There's nothing worse than being told that your carefully packed carry-on bag is too big and has to be checked just as you're boarding a plane. But a new development in suitcase technology is looking to change that.
Bluesmart, the suitcase equivalent of a smartphone, targets many common luggage woes, and people are taking notice. On Monday, the project blew through its Indiegogo crowdfunding goal of $50,000 within a couple hours of the campaign going live. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had raised nearly $170,000.
The Bluesmart suitcase connects to a mobile app and offers the following features:
-A digital lock
-Proximity sensors
-Location tracking
-Trip-tracking information
-A built in digital scale
-A built-in battery that can charge your phone (probably the best feature of all)
"Deals will have to be made to make these features work," cautions Engadget, "for example, regarding location alerts, the company says, 'As the network grows, we will cover the whole planet.' As with any crowdfunding campaign, you should take Bluesmart's promises with a pinch of salt, but if you don't mind potentially losing your money, you could potentially never lose your suitcase again."
The estimated retail price on a Bluesmart suitcase will be $450 or higher. Contributing to the Indegogo campaign will get you one for cheaper, but you'll have to wait until August 2015 for the unit to ship.
“We came up with the idea for Bluesmart after suffering a couple of bad experiences with our luggage, when airlines forced us to check bags only to have them mishandled or lost," said Bluesmart co-founder Tomi Pierucci, per Mashable. "We realized that with all the amazing technology available today, we could do better. Suitcases haven’t seen much innovation in decades, so we decided to design a suitcase for this century.”
Though Bluesmart bills itself as the "world's first smart, connected carry-on," it's hardly the first time someone has tried to put and end to suitcase and baggage claim drama. There are several luggage-tracking devices available, including TrakDot and LugLoc, and the more high-tech Airbus, a GPS tracking chip that texts you when it gets lost.
But Bluesmart sure has people excited. Many have taken to Twitter to express their awe, including Mark Cuban, an investor on "Shark Tank," a reality show centering on aspiring business entrepreneurs.
I see a lot of 'smart' products but this is brilliant - Smart Luggage, GPS, Charger, App, Remote Lock #BlueSmart http://t.co/7AXqiF5DjG #sp
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) October 21, 2014
Check out Bluesmart's promo video, above.
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