WANT to get away from a crashing bore at Christmas dinner? Or escape from an
unruly toddler who鈥檚 flicking food at you? Then Paolo Rais may have the answer:
a dining table whose chairs keep moving so that nobody spends more than ten
minutes sitting opposite anyone else.
It was while sitting at a wedding dinner that Rais, a civil engineer from
Lugano, Switzerland, realised that the traditional rectangular dining table
meant he could only talk to a few friends seated around him. 鈥淪o I wondered how
I could help people talk to more of the people around a long table,鈥� he
says.
His answer is a 18-seater mains-powered rectangular table (see movie at
www.dynamicmeetings.com) that cleverly conceals what might otherwise be an ugly
drive mechanism in a neat central pedestal. An electric motor drives two hidden
chains: one hauls the chairs around while the other, beneath the wooden
tabletop, pulls around wooden trays on which you place your food or documents.
鈥淪o your tray of stuff always stays in front of you,鈥� says Rais. The chairs鈥�
connection to the drive chain is covered by a foot platform, so there鈥檚 no
chance of getting your feet trapped in the mechanism. And at a steady speed of 9
centimetres per minute, diners don鈥檛 really feel they are moving at all, says
Rais鈥攁nd they can leave or join the table at any time without
problems.
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Rais tested his table out in a restaurant and a hotel meeting room鈥攚ith
mainly positive reactions. He is now trying to get a commercial backer for his
idea. But Rais also has some grander designs. 鈥淚鈥檝e written to the British royal
family, because such a table would be a great way for the Queen to meet all her
guests at banquets,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut I have had no reply.鈥�