Ford has conceived a smart shopping cart that uses sensors to prevent potential supermarket collisions. Taking inspiration from its Pre-Collison Assist technology, which uses a forward-facing camera and radar to detect vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists in the road, and automatically applies the brakes if the driver does not respond to warnings, Ford presents the ‘Self-Braking Treolley’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqrDFWmehDU
The Self-Braking Trolley uses a sensor to achieve a similar outcome – to scan ahead for people and objects and automatically apply the brakes when a potential collision is detected.
“Parents often dread supermarket shopping because they are trying to get a job done and kids just want to play,” said parenting expert Tanith Carey, author of What’s My Child Thinking? Practical Child Psychology for Modern Parents. “Children love to copy adults and experiment with feeling more in control. When they push a trolley, to their minds, it’s like they are behind the wheels of a car – with long, wide supermarket aisles as their racetrack.”
Just a prototype for the time being, the Self-Braking Trolley is part of a series of Ford Interventions; applying automotive expertise to solve the day-to-day problems we all face.
“Pre-Collision Assist technology can help our customers avoid accidents or mitigate the effects of being involved in a collision. We thought that showing how similar thinking could be applied to a shopping trolley would be a great way to highlight what can be a really useful technology for drivers,” said Anthony Ireson, director, Marketing Communications, Ford of Europe.
In the last months Ford has unveiled a soundproof kennel for dogs to avoid the noise of fireworks, a smart bed which rolls selfish sleepers back to their own side, and a baby crib that simulates the conditions of driving to put your baby to sleep.