This Suitcase is Smart Enough to Make Travel Enjoyable

Traveling is a pain, right? Should it have to be? There’s no getting around the logistics side of it. You have to plan it out in detail or face the consequences of forgetting the all-important… whatever. There’s always something. An innovative engineering student was tired of the hassle, and he’s pretty sure you are too.

Martin Diz, a doctoral candidate in the aerospace engineering program at the University of Buffalo decided that travel should be smarter. In the ever-growing internet of things, he found that smart travel aids were surprisingly absent. He went on to convert the ubiquitous carry-on from a liability to a personal liaison.

As described in a UB News article , the smarter version is what you might expect from any “smart” device, but it is more than that, too. Like cramming clothes in until the zipper is about to bust, the Bluesmart suitcase packs quite a few features into a travel-friendly package.

The suitcase employs a microprocessor and Bluetooth communication, can charge your smart phone with its on-board battery and has a scale built into the handle to instantly weigh the luggage. Worried about losing your valuables? The Bluesmart suitcase has a sensor for tracking its location as well.

Does all that sound excessive? Not according to the response Bluesmart received from the general public. The original goal was to raise $50,000 through crowdfunding on Indiegogo, but that was surpassed within 2 hours and went on to raise $1.7M. Many frustrated travelers out there?

As all good products can say, “But wait, there’s more!” The list of innovations also includes:

• The ability to lock the suitcase using a smartphone app. The case also automatically locks when the owner moves away from it
• An app that tracks trip data, such as distance traveled and airports visited
• App-notifications that remind travelers when to arrive at the airport and what to pack based on the weather at their destination

Diz and cofounders describe the road to Bluesmart this way, “We looked at our suitcases and realized that they haven’t received much innovation in several decades. None of us had a background in the luggage industry, but we had participated in the creation of new innovative technologies and products in other areas.”

The suitcase is expected to retail around $500, but you can get in on the preorder for nearer to $300 if you act fast.

A video about the technology is below.

Images: University of Buffalo/Bluesmart