“Smart” Luggage Adds Convenience & Security to the Travel Experience

A new piece of “smart” luggage weighs itself, alerts flyers where it’s located and even reminds users if they walk away without it.

An engineering team in New York is close to launching a new “Smart Suitcase” capable of telling you everything from where it’s at in the world, to how much it weighs once packed. Bluesmart is described as “the world’s first smart, connected carry-on” by its creators on Indiegogo, and its features are capturing the attention of flyers.

Bluesmart is designed as a high-tech carry-on that users can control through a smartphone app. The app allows users to lock and unlock their Bluesmart. The app will automatically lock the luggage anytime it detects the user has walked away, and should someone try to break into the Bluesmart, users will receive a notification on their phone.

If a user ends up losing their Bluesmart, the luggage’s location tracking capabilities will allow them to easily find it again with their phone. Should a user ever inadvertently walk away without their Bluesmart, it will send them an alert notifying them that the bag has been left behind.

Flyers that often fly on budget airlines, which restrict carry-on weight, will appreciate the Bluesmart’s built-in scale. Lifting the handle of the luggage will trigger the digital scale and display the weight on the user’s phone. This feature allows flyers to maintain proper weight in their carry-on and avoid unexpected fees at the check-in counter. The Bluesmart itself weighs 8.5 pounds.

“We came up with the idea for Bluesmart after suffering a couple of bad experiences with our luggage,” said Tomi Pierucci, co-founder of Bluesmart, per Mashable. “We realized that with all the amazing technology available today, we could do better.”

The Bluesmart is currently available for pre-order through Indiegogo for $265, and the first ones are expected to ship July 2015.

[Photo: Indiegogo]