Travelmate and ForwardX released “unmanned” suitcases

About smart watches, smart cars, smart houses, we have already heard. It is time and smart bags appeared. Travelmate and ForwardX have developed suitcases that will follow their owner, wherever he goes.

At the exhibition Consumer Electronics Show-2018 robotic suitcase is presented, which can independently travel behind the owner at a speed of up to 11 km per hour. At the same time, thanks to the built-in sensors, similar to those that are implemented in cars with autopilot, the suitcase will safely circumambulate obstacles and keep the distance from the owner.

Management is done using a smartphone. This is a real robot on wheels. He travels both in a horizontal and vertical position. Wheels rotate 360 ​​degrees, which makes Travelmate a very maneuverable suitcase. On top of it you can put an extra load, which the suitcase will carry on its own. A huge plus is the ability to recharge the suitcase Travelmate smartphone or tablet. It works on lithium-ion batteries. Batteries can be removed, so the transportation in the luggage compartment of the aircraft – no problem.

Do not worry about losing the device. It has a built-in chip that tracks the location.

Take care and design accessories – the backlight of the fashionable gadget can be changed to the mood. In general, the idea is beautiful, and most importantly – practical! How much inconvenience is the “lack of hands”. In February, you can already buy a robot suitcase. The price will be about $ 1100.

But Travelmate is not the only one of its kind. The competitor – Chinese start-up ForwardX has presented practically identical development. They even have an advantage. The suitcase recognizes faces and does not need additional control from the smartphone. He also has computer vision, which helps not to bump into objects and people. Built-in driving algorithms provide a fully automated route. The company also took care of protection against thieves and built-in technology for reading gestures. With all this, it will cost less than its competitor – less than $ 1000. Batteries are also removable.

Already several airlines have stated the risk of a fire from lithium-ion batteries, handed over to the luggage compartment. And since air carriers are going to prohibit putting into luggage such suitcases, in which the batteries are not removed, then the novelties will obviously be in demand.