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FoodBev Media
16 March 2008
Hi-tech shopping trolley helps find items in store
Designed in conjunction with computer giant Microsoft, the latest supermarket trolley will not only guide you to the exact shelf for the item you want, it will also help you keep a check on your diet.
It adds up your groceries as you shop, highlights special offers, and even suggests recipes using the items you've bought. And Texas-based manufacturer MediaCart says the trolley could be in UK stores by 2009.
The MediaCart's personalised features, such as diet checks, recipe suggestions and remembering and downloading shopping lists, are activated when a shopper inserts a store loyalty card.
The MediaCart uses Wi-Fi radio signals rather than GPS, and each trolley has an in-built locator device and plots its position on a 12in screen. It even uses voice-recognition technology to take instructions from shoppers.