Ford’s self-braking shopping cart will stop your little ones ramming strangers’ shins
David Brown now brings us this weeks quirky motoring story
Ford has announced that it can adapt its motoring technology from the highway to the supermarket.
The company has developed a shopping cart with automatic emergency braking.
In cars the Pre-Collison Assist technology uses a camera and radar to detect vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists on the road, automatically applying the brakes if the driver does not respond to warnings.
The shopping trolley uses a sensor to scan ahead for people and objects, automatically applying the brakes when a potential collision is detected.
No more trolley hits to the shins. Perhaps we could also get blinkers or blind spot detection for safer aisle lane changing.
David’s boyhood passion for motor cars did not immediately lead to a professional role in the motor industry. A qualified Civil Engineer he specialised in traffic engineering and transport planning.
What followed were various positions including being seconded to a government think-tank for the planning of transport firstly in Sydney and then for the whole of NSW. After working with the NRMA and as a consultant he moved to being an independent writer and commentator on the broader areas of transport and the more specific areas of the cars we drive.
His half hour motoring program “Overdrive” has been described as an “informed, humorous and irreverent look at motoring and transport from Australia and overseas”. It is heard on 22 stations across Australia. He does weekly interviews with several ABC radio stations and is also heard on commercial radio in Sydney.
David has written for metropolitan and regional newspapers and has presented regular segments on metropolitan and regional television stations. David is also a contributor for AnyAuto
