Luggage Tracking Technology
 

So yesterday I was standing at the baggage reclaim conveyor in LHR after very delayed 14 hour flight from SIN waiting and waiting for my bag to turn up. To me, this is the worse part of the journey because you are so close to home yet so far.

An hour later, bags were still coming out one by one and I got wondering what (if any technology exists) that could have told me that yes my bag was nearby (in the airport) even if it wasn't up on the carousel yet (and yes my bag eventually appeared 70 minutes after landing)

I have seen the TrackDot things that suggest they would tell me that "hey I'm in London" which would be great as I would have known the bag would arrive sooner or later.

I have also seen the bluetooth "tags" that you use for lost keys that suggest a range of 100m. I wonder if one of these would let me know again that my bag was perhaps not too far away or would the range be so bad as to only tell me my bad was close when I was actually up on the carousel?

The TrackDot looks like it might work but the reviews on here don't seem to rate it (although they are several months old now).

Ultimately I don't want to be stood waiting for an hour plus when my bag is never going to turn up.

Any suggestions?

Trackdot is actually pretty mature now. I've had mine since it came out, and even though it SUCKED at launch, on my recent trip, it was 100% spot on with each airport. The mobile app is still a little shaky, and their site needs some work, but I could definitely recommend it. I was even offered a lifetime subscription when I recently renewed, so I'm extra happy with them.

GPS technology would likely be imbedded into luggages over the next three to five years.
http://mashable.com/2013/08/08/tech-luggage/
http://www.experiencetheskies.com/lu...-go-high-tech/

Fly an airline that scans its bags at the carousel. I know Delta does (and you can see it in their app). You can also see if it was scanned on the same flight you were on, if it wasn't then you should file a claim and go home. I assume some other airlines probably do this by now as well, I just don't know which ones.

Would these devices not technically be against FAA etc regulations?
They all must contain a transmitter of some sort to be useful, which is supposed to be turned off for take-off and landing on most aircraft, and for the entire flight for many others...

They thought of that :) My understanding is that both for FAA regulations and the sake of battery life, the Trakdot turns off when it senses a certain speed (in flight) and turns back on once you land and are no longer at speed.

My Trakdot works well and I'm fairly pleased with it. Here's a screenshot of Trakdot doing it's thing en route to AMM:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7603/...89d74202_c.jpgtrakdot by immaculate aaron, on Flickr

I see some mention on the web of a lifetime service plan for these but their website is completely uninformative about this--you can't even see what the options are without first entering a device ID.

Does anyone know what the truth is?

Until about a year ago, on United you could simply check the status of your bags at one of the United baggage claim kiosks, which were very accurate and reliable. For some reason, those were disconnected and not replaced with anything. I keep asking (to no avail) that the baggage tracking info be added to the United app. I understand the Delta app allows this.

Until United provides some way for me to avoid the problem described by OP, I will keep looking for a solution. Trakdot seems promising, as long as the later reviews are a more accurate indication of its performance than the earlier reviews.

Has anyone come up with a better solution?

Guys, i'm interested in this technology

What is the battery range of the Trackdot ?

Can it handle 16 to 20 hour flights ?

How does trakdot work? Does it need a simcard?

I read the FAQs in its website and it said there's no other cost in using trakdot aside from the annual fee, so how does it transmit its location to the mobile device?

My guess is that it sends location information via SMS. Location seems to be obtained via triangulation from cell towers.

I got offered the lifetime when I renewed my first year.

I never knew this. Do you mean the self check-in/baggage drop kiosks?

They were very similar. They were not in all airports, but most of my travel is IAD-SFO, both of which had them near the United baggage claim carousels. You could check the status of your bags either by entering the baggage claim number or by entering your Mileage Plus number. If your bag did not arrive when you did, you could take care of the claim by using the kiosk and did not have to stand in line at the counter. I got in the habit of doing that as soon as I arrived so that I would not have to wait for a bag that wasn't there. And then about a year ago, United disabled them and has not replaced them with anything else, such as a baggage feature on the app.