Carry-on, luggage! Carry-on, luggage!

Israeli startup’s suitcase follows you around

NUA Robotics seeks to eliminate travel woes with hands-free luggage

By ToI Staff 9 January 2016, 11:41 pm 2

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Israeli company NUA Robotics unveiled its robotic suitcase that follows travelers around in January 2016. (Screen capture: YouTube)

Israeli startup NUA Robotics has unveiled a prototype for luggage that uses Bluetooth technology to sync with a smartphone app, locate its owner, and follow along.

The case also features an anti-theft alarm, a USB port for charging electronic devices on the go, and can send real-time data, including its weight and location, to the app.

“Any object can be smart and robotic,” the co-founder and CEO of NUA Robotics Alex Libman told Mashable on Thursday. “We want to bring robots into everyday life.”

NUA unveiled its design at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Nevada last week. Of the thousands of companies represented at the annual show, NUA ranked an impressive 323, placing it within the top 92% of all the companies in attendance.

While the suitcase is still in its preliminary development phase, the Jerusalem-based company hopes to have the product available to customers within a year.

Libman said NUA has wider hopes for its robotics technology, and envisions the design incorporated into other consumer products such as shopping carts.