A piece of carry-on luggage has just banked $1,366,276 on Indiegogo, 2,733 percent above its original goal of $50,000 set at the campaign's launch on Oct. 20.
Suffice to say, this isn't your average four-wheeled piece of luggage.
Meet Bluesmart, the "world's first smart, connected carry-on" and the brainchild of Brian Chen, a first-year MBA student at MIT Sloan.
"We’ve all had great, wonderful travel experiences, but we also know the friction and hassle that comes with flying from one place to another," Chen explained to me in an email. "That includes wandering around the airport terminal to find an outlet, worrying about forgetting your luggage, or worse, having it stolen."
In an era of smart phones, smart watches ... smart thermostats even, why, Chen and his founding team ruminated, isn't there smart luggage? The idea for Bluesmart was born.
"After that conversation, we started putting together a team that can execute on the vision we had," said Chen, alluding to co-founders Tomi Pierucci (business development), Martin Diz (engineering) and Alejo Verlini (design).
That vision has translated to a product fellow travel enthusiasts are clamoring to get their hands on.
The reason appears clear: This piece of smart luggage takes its "smart" promise very seriously.
The $195 bag, a TSA-friendly carry-on through and through, connects to your smartphone to offer a slew of travel-friendly features, like remote locking and unlocking, a built-in digital scale, distance alerts should you stray too far from your possessions, location tracking so you can know exactly what "rerouted" luggage means, and pockets designed for easy access to your beloved electronics.
What's more, Bluesmart comes with an integrated battery that can recharge your iPhone six times over. The days of huddling pathetically around your gate's numbered electrical outlets appear, well, numbered.
As for what's next, Chen's goals are lofty.
"After we ship this first product," he said, "then we will consider adding to our product portfolio, all with the idea of designing the travel experience (rather than just a piece of luggage) in a way that has never been done before."
Future products could include a checked bag version of the carry-on, or even a passport holder "that connects to your suitcase so that you don't have to worry about forgetting your passport when you travel internationally."
On the wings of news that JetBlue, Logan's largest carrier, will soon be reducing legroom and charging bag fees, Smartblue's success is a spot of good tidings in an otherwise unfriendly industry.
Alex.E. Weaver
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