Technology
It's not science fiction: shopping carts that float in the air are coming
From the hoverboards in “Back to the Future” to the flying motorcycles in “Star Wars,” floating vehicles have always fueled the imagination of science fiction fans. Although antigravity is still in the realm of fantasy, we are getting closer to making it a reality.
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Palletrone, a technology developed by researchers at SeoulTech (Seoul National University of Science and Technology) in South Korea, is not exactly the floating platform we see in the movies, but it offers a glimpse of a future in which a shopping cart can load products without needing wheels or rails.
It is powered by drones and was designed to hover and transport loads over any type of terrain – whether shopping in a supermarket or climbing stairs with boxes. It also remains level in the air even if the weight of the objects is not equally distributed and is controlled by a simple handle, similar to that of a traditional shopping cart.
The system uses internal propellers with rotors that generate thrust in different directions, allowing the Palletrone to move through the air, hovering, turning and moving with ease, without tipping over.
Currently, it can carry up to 11.5 kg of cargo, but it was only tested with 2.9 kg – enough to carry small everyday purchases. Despite its limited capability, it's still just a proof of concept – an important step towards exploring how drone transport could work in the real world.
According to Seung Jae Lee, one of the project's researchers, one of Palletrone's main innovations is its ability to distinguish between the weight of the load and the force applied by the human operator.
They developed a “simple but effective method” to ensure the drone knows when it is being guided by a person or reacting to changes in payload weight. This is essential to prevent it from interpreting accidental weight variations as a human command.