Cars that brake automatically if the driver does not react quickly enough are now a familiar sight on the roads.
Now Ford has taken that technology and applied it to shopping trolleys in a bid to take the stress out of shopping for parents.
The “Self-Braking Trolley” uses a sensor to achieve a similar outcome, scanning ahead for people and objects and automatically applying the brakes when a potential collision is detected.
Parenting expert Tanith Carey, author of What’s My Child Thinking? Practical Child Psychology for Modern Parents, said parents often dread supermarket shopping because they are trying to get a job done and kids just want to play.
“Children love to copy adults and experiment with feeling more in control,” she said.
“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 that bring automotive expertise to solve the day-to-day problems.
“Pre-Collision Assist technology can help our customers avoid accidents or mitigate the effects of being involved in a collision, director, Marketing Communications, Ford of Europe, Anthony Ireson, said.
“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.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqrDFWmehDU&feature=youtu.be
CHECKOUT: Ford takes the blind sightseeing
CHECKOUT: Henry Ford’s fantastic plastic car