Supermarket smart trolleys.

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Supermarket to roll out smart shopping trolleys, to monitor irregular heart rate of shoppers. A supermarket spokesperson said, " we are doing this to warn shoppers of a possible stroke, and we hope to save many lives doing so". Pretty handy to detect thieves also, I would have thought. Unless the thief is cool and confident of course.

I wonder what the real reason is, behind the new tech trolley? No idea what Supermarket it was. :thinking:
 
jonbeeza said:
I wonder what the real reason is, behind the new tech trolley? No idea what Supermarket it was. :thinking:
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They probably had a highly paid consultant in or they have an ideas department who know nothing about running a supermarket so spend all day thinking out of the box.
 
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It could also be to monitor shoppers actions, as they walk around the store, to see what displays get us excited. Makes sense.
 
Mm, nice bird, short skirt reaching into the freezer units? Or, twit taking up the centre of the aisle while picking off both sides I can’t get past?
 
mj4456 said:
Mm, nice bird, short skirt reaching into the freezer units? Or, twit taking up the centre of the aisle while picking off both sides I can’t get past?
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Yup. Plus open mouthed coughing and people shouting to each other.
 
Whatever you do, make sure you wear rubber gloves. If you don't, your mind will be read 'inductively' so they can see what products you're thinking about so that they know what adverts to show to you.

The second stage if you hold the handle long enough (mostly applicable to housewives and househusbands as they tend to linger longer) will also take your DNA (for use later) and a stealth nanobot can sneak under your fingernail into your blood stream that will then make its way to your brain. Once it has implanted itself, you will be at their mercy as overnight you will be 'programmed' to accept more readily the commands to 'buy products X, Y & Z' on your next visit.
 
Sky said:
Whatever you do, make sure you wear rubber gloves. If you don't, your mind will be read 'inductively' so they can see what products you're thinking about so that they know what adverts to show to you.

The second stage if you hold the handle long enough (mostly applicable to housewives and househusbands as they tend to linger longer) will also take your DNA (for use later) and a stealth nanobot can sneak under your fingernail into your blood stream that will then make its way to your brain. Once it has implanted itself, you will be at their mercy as overnight you will be 'programmed' to accept more readily the commands to 'buy products X, Y & Z' on your next visit.
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I was watching some old YouTube videos, this was 1960s schoolchildren and Arthur C Clarke predicting what the future would be like.
They all uncannily predicted the future correctly.
 
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I don't think I could be brainwashed into buying something in a supermarket, I go in with a shopping list, and I don't veer from it.
 
I take a list (well, in less abnormal times I do!) but will usually buy stuff that isn't on the list if it's something we use and is on special offer, often in bulk.
 
It would be great if before supermarkets think about sensors on their trolleys, they should fix the poor handling of them. The last trolley I had, wanted to go anywhere but where I wanted to go, it had one of those wonky wheels. Unless they are already secretly wired up, and they try and steer it down an aisle you miss.
 
The Sainsbury's we use has a special trolley park for wobbly ones (so marked) but people sometimes fail to notice the big sign and take the trolleys from that park then abandon them where they please when they notice the wobbly wheel...
 
So here's an article that talks about a neural network that can predict whether you're going to have a stroke

Stroke prediction from electrocardiograms by deep neural network | SpringerLink

I'll save you the $29.95 - it's about 85% accurate and needs a 12 lead ECG connector plus, well, a neural network (though possibly having found the pattern they can simplify the compute requirements). Also, it was hot news in the research world 7 months ago - there's no indication of a working device yet.

Also, for them to save large numbers of lives they would presumably need paramedics on site and a large number of people currently having strokes in supermarkets which as far as I know they don't.

So the idea you can predict one from a shopping trolley seems even more far fetched than I thought a few minutes ago.

Yeah, I wonder what they are *really* up to.......
 
JonathanRyan said:
So here's an article that talks about a neural network that can predict whether you're going to have a stroke

Stroke prediction from electrocardiograms by deep neural network | SpringerLink

I'll save you the $29.95 - it's about 85% accurate and needs a 12 lead ECG connector plus, well, a neural network (though possibly having found the pattern they can simplify the compute requirements). Also, it was hot news in the research world 7 months ago - there's no indication of a working device yet.

Also, for them to save large numbers of lives they would presumably need paramedics on site and a large number of people currently having strokes in supermarkets which as far as I know they don't.

So the idea you can predict one from a shopping trolley seems even more far fetched than I thought a few minutes ago.

Yeah, I wonder what they are *really* up to.......
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Obviously the stroke angle would be just a cover story, it would seem. Probably to monitor shoppers reactions as they go around the store, then this would give them information how best to show off their goods, to tempt us to pop more items into the trolleys.
 
jonbeeza said:
Obviously the stroke angle would be just a cover story, it would seem. Probably to monitor shoppers reactions as they go around the store, then this would give them information how best to show off their goods, to tempt us to pop more items into the trolleys.
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Pretty much, it give them data to best plan their layout.

I don’t use trolleys, I don’t even use baskets, I scan items as I go and put them into my bag.

But on the other hand, literally the other hand, I’m wearing an Apple Watch lol.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Pretty much, it give them data to best plan their layout.

I don’t use trolleys, I don’t even use baskets, I scan items as I go and put them into my bag.
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don’t you need a club/ nectar/ whatever card to use those anyway? So aren’t you giving them large amounts of valuable data?
 
Raymond Lin said:
Pretty much, it give them data to best plan their layout.

I don’t use trolleys, I don’t even use baskets, I scan items as I go and put them into my bag.

But on the other hand, literally the other hand, I’m wearing an Apple Watch lol.
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You know, it only just occurred to me when you said that, those scanners give them a *massive* amount of extra data.

The order you scan things in will tell them what route you took through the store. The time between scans will show them how much thinking you put into each purchase. Any removals will tell them about changes of mind and they can infer where you were when you changed your mind and what you changed it to.

Coupled with the loyalty card which tells them exactly who you are and how your shopping varies over time, the data potential is massive. Wrap a neural network around *that* and they have some useful stuff :)
 
JonathanRyan said:
You know, it only just occurred to me when you said that, those scanners give them a *massive* amount of extra data.

The order you scan things in will tell them what route you took through the store. The time between scans will show them how much thinking you put into each purchase. Any removals will tell them about changes of mind and they can infer where you were when you changed your mind and what you changed it to.

Coupled with the loyalty card which tells them exactly who you are and how your shopping varies over time, the data potential is massive. Wrap a neural network around *that* and they have some useful stuff :)
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Exactly, it is not done to make shopping easier for the shopper, but rather how best to improve their sales targets.
 
boyfalldown said:
don’t you need a club/ nectar/ whatever card to use those anyway? So aren’t you giving them large amounts of valuable data?
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LOL, It was tongue in cheek! Hence the Apple Watch at the end. If I cared so much, I wouldn't have got one. (Plus, not if i go to Tesco or Waitrose or Morrisons, I only use the Sainsbury's one, not sure why)

I am FULLY aware of how it all works and I honestly don't give a damn, the REAL reason I don't use a trolley and limit to the basket (or the bag) is because I don't want to spend too much money. This way I am only spending how much I can carry with 2 hands. THAT's the real reason lol. Not shopping patterns.

If you want to know the pattern of my shopping....

I pick up heavy objects last, so things like OJ, 2L drinks, they get collected last.
I would basically buy items in the order of how they stack and build for structure in the bag. So whilst the fruit aisle is near the entrance, I don't pick up bananas first.
And whilst I said I would pick up heavy items last, I would go get things like olive oil or tinned goods first, due to the point above. They are in the middle of the supermarket usually....bet that confuses them! Same with things like butter or cereal.

And if it's too heavy to carry, it's my sign to leave. It means sometimes the bag will be full and then I realise I still want that bottle of lemonade so I use 1 hand full of shopping and the other hand with just the 2L bottle. In Sainsbury's they keep the drinks in the centre of the layout, but it's near the far end in Tesco.
 
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Last time I was in Sainsbury's there were drinks at the far corner from the entrance.
 
Nod said:
Last time I was in Sainsbury's there were drinks at the far corner from the entrance.
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Probably depends on where they can get access for those pump up trolleys. Drinks are heavy...

@Raymond Lin one of the inferences I would make from that data is that you probably don't drive to the shop. I can cross reference with bus timetables to see if you get the bus and also with your address (from your clubcard) to figure out if you likely walk. Then start targeting you with ads appropriate to cyclists :)
 
JonathanRyan said:
Probably depends on where they can get access for those pump up trolleys. Drinks are heavy...

@Raymond Lin one of the inferences I would make from that data is that you probably don't drive to the shop. I can cross reference with bus timetables to see if you get the bus and also with your address (from your clubcard) to figure out if you likely walk. Then start targeting you with ads appropriate to cyclists :)
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Wrong…lol I drive to the shop, and if they look at where I go to and from. I go past Waitrose, Morrison’s, Tesco and Aldi to get to Sainsbury’s (with Asda the same distance) They would probably think WTF? I just don’t like trolleys, as I said, I use it as a budget control method, not because I have problem carrying it all home.

It’s a carry over thing I picked up when I was in Uni, a basket of food tend to cost about £20 and it would last me a week. A budgeting thing in a practical method that I picked up from years past that I continued to do. That really is it. I like going once a week, fresh stuff, I don’t get much frozen. I don’t do monthly large shop. I go when I need something and pick up the rest I need for a week.
 
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Nod said:
Last time I was in Sainsbury's there were drinks at the far corner from the entrance.
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Same here. I thought it was just a Glasgow thing, you know, put the drinks far away because you know we'll work our way through hell and high water to get to the Blue Lightning...
 
I use the barcode scanner and bag as I shop always, it's so handy [almost abandoned a shop one week because the scanners were down!] I have a clubcard and I would most likely use any new trollies they put in there as I know the wheels will be better [to be fair our local Tesco got a bunch of new trollies with holders for the scammers in not too long back and they're decent] - they can have all the info they desire, my life is that bland any info they retreive is barely going to matter, and I'll still follow the yello sticker road
 
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Was in the shop this morning and used a fairly newish trolley, it had a wonky wheel and kept trying to steer me down aisles I did not want to go down. :mad:
 
What did you do with the wonky trolley? Just abandon it in the car park or report it so something gets done about its problem?
 
Nod said:
What did you do with the wonky trolley? Just abandon it in the car park or report it so something gets done about its problem?
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Replaced it back in the stack, I doubt staff would take me seriously, if I mentioned a wonky trolley.
 
Sorry but they usually do take note, especially at a customer service desk. Simply putting it back into service just perpetuates the problem.
 
jonbeeza said:
Was in the shop this morning and used a fairly newish trolley, it had a wonky wheel and kept trying to steer me down aisles I did not want to go down. :mad:
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Its all part of their master plan
:D
 
I want a smart trolley like TwoFlower's luggage in the Colour of Magic that follows me round the supermarket.
My wife always wanders off with the trolley and I am left with an armful of shopping frantically trying to find her.
Mind the idea of monitoring blood pressure would be useful when you are in a queue behind someone who cant remember the pin for their bank card.
 
troutfisher said:
Mind the idea of monitoring blood pressure would be useful when you are in a queue behind someone who cant remember the pin for their bank card.
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Or the speed that some cashiers hurl your shopping down the check out, come on people I'm not a f*****g Octopus!
 
Only one leg of one?
 
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