Consumers' shopping routines are going to change significantly -- at least when they go to Walmart.
The retail chain received a patent last week for self-driving carts, which will roam stores, fetch products and herd themselves out of store parking lots.
According to CNN Money, the patent states that the carts will have detachable motors with sensors and video cameras. Customers will be able to request carts with a "user interface device," such as a smartphone, and the roaming motors will fetch a cart for a customer.
The system will also be able to recognize unattended carts inside a store or in the store's parking lot and return it to a docking station, the filing said.
Another feature, according to the patent, would allow the system to receive requests for different items and then send the motorized unit to store shelves to see if the product is there.
It's unclear when Walmart plans to implement the system.
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