspace, I end up with the ^H^H^H^H......of course thats only at the command prompt. Everything works perfectly fine in editors and such, I just have to remember to use ctrl+backspace at the command line
        • Try "stty erase " then hit your backspace character, then enter. That should change your tty settings for that session. You can put that in your shell startup file (.login, .cshrc, .profile, .bash_profile, .bashrc, etc) if you want it to do it automatically for you. In vi, you'll probably have to type control-v in order to get it to ignore the next character. Use control-q (I think) in Emacs.

  • Maybe because it's powered, but you can buy a Recaro racing bucket seat as a desk chair as well. Maybe it's because he can (marginally) do it cheaper than $3500.

  • that's not a computer chair... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ack_OZ ( 64662 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @07:41PM (#3982595)
    THIS [rit.edu] is a computer chair... :)

  • No airbag for BSOD? (Score:3, Funny)

    by sapped ( 208174 ) <mlangenhoven@@@yahoo...com> on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @07:44PM (#3982609)
    Where's the airbag for the windows users in case of the good old Blue Screen 'o death!!?

    Talk about getting the priorities all wrong!

  • Uh oh (Score:4, Funny)

    by gwernol ( 167574 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @07:45PM (#3982624)
    Roger Arrick has put up a web page... and Slashdot has taken it down again.
  • Isn't it too low? It would be like stepping into a F355 or something, and feel totally... wrong. I suppose you could get used to it. Suppose you were using it when you hit a button by accident? Cue comedy slapstick scene like in Carry On movies when the occupant of a hospital bed loses control of it...

    Well, maybe there's a good point - does it have heated seats? It might be good for those cold coding nights.

  • 15 comments later... (Score:1, Redundant)

    by vex24 ( 126288 )
    ...it's slashdotted. God I love this site.
  • Oh this just makes me hate my cube chair of pane all the more!

    He spends 3+ hours in his?! Oh for release from my 10 hour days in the cube of pain!!

    Damn you slashdot- and your cool toys made by people with more time, money and initiative than I could ever have!!

    .
  • The chair that I sit in at school in my dorm is a wooden rocking type chair. The first time I sat in it, and rolled back, I felt like I was going to fall over. Its nice, but not my ideal.

    To me, this idea looks nice, but alittle cramped. I also like to turn on an instant, with this chair, that is impossible. I would rather have a adjustable office chair.I need back support and I like a chair that pushes on my back when I lean back. A car chair just doesn't cut it for chairs that I need.

  • How I need one of those chairs to sit and wait for the slashdotting to end, so I can see the chair.

  • Here is a chair too, (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Marvel Man ( 593480 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @07:48PM (#3982643)
    Here [koreamod.com] is another computer chair. Interstingly enough, the computet has a BMW logo on it. Atleast, I think it is. I don't read Korean nor can tell for sure if it says "BMW"
    • Anyone else notice how there's an Intel Retail heatsink on that baby, even though it's most definitely an Athlon? That and it's using a 125w power supply. 125w+Athlon.... heh... at least everything is onboard (speaking of which, why build such an ultimate "gaming" machine and be stuck with GF2-MX graphics??).

  • 3 hours? (Score:1, Troll)

    by djcatnip ( 551428 )
    Since I spend 3+ hours a day on the computer working and playing, I figured that it should be comfortable. Here's a short description of my journey to create the ultimate sitting experience.

    Sheesh, if I only spent 3 hours a day on my computer, I don't think I'd need a BMW workstation.. more like honda civic.

  • Grabbed a quick mirror (Score:5, Informative)

    by DearSlashdot ( 592493 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @07:49PM (#3982648)
    http://www.robotiq.com/bmwchair.html [robotiq.com]

    Please note, I pay like 7 bucks a month for this hosting, so be gentle...

    Ahhh forget it, I know you won't.

  • Laz-y-boy made a "E-Cliner" a while ago, it showed up on slashdot too... http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/01/10/144823 5&mode=thread&tid=159 [slashdot.org]

    It's not a ultimate chair, but I doubt this one is too. When it comes to getting lazy, people get aweful inventive ;-)
  • If you are going to have a chair like that you don't want to be cramped in a computer desk like you are disabled or something.

    A chair like that deserves a huge wall sized screen and voice activated controls.

    I'd place it in the middle of a room, take a seat and say things like:

    "main screen turn on" or
    "Make your time",
    "make it so",
    or even "Yes, we're gonna have to go right to.....ludicrous speed!"

  • 3 + hours? (Score:1, Insightful)

    by FFON ( 266696 )
    wtf wuss.. i spend 16+ hours.. and i sit on my floor..

  • Joke (Score:3, Funny)

    by Skyshadow ( 508 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @07:57PM (#3982698) Homepage
    Q: What's the difference between a porcupine and a BMW?

    A: A porcupine has its pricks on the outside.

    Disclaimer: I live in the Silicon Valley and am therefore, by law, entitled to make fun of the assholes driving their beemers around in the far-left lane at 5 miles below the speed limit, changing lanes without signaling and generally acting as if they purchased soverign right to the roads along with their overpriced German-made Civics.

    • Someone needs to show those pricks how the Germans truly intended their cars to be used.

      I figure an hour or two on the Autobahn should do the trick.

    • Shameless Karma Whoring (Score:5, Funny)

      by Burning1 ( 204959 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @09:09PM (#3983122) Homepage
      The previous comment reminded me of this joke:

      On the farm lived a chicken and a horse, who loved to play together.

      One day, the two were playing, when the horse fell into a bog and began to sink. Scared for his life, the horse whinnied for the chicken to get the farmer for help.

      Off the chicken ran, back to the farm.

      Arriving, he searched and searched for the farmer, but to no avail, for he had gone to town with the only tractor.

      Running around, the chicken spied the farmer's new Z3 series BMW.

      Finding the keys inside, the chicken sped off with a length of rope, hoping he had time to save his friends's life.

      Back at the bog, the horse was surprised, but happy to see the chicken arrive in the shiny beemer, and managed to get a hold of the loop of rope the chicken tossed to him.

      After tying the other end to the rear bumper of the farmer's car, the chicken then drove slowly forward, and with the aid of the powerful car, rescued the horse!

      The friendship between the two animals was cemented - best buddies, best pals.

      A few weeks later, the chicken fell into a mud pit, and soon, he too, began to sink and cried out to the horse to save his life!

      The horse thought a moment, walked over, and straddled the large puddle.

      Looking underneath, he told the chicken to grab his "thingie" and he would then lift him out of the pit. The chicken got a good grip, and the horse pulled him out, saving his life.

      Moral: When you're hung like a horse, you don't need a BMW to pick up chicks.
      • False logic. The chick was picking up a horse, not another chick with a BMW. Thus it may still be true that if you are hung like a horse you do not need BMW to pick up chicks but if you want to pick up a horse and hung like a pea-cock - get yourself a bimer :)

    • Re:Joke (Score:5, Insightful)

      by stuffman64 ( 208233 ) <stuffman@[ ]il.com ['gma' in gap]> on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @11:46PM (#3983834)
      hmm... I'm not sure what to say. While I agree that there tends to be a correlation between BMWs and dickheadedness, many people decide to purchase them because of thier superior build quality and performance and not because of thier status symbolism. Sure, it is easy to call them "overpriced German-made Civics," until you actually drive one for some period of time, you should withold judgement. Anybody who is a car enthusiast will tell you that a BMW offers a superior driving experience, even compared to similarly (high) priced competitiors. I do not own a bimmer (BMW motorcycles are beemers, the cars are bimmers [bmwccbc.org]), but when I can afford one, a 3-series will be tops on my list. Many people who view cars as simply a utilitarian device, are quite content in thier choice of automobile, whether it be a Honda or a Ford. And I can entirely understand thier view. But for someone like me who enjoys driving and demands the most from thier cars, BMWs are quite a good choice.

      Again, I'm not saying you are wrong, but perhaps maybe jumped to a stereotypical conclusion. Also, there is nothing wrong with going 5 under the speed limit, after all, it is a limit and not the speed that you must drive. I have no problem with slow drivers, as long as they don't provide a dangerous obstacle. Not using turn signals, however, is not good. I hate people who don't use turn signals.

      Disclaimer: I live in rural Pennsylvania, and am therefore, frequently forced to drive slowly behind horse-and-buggys, which are equipped with neither turn signals nor brake lights. They regularly drive well... 5 miles an hour and run red lights on occasion, as if they hand-built their soverign right to the road.
  • I thought it would be interesting to note that Mr. Arrick is a man of many talents. He produces a line of Moog style modular analog synthesizers. http://www.synthesizers.com/
  • Since I spend 3+ hours a day on the computer working and playing

    Imagine what he would have built if he had spent 10+ hours a day at the computer!

    I know I spend a lot more time than 3+ hours a day at my computer (work and home).

  • The idea here is a great one, but I have 2 suggestions for version 2.0
    1) I would rather have the remote control up by my mouse for easily accessible seat adjustment.
    2) The thing is a bit more than a chair obviously, but it would have worked better on a mobile platform maybe with "anchors" similar to a wheelchair that can be made to hold it's position.

  • Years ago -- and I mean something on the order of a decade -- I remember the famous racing-seat manufacturer Recaro [recaro.com] offering an office chair. It was simply one of their less aggressive (read: touring instead of racing) seats attached to an office chair base. There was even a model that included power adjustments and bolted a small 12v battery to the frame.

    Now, all I can find is this sad example. [recaro-nao.com] ~$1000 for fabric upholstery, ~$1500 for leather... but that's just one site I found on a Google search. [google.com]

    It's a shame the site is buried under the load, I'd like to see that chair. I've had the same idea for some time... I used to own a VW Corrado (which came with Recaro seats), and I often thought about mounting one of those on a swivel base for non-car use. That thing was comfy! However, looking at the prices for a new Recaro, I think I'll just search ebay for an Aeron. [hermanmiller.com]

  • already built a better one myself (Score:3, Interesting)

    by spd_rcr ( 537511 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @08:11PM (#3982776) Homepage
    here [geocities.com]
    composite seat, gas shock, aircraft cables, & the seating position stolen from my favorite lazyboy
    • I'm thinking sex chair from the 60's combined with the gamma ray machine with which Bruce Banner/Bill Bixby turned himself into the Hulk/Lou Ferrigno.

      Doesn't the cd rom poke you in the nuts when it ejects? Err, never mind.
  • Why not use a seat from a car that actually has a nice interior like an Audi? Not that the fact I own one makes be biased or anything. ;)

  • Oh my. The poor dear. (Score:5, Funny)

    by blair1q ( 305137 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @08:11PM (#3982780) Journal
    From the article:

    Since I spend 3+ hours a day on the computer working and playing, I figured that it should be comfortable.

    If that's the formula, I should be sitting on Shakira's lap when I'm computing.

    --Blair
  • Then where is the hole and plumbing for...you know? If I still have to move to survive then I wouldn't go throwing around superlative adjectives.

    -MB-

  • Step 1 (Score:1)

    by dknj ( 441802 )
    If you want to do a similar project with a power seat from YOUR car, check out car-part.com [car-part.com] for a listing of used car parts from junk yards in your area. Great for finding good deals on car parts

    -dk

  • choice of seat... (Score:3, Informative)

    by green pizza ( 159161 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @08:14PM (#3982798) Homepage
    BMW installs fine seats in their automobiles... for firm support needed in performance driving. If I were to build a computer desk around an automobile seat, I would probably use something a bit more plush from a Lincoln, Cadillac, or Jaguar. Or better yet, get an overstuffed leather chair from a furniture store.
  • Anything I can do with a seat from a Metro?

  • I prefer the Snowchash chair (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @08:19PM (#3982820)
    I prefer the Snowchash chair, which
    integrates the chair, computer, and controls [omor.com] in a more
    mototcycle-like geometry.

    Still, it's cheaper to sit in an Aeron.

  • No, you can't have the seats from my beamer!

    Now, if it gets wrecked like my last car I guess I could go to the junkyard and steal (er...) obtain the seats.... The sheepskin covers would make it extra comfy.

    Fantastic idea. Just add a cooler, built-in joystick, and frame to hold your 21" LCD -- I like it.

  • the ultimate computer desk... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by green pizza ( 159161 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @08:21PM (#3982831) Homepage
    Now this is what I consider to be a proper computer workstation...

    http://www.sara.nl/hpc.www/images/unite/unite.jpg [www.sara.nl]

    Ok... so it's 1997 technology, but you get the idea.

    Plus it's cooler looking than SARA's current monster [www.sara.nl].

  • What? (Score:1)

    by lobos ( 88359 )
    Since I spend 3+ hours a day on the computer working and playing, I figured that it should be comfortable.

    3 hours? I thought this was someone who actually had a purpose for building the chair.
  • ...the usefulness of a cool power-chair, versus why you sawed a hole into the side of your PC to peer inside.
  • This would an excellent project with which to combine a racing wheel. I could hook up the PS2, sit in front of a 51" tv, and be even more convniced that I am actually driving.
  • there is the Corvette office chair. i can't find any links online but the ad is *always* in Car & Drivers' ad section in the back. just go flip through it at a supermarket and you will find it.

    not that i would buy one -- but for those of you who have such fetishes...
  • My computer chair for the past (nine, ten, ??) years has been the driver's seat from a 1984 Mazda RX-7, mounted on the base from an old office chair. It's a bit high, but putting the desk on a couple of 2x4's and finding a suitable footrest solved that problem. No power gizmos, but it's the most comfortable seat in the house. I could sleep in it (and back when I used a dialup connection I often did ...)

  • Local Junkyard (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Unfortunatly, it looks like I may have more trouble finding the chair, I called the local junk yard, the guy answered, I explained that I was looking for a chair, he said "Let me guess, from a BMW for a project?" I was the third to call in 5 minutes, and he has none, any one else got good suggestions, on where to find them cheep?

  • Three Plus Hours? (Score:3, Funny)

    by kuroth ( 11147 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @09:32PM (#3983254)
    "Since I spend 3+ hours a day on the computer working and playing..."

    Less than four hours in front of your computer per day and you need a fancy chair? When I was your age, we sat on rocks (hard, pointy ones) in seven feet of snow, for 32 hours a day (days were longer then, you know), and we were THANKFUL!

    What's up with the other 20 hours in your day? I certainly hope you're not out getting fresh air or talking to girls instead.

    Buckle down, slacker.

  • Try www.oem-car-parts.com and www.car-part.com.

    Incidentally, I used to have a special seating system set up in my school apartment for playing gran turismo (a game I excelled at until i moved in with my girlfriend and suddenly lost all time to play). It consisted of an old Chevrolet AstroVan seat (price: $6 at Gary's U-pull-it) screwed into a carpetted plywood board on lockable casters, two pedals and a suspended steering wheel. We'd roll it in front of the shitty RCA TV and take turns smoking the competition. Afterwards, it would roll back up against the wall, for easy storage of dirty dishes.

  • How to get one of those seats (Score:3, Funny)

    by Michael Woodhams ( 112247 ) on Tuesday July 30, 2002 @10:49PM (#3983643) Journal
    Hello, Police?

    Somebody broke into my car. I'd only left it for a few minutes.

    Yeah, they smashed the window and took the seat.

    No, NOT the CD - the seat.
  • I've owned 2 different BMWs and done moderate interior work on both of them. The seat he's pulled here looks like its from an E34 5 series (1989-1995). It might be from a similar vintage 7 series as well.

    Had he chosen a slightly earlier seat, mounting it would have been significantly easier, as the E12 and E28 5 series seats simply bolt to the floor of the vehicle with 4 17mm bolts.

    Incidentally, you can often get these seats _extremely_ cheaply at junkyards. I got an entire 1985 528e interior (non power seats, however) for $60 bucks at a junkyard.

    Also, the seats he has pictured are in no way high performance seats. they have the collapsable arm rest which makes them more like captains chairs. BMW sport seats have thick deep side bolsters that keep your body planted during high side loading conditions. These seats are from a comfortable touring car, not a racing machine.

  • fed up with the standard office furniture, my dad made a couple of chairs like this ... except that since his desk is a standing-height drafting surface as well as a computer station, his two pilot-seats are each mounted on 4-foot pedestals with casters
  • Check out this computer in a BMW:

    http://www.vb.quik.com/jmciver/pages/computer.ht ml

  • OK, I'll admit it. I'm not the best grammarian or speller, but has anyone noticed the glaring errors that always show up on geek prepared sites?

    Here's a good example from the BMW Chair site:

    "Misquitos were terrible in my garage on a hot Texas summer evening but progress prevailed and the whelps diminished over time."

    First, it's mosqito, not misqito. And I can only guess he meant "welt" (lump on the body) rather than whelp, which is generally a puppy. Unless his garage was in fact infested with puppies, in which case diminishing whelps might be a good thing. ;)

    And how progress can prevail over mosquitos is anyones guess.

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