I don’t know if this is a fetish or an experiment. Either way, one must marvel at a ‘driverless’ van actually being driven by a man dressed as a seat. Welcome to 2017.

That main image – by the way – has nothing to do with the story. I was just searching for pictures of people dressed as strange things and it came up. I thought you’d like it.

Ok, so here’s the video – let’s observe and discuss.

This is one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen @nbcwashington @ARLnowDOTcom pic.twitter.com/8ipKEnkeiq

— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) August 7, 2017

Here’s a still shot:

Now with the plethora of fetishes on display throughout the world, I wouldn’t think twice to assume this is some kind of a niche sexual role-play game this guy is into.

But alas, there is no car-seat / dashboard grab-around videos available on the net – so this must be something else.

Indeed it is.

According to NBC:

After multiple inquiries by News4, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute said Monday afternoon that the van and van driver are part of a study they are conducting on driverless cars. The worker was wearing the uniform he was supposed to wear.

“The driver’s seating area is configured to make the driver less visible within the vehicle, while still allowing him or her the ability to safely monitor and respond to surroundings,” a statement from the institute says.

Part of a study? What exactly could that study be? It’s surely to monitor the reactions of motorists to driverless cars?

And people dressed as seats.

Whichever one it is, I’d say it’s going fantastically well.

Congrats, everyone involved.

[source:nbc]