this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2023
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things that are mildlyinteresting

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One of our Walmarts has anti-theft wheels (lemmy.world)
submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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None of the others in town have these, thought it was unusual enough to share

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

How do they work

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm guessing a magnet that engages if it's given a kill signal? RFID for location. Must have some sort of battery too.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Battery? Holy shit that would be a pain in the ass to maintain.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Yeah, at least in germany these are all just magnets. And outside of the store there is a long metal line, and when you roll over it, the wheel with the magnet completely locks. This happened to me as a kid, and it was sheer impossible moving the cart back to the store.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

You ever seen those invisible dog fences? Once it crosses an electrical barrier it triggers an alarm of sorts and in this case I assume it engages some sort of brake mechanism.