Popular Mechanics: " [...] The grocery chain filed a patent in August for a shopping cart that monitors various biometric signals, like a customer's body temperature, heart rate and tightness of grip on the handle. According to the patent titled System And Method For Biometric Feedback Cart Handle, the data would be transmitted to a server and used to alert staff when shoppers might need help or medical assistance. Or when Black Friday stampedes give way to a holiday fracas.
[...]
Obviously, the idea is novel from the standpoint of protecting elderly customers, but it comes with inevitable drawbacks. Given the recent data breaches affecting Google and Facebook, you'd be remiss to think that the same couldn't happen via the shopping carts at the preeminent discount grocer in the US.
For it's part, Walmart says the cart handles would go to "sleep" when they're not in use, and wouldn't store any user data. That is, if this patent ever makes it to the real world at all."
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