Overview
- China’s patent office authorized Seres’s CN224104011U earlier this month for an in-vehicle toilet that stows beneath a passenger seat.
- The design slides out on rails by button press or voice command and then hides away when not in use.
- Waste is captured in a removable tank that uses a rotating heating element to evaporate urine and dry solids, and a fan with an exhaust pipe vents odors outside.
- Seres has not announced a model or launch plan for the feature, and coverage stresses that many patented concepts never reach production.
- Reports place the idea within a cabin-features race that includes fridges and karaoke systems, noting rare precedents such as RV toilets, Polestone’s portable setup, and a one-off 1954 Rolls-Royce with a concealed loo.