Technology truly is amazing. Not only do smartphones have the ability to ‘find themselves’ if lost, but soon travelers may be equipped with ‘smart bags’ with the same capability.
According to MailOnline, 3 billion dollars are wasted by the aviation industry every year on lost luggage with an average of 4 pieces of luggage getting lost on every Boeing 747 flight. Incidents of lost luggage occur mainly during a quick flight transfer and also when bags are moved around quickly, subjected to bar code tags being ripped off on conveyor belts. But thanks to European aircraft manufacturer Airbus in conjunction with suitcase maker RIMOWA, the stress-inducing situation of lost luggage may be over.
The two companies have designed a prototype called Bag2Go, the first smart bag to include “GPS, RFID and 2G mobile data capabilities” from a Mashable article. The bag can even link up to your iPhone once you download the Bag2Go app which allows the passenger to track the location of their bag at all times, and even be alerted if it’s tampered with. How convenient is that?
Here’s how the system works in more detail:
1) Each Bag2Go has an embedded GPS system and individual barcode displayed which, when scanned by the airline, displays details of the passenger and flight details.
2) The passenger can check if their luggage is safely secured on the plane before takeoff. If it isn’t, they can alert the airline.
3) Should the bag get lost, the Bag2Go app can easily track its location. The bag can be re-routed to the correct destination at this point.
Check out the video demonstration for Bag2Go here.
The best part of it all is that if eventually, all travelers employ this technology, luggage carousels might become obsolete. Instead of the long wait for luggage after a long plane ride, travelers will be able to meet their bags at their hotel or place of residence.
Bag2Go won’t be widely available quite yet, so be patient. Also, there is no word on how much the high-tech luggage will cost, but I expect it won’t come cheap. What about you, would you buy a Bag2Go? I think I would, especially for connecting flights!
