Travelmate: The Autonomous Suitcase that will Follow you on your Travels
We have all had to carry heavy luggage to the airport at some point in our lives. When you travel for business or pleasure, sometimes you pack many things into your suitcase. It can be quite difficult and frustrating to lug around a heavy suitcase while traveling. Do you remember those troublesome moments of toting your suitcase behind you as you try to make your next flight at the airport? Well fortunately for you, you may never have to go through the horrible and annoying experience of carrying your heavy luggage ever again.
Travelmate, a company based in San Francisco, has recently designed an autonomous suitcase that will carry itself and follow you wherever you go, making your life so much easier. Can you imagine walking around the airport with your suitcase autonomously following behind you? Travelmate aims to make that dream a reality.
Travelmate Robotics is a California-based company mainly comprised of technology and robotics specialists. This team is where the idea and vision of creating a smart suitcase was born.
We already have Tesla working on smart cars that are entirely autonomous and while that is remarkable, there is still yet to be a solution to making our traveling experiences with suitcases more enjoyable.
A Suitcase and a Robot Companion
This startup is filling that void by creating autonomous suitcases that will follow you wherever you go. They launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund their project and as of this writing, they have earned just over $4,000 in crowdsourced funding, roughly 4% of their target of $100,000. Once they reach that target, they will begin mass production.
David Near, the CEO of Travelmate Robotics, said, “Suitcases have been in production ever since commercial flights began. They have not changed much over the years and we believe we can make them much better than they already are. An innovation in this product is long overdue, and we will revolutionize this traveling accessory.”
The company is even calling Travelmate a “robot companion” because it can do more than simply carry your luggage and follow you. You can attach a camera to it and record video and take pictures wherever you go. Essentially functioning as a mobile camera toting sidekick as well.
Beyond entertainment purposes, the company stated that it could be used as a security robot, perhaps acting as a guard for your belongings and property. The applications seem endless with Travelmate.
Travelers only need to download and install the Travelmate app on their smartphone. Once they have synchronized it with their suitcase, they are good to go.
The robotic suitcase has sensors to always know where you are and it will maintain a close proximity behind you with its Follow ME system. The suitcase can even travel as fast as 6.75 miles per hour, so could easily keep up should you need to jog and catch time!
Travelmate: More than Just a Luggage Carrier!
Moreover, Travelmate suitcases come with several other neat features, too. It has a rechargeable battery that can be charged wirelessly. On a full charge, Travelmate can run up to 4 hours in its autonomous mode.
Travelmate is completely TSA compliant and comes in three different sizes – small (S), medium (M), and large (L), with the S model being a carry on. The suitcase even has a magnetic lock that only opens with your fingerprint, making it extra secure.
It even comes with a built-in digital scale to weigh your luggage for you. It has multiple USB 3.0 ports for connectivity and has Bluetooth as well.
The Travelmate suitcases are available for pre-order for those who support the company on Indiegogo at a discounted price. The Travelmate S will retail at $399, Travelmate M will retail at $495, and the Travelmate L will retail at $595. This autonomous robot companion is the future of suitcases and it will make carrying our luggage a breeze, because we no longer have to.
