Dragging luggage around is the biggest pain points of the airport experience. Sometimes they are bulky, sometimes you just have too many bags, and other times you just plain forget to drag it with you. A new piece of suitcase technology has just been introduced to brighten the airport experience called the “Hop” by making luggage carrying hands-free.
Hop comes equipped with sensors to triangulate a Bluetooth signal from your phone and two caterpillar tracks at the bottom of it to help keep it moving along. Hop follows behind while you navigate through an airport keeping close distance. If Hop loses its connection to your phone and stops following you, it will automatically shut down and send a alert vibration to your phone. See Hop in action via the video below:
Although the idea is very smart, we do see some problems in how it will work in the real-world if it launches out as more than just a prototype. In the video it looks like you have to walk at a very leisurely pace to keep connection with the unit, and that hardly is the case when dodging passer-by’s at an airport. Also the sensitivity of technology will surely catch attention of the TSA, and because you can’t say your luggage is “with you at all times” there could be a hindrance in real-world application.