Ford Puts Pre-Collision Assist Technology On Shopping Carts

When it comes to raising the blood pressure, for parents, the weekly shop is right up there with getting the kids to bed and meal times. And while toddler meltdowns and trips to the sweet aisle are trying, few moments can be more worrying than seeing your child career off at high speed on a supermarket trolley.

But now Ford has come out with a solution to ease your stress and it’s used car technology in a shopping cart. Ford has used the Pre-Collision Assist technology which is seen in most of its cars on a trolley. The technology 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.

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. 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.

Anthony Ireson, director, Marketing Communications, Ford Europe said, “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.”