Walmart wants to bug your buggy ...

[rslade]

They see you when you're sleeping.  (Or sleepwalking, maybe.)  They know when you're awake (and aware of specials).  They know if you've been paying attention to the shopper specials.  They can tell when you get excited about a price break.

Walmart has applied for a patent on a shopping cart that tracks your walking speed, heart rate, temperature, and grip.  (And, of course, where you are in the store.)  And then sends it to servers in the store to track how you feel about the store, its contents, and layout.

There is no indication that Walmart would be collecting any personal information.

(Yet ...)

(There is work on using heart rate as a biometric identifier ...)

[CraginS]

Walmart has been pushing use of RFID tagging for both logistics and inventory management for fifteen years. They started at pallet and case level, and eventually wanted to move to individual item level.See

The rise, fall and return of RFID. 

The implications of combining combining the shopping cart data with the item RFID level mean the most aggressive loyalty card customer tracking program yet imagined.

[Flyslinger2]

The lovely and talented Mrs. Fly, on the rare occasion when I actually go to a store and even rarer occasion when it is with her, laughs at me because I'm all over the place when it comes to my path.  I'd probably break their code with my erratic pattern.

This means the carts are powered and have intelligence in them. Very expensive. Not sure that is suitable for long term use or storage outdoors and possibly under a bridge deck somewhere. 

[Caute_cautim]

What are the privacy implications and could they then on sell the information gained to insurance companies?

Regards

Caute_cautim