But if we’re not mistaken, they’re not the first to do this.
Ford of Europe have come up with a rather intelligent way of promoting the autonomous emergency braking function available in a plethora in its cars which, amazingly, don’t involve cars at all.
AEB can be a rather tricky thing to demonstrate as the system only really works in properly dangerous situations, and a sales executive from a showroom can’t bloody well risk a collision just to show you one of the car’s headlining features, right? Enter Ford’s self-braking trolley which, in addition to being able to hold all your groceries conveniently, will also prevent you from being one of those people that leave dings on cars in the carpark as you navigate your trolley to your own vehicle.
The problem is, this sort of feels a bit familiar. At the end of last year at the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show in Malaysia, Honda also showed off a display designed to demonstrate the capabilities of its Sensing suite of advanced driver assistance systems. Going with the shopping trolley route, Honda redesigned the trolley to better translate the company’s design philosophy, before giving it the ability to keep in lane, stop when needed, and even follow trolleys ahead of it when you’re not paying attention (like a traffic jam assistant).
Not only was Honda’s showing more impressive in terms of the finish of the display, but the trolley itself didn’t look like a wire basket, which is always appreciated.
Either way, check out the two videos from Ford Europe and Honda Malaysia showing off their intelligent shopping trolleys. Stay safe on the road, and also in the grocery store.
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