China Daily

Robot suitcase

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Luggage that can follow you unveiled at Vegas electronic­s show

LAS VEGAS — Self-driving cars may take a while to arrive, but the self-driving suitcase is here now.

Some of the technologi­es used in autonomous cars have been adapted in products unveiled at the 2018 Consumer Electronic­s Show in Las Vegas, to help travelers with the weighty problem of dealing with baggage.

The “robot suitcase” from California-based startup Travelmate can be controlled with a smartphone app and can roll alongside its owner at speeds up to 11 kilometers per hour, navigating around obstacles.

“This is really a robot which follows you around,” said Travelmate founder and president Maximillia­n Kovtun.

Travelmate designed the device — which integrates elements of artificial intelligen­ce — to roll at a pace that matches that of the user, or it can be directed with the smartphone app in the same manner as a drone.

Priced at around $1,100, it is slated to roll out in February for the United States market, and later in Europe and Japan.

A competing offering from ForwardX, a Chinese startup with offices in California, is designed to be used with facial recognitio­n, without need for a smartphone applicatio­n.

“It uses computer vision and a driving algorithm to have a clear path,” said founder Nicholas Chee, who showed a prototype at CES.

The ForwardX suitcase also has gesture control technology and can be immobilize­d to protect against theft.

Chee said he expects the launch in mid-2018 at a price under $1,000.

Both Travelmate and ForwardX say their devices comply with US safety regulation­s because their lithium-ion batteries, banned in checked luggage, can be removed.

Also shown at CES was an auto-following suitcase from China-based 90FUN, which has been available in the Chinese market and is soon coming to the US. It uses selfbalanc­ing technology from the personal transport maker Segway.

And finally for the weariest of travelers, a luggage product called the Modobag, which lacks artificial intelligen­ce but offers a sizable perk instead: as a ride-on suitcase which can carry its owner along with their clothes.

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 ?? MANDEL NGAN / AFP ?? An exhibitor demonstrat­es the ForwardX Robotics self-driving CX-1 suitcase in Las Vegas, Nevada. Priced at around $1,100, it is slated to hit the US market in February.
MANDEL NGAN / AFP An exhibitor demonstrat­es the ForwardX Robotics self-driving CX-1 suitcase in Las Vegas, Nevada. Priced at around $1,100, it is slated to hit the US market in February.

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