Sunday Times 2
Lazy luggage
It isn’t clear how it might react if you are running to catch a flight but a young inventor has come up with a ‘robotic’ suitcase that requires no carrying.
A video on YouTube has revealed a prototype of the ‘Hop!’ suitcase, which uses the bluetooth signal on your smart phone to guide it along behind you. The clip – which has received some 35,000 views – shows a man walking while the small suitcase dutifully follows, allbeit at a slow and occasionally jerky speed. The basic technology behind the novelty is the work of Spanish native Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez.
The phone signal is received by three sensors in the luggage, a microprocessor driving two caterpillar tracks that power the suitcase along.
If the signal is lost, the bag will lock itself and vibrate its owner’s phone. Mr Gonzalez’s design was one of the winners of Spain’s James Dyson Award this year and, he admits, needs some fine tuning. He is now studying a Master’s in Innovation, Design and Engineering in London and hopes to gather a team to work on the project and find funding.
The 28-year-old said: ‘It’s not working 100 per cent and it’s not ready for the market but it’s something I’d like to develop. ‘I think in the future it’s something we could see often.’© Daily Mail, London
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