Ford developing robot luggage trolley for cars

By dpa | 6 October 2016


DETROIT: Getting heavy loads around the city with a car is all well and good. But there's no car that can help you bring your luggage right into your home or the airport check-in counter. Or is there?

Ford engineer Kilian Vas has come up with the Carr-E, a robotic trolley that will help people shift loads of up to 130kg at 20kph.

According to the the manufacturer, the device is the size of a wheel rim and fits in a car's spare wheel recess. Powered by two electric motors, it weighs around 10kg, can carry luggage for 15km and be charged within 30 minutes.

Equipped with LED lights, the Carr-E is designed to cope with curbs, pedestrian zones and city parks, as well as office floors and halls.

The Carr-E can be also used as a hoverboard and steered by balance.

When used as a trolley for heavy loads, it can be steered via smartphone app. Alternatively, users can turn on an automatic mode, which makes the luggage carrier simply follow the smartphone around.

Accidents are avoided by the same kind of parking sensors that are found in cars. And should anyone try to steal the load, weight sensors will sound an alarm.

Still in the prototype stage, Ford is currently looking into mass production.

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