Bluesmart, the manufacturer of smart suitcases, closes and sells its products and brand. The startup blames the situation for large American airlines that have banned luggage carrying non-removable batteries on airplanes.
Bans against innovation
Argentinean startup Bluesmart was a pioneer in the field of smart baggage. Four years ago, the company introduced its first smart suitcase, Bluesmart One, and successfully financed its production on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform. The smart suitcase had a GPS tracker, an automatic lock and built-in scales. Communication with the smartphone was supported via Bluetooth, so that the suitcase could always notify the owner that it was forgotten or taken away in an unknown direction.
Power for the entire electronics was provided by a large lithium-ion battery, which simultaneously served as an external power bank. In 2017, Bluesmart launched the second generation of smart luggage on Indiegogo. In December, the company solemnly announced that it had sold off all the new suitcases.
A few days later, major American airlines Delta, American and Alaska imposed a ban on carrying bags with non-removable batteries in their luggage. They were joined by other carriers. Together, these companies control 80% of the US air travel market.
The cause of tough measures was the wave of explosions of products with lithium-ion batteries. Bans on their transportation were introduced before, but did not concern smart baggage. In the cabin, dangerous batteries are not forbidden to carry, because if necessary, people there will put out the fire. There are no people in the luggage compartment and there is no guarantee that the automatic fire extinguishing system will cope with the situation.
For the Argentines, the ban was fatal. The design of the suitcases did not mean that the battery can be easily and quickly removed. Some models of Bluesmart were designed to be carried in the cabin, but economical American carriers often force passengers to check in their luggage. Therefore, according to the new rules, a smart suitcase should have a removable battery.
Bluesmart CEO Tommy Pyrucci argued that with the battery removed, a smart suitcase loses all meaning. Attempts to negotiate with carriers ended in nothing. Therefore, on May 1, Bluesmart announced its closure, as well as the sale of all the intellectual property of Travelpro, another suitcase manufacturer. The transfer of development, return of funds for pre-orders and customer complaints will be engaged in a third-party company. The server and the Bluesmart application will work for a few more months.
Bluesmart managed to sell 65,000 smart suitcases around the world.
Smart suitcase is not dead
“We have created a completely new category of goods in the old industry, which has not changed for 50 years,” complained Piérucci in December. “And now they are trying to destroy the new category.”
He was right about the future of his startup. However, other companies that started to produce smart bags following the example of Bluesmart, still bypassed the ban.
Startup
Raden sells suitcases that apparently do not give out a smart gadget. Invisibility - the main “horse”, as well as durable polycarbonate body. The suitcase has a Bluetooth module and an application that helps to find it, as well as scales built into the handle. The battery is removable, to pull it out, you need to open the suitcase and unzip the zipper on the lining. As in the case of Bluesmart, the battery feeds the smart baggage system and serves to recharge smartphones. He will work as a bank, even if you pull him out of the suitcase.
Incase has been making luggage since 1997. She launched the “smart” NoviConnected suitcase in September 2017. In early May of this year, another suitcase came out, ProConnected. At first glance, the "mind" is not obvious, because both suitcases have only removable poker banks, and that’s all. But they can separately buy a Bluetooth-beacon, powered by a CR2 type battery, and a smart lock. All devices are controlled from a single mobile application, and in general the system repeats half of the functions of Bluesmart.
Away is another new startup in the luggage market. His products often flash on Instagram and have only one “smart” function: built-in trust bank. In the new models, this power bank is very easy to get, because it is under the handle and removed in one motion. In the old models will have to tinker with a special, approved by the American transport administration screwdriver.
Arlo Skye manufactures luggage similar to the new Away models. Powderbank in them is also located under the handle and removed with one touch.
Madrobots founder Nikolai Belousov tests Modobag at CES-2017Special mention requires a suitcase-scooter Chicago startup
Modobag . The representative of the young company Tim Ryan said that the batteries are removed. Nobody bothered to mention this feature either in the instructions for the suitcase or on the website. However, according to the same Ryan, in future versions of “chemokat” batteries it will be “more convenient to pull out”. In addition, Modobag batteries themselves are made using “nanocrystalline” technology (according to the manufacturer), and not lithium-ion. Thus,
unlike Chinese consumer explosives, they should not spontaneously explode and ignite.
It remains to hope that the remaining manufacturers of smart suitcases will no longer face such active opposition from carriers and regulators. Bluesmart Care is a big hit for a new industry.
