I always walk by this one grocery store and always see shopping carts lined up just before the end of the parking lot as it seems people really think the signs stating the wheels will lock is just to deter you from trying, but how does it work? My only guess would be magnetics but even then I still have no idea how that all works but I find it oddly interesting.
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EDIT: Just to add on, I live in Ontario Canada. Not all businesses have this sort of thing but a lot of the bigger companies do. And yes, they are in fact real, I’ve tried to push one before, those things don’t move AT ALL once they’re across the line! Quite interesting.
In: Technology
There’s a wire buried at the edge of the parking lot. There are locking mechanisms connected to the wheel that are released (by an electromagnetic system) when the cart passes the wire.
That’s the basic principle of [this Rocateq system](https://rocateq.com/cart-security/) and others.
There are other systems that have a cleat that presses down on one wheel, making the cart unable to push in a straight line. Same deal, though, there’s a wire loop that defines the area of the parking lot, and the system to stop the wheel(s) is activated after it passes outside that loop.
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