帶定位功能,充電和Wi Fi熱點功能的智能行李箱

It wasn’t long ago that the main selling point of a piece of luggage was its durability — think American Tourister and its rather excitable gorilla.

不久之前，行李箱的主要賣點還是耐用性——想想美旅箱包(American Tourister)廣告裏那隻愛激動的大猩猩吧。

Not for Kevin Harwood.

凱文·哈伍德(Kevin Harwood)卻不這麼想。

Like many travelers today, he is looking for technology to go along with durability. He stumbled across a carry-on bag controlled by smartphone — with a Bluetooth-enabled lock, GPS tracking and a USB port for recharging a device. It has a built-in scale, too.

和如今的很多旅行者一樣，除了耐用，他還追求科技含量。他偶然發現了一款可用智能手機操控的隨身行李箱，它有藍牙鎖、GPS定位服務以及可以給電子設備充電的USB接口。它還有一個內置秤。

“I’m a little bit of a geek, always looking for products that extend from my phone, that connect my world and me,” said Mr. Harwood, a 30-year-old software developer from Austin, Tex.

“我有點像極客，總是在尋找手機的延伸產品，把我的世界和我聯繫起來，”30歲的哈伍德說。他是得克薩斯州奧斯汀的一名軟件開發工程師。

Why should luggage be any different?

行李箱爲什麼要有特別之處呢？

At the crowdfunding site Indiegogo he was among the first to buy into a start-up called Bluesmart that is developing a connected bag. Mr. Harwood has plenty of company. Bluesmart raised more than $2 million from more than 10,000 backers, far surpassing its goal.

哈伍德是最早在衆籌網站Indiegogo上支持創業公司Bluesmart的人之一，該公司正在開發一款能與手機相連的箱包。有很多人想得跟哈伍德一樣。Bluesmart從一萬多名支持者那裏籌集了200多萬美元，遠遠超出籌款目標。

Bluesmart, which expects to deliver its first bags in October, is part of what has become a stampede of businesses — both start-up and established — into the nascent connected luggage industry.

Bluesmart計劃今年10月推出第一批箱包。一大批公司正在涌入新興的智能箱包產業，既包括創業公司，也包括知名企業。

On Tuesday, Samsonite will introduce a new line of GeoTrakR suitcases, containing a cellular-enabled baggage-tracking system from LugLoc, at the Travel Goods Association trade show in Las Vegas. Andiamo will introduce a new carry-on with a Wi-Fi hotspot, battery charger and other features.

週二，新秀麗公司(Samsonite)將在拉斯維加斯的旅行用品協會(Travel Goods Association)展銷會上推出新的GeoTrakR系列手提箱，它裝備有LugLoc公司的手機操控行李追蹤系統。Andiamo箱包公司將推出一款新隨身行李箱，它具備Wi-Fi熱點和電池充電器等功能。

Delsey has been soliciting feedback since late last year for its Pluggage line of smart suitcases.

法國大使箱包公司(Delsey)從去年年底開始徵集對它的Pluggage智能手提箱系列的反饋意見。

Even telecom companies are interested. AT&T is researching development of a smart bag, described in a YouTube video posted last summer, that tracks a bag from airport to airport. Rimowa, a German luggage manufacturer, is jointly developing a smart suitcase line called Bag2Go with Airbus and Deutsche Telekom. The new bags, expected to be available next year, will interact with sensors in the cargo holds of Airbus aircraft to identify their location.

甚至連電信公司也對此產生了興趣。根據去年夏天發佈在Youtube上的一段視頻，AT&T電信公司正在研發一款智能手提箱，它能在機場之間追蹤行李箱。德國行李箱製造商Rimowa正與空客公司(Airbus)、德國電信(Deutsche Telekom)攜手開發Bag2Go智能手提箱系列。這些新手提箱計劃明年上市，它們可以同空客飛機貨艙中的感應器互動，以確定位置。

“Adding electronic capability and communications to baggage makes a lot of sense,” said Frank Gillett, an analyst at Forrester Research. “What you’re seeing is the first round of innovation that will take time to evolve. The goal is to improve the travel experience.”

“讓行李箱具備電子和通訊功能很有意義，”弗雷斯特研究公司(Forrester Research)的分析師弗蘭克·吉勒特(Frank Gillett)說，“你現在看到的是第一輪創新，它需要時間繼續發展。目標是改善旅行體驗。”

Hanif Perry, a 32-year-old New York-based marketing consultant who also participated in Bluesmart’s Indiegogo campaign, said he liked its bag’s laptop pocket. The carry-on, he said, “is more purposefully designed for the younger traveler who carries all devices.”

32歲的哈尼夫·佩裏(Hanif Perry)是紐約的營銷顧問，他也參與了Bluesmart的衆籌活動。他說，他喜歡這種行李箱的手提電腦口袋。他說，這種隨身行李箱“更針對攜帶各種電子設備的年輕旅行者”。

Bluesmart is not the only luggage venture raising money through crowdfunding. Trunkster collected $1.4 million from 3,500 investors through Kickstarter, easily surpassing its goal. Jesse Potash, a co-founder, said it would release a carry-on and a suitcase in late summer.

Bluesmart不是唯一一家以衆籌方式籌集資金的箱包公司。Trunkster公司通過Kickstarter網站從3500名投資人那裏籌集了140萬美元，輕鬆超出籌款目標。該公司的聯合創始人傑西·波塔什(Jesse Potash)說，該公司將於今年夏末推出一款隨身行李箱和一款手提箱。

Trunkster’s bags will have a tracking system, a scale and a battery with two USB chargers, Mr. Potash said, as well as a roll-top entry providing quick access.

波塔什說，Trunkster的行李箱將配備追蹤系統、秤、含兩個USB充電器的電池，以及能快速打開的卷蓋。

The push for the connected bag solves one of the most vexing problems for travelers — lost luggage.

智能行李箱的開發能解決最令旅行者煩惱的一件事——行李丟失。

“The last thing that you want to have happen is an unwelcome surprise of a suitcase disappearing,” said Henry Harteveldt, travel analyst for Atmosphere Research Group. “This is peace-of-mind technology.”

“行李丟失是人們最不希望發生的，這種意外特別討厭，”大氣研究集團(Atmosphere Research Group)的旅行分析師亨利·哈特維爾特(Henry Harteveldt)說，“這項技術能讓人放心。”

Need a speaker in your suitcase? Hontus Ltd. is slated to introduce its Space Case 1 smart luggage this fall through its Planet Traveler USA unit. Besides cellular-enabled tracking, features will include a digital lock, built-in scale and Bluetooth speaker, said its chief executive, Harry Sheikh.

你的行李箱需要一個揚聲器？Hontus箱包公司計劃今年秋季通過它的星球旅行者美國分部(Planet Traveler USA)推出太空箱1號智能行李箱系列(Space Case 1)。該公司的首席執行官哈里·謝赫(Harry Sheikh)說，除了手機操控的追蹤系統外，這款行李箱還有數碼鎖、內置秤和藍牙揚聲器等功能。

Samsonite said its new line of smart suitcases, made of ballistic-weave nylon, would be in stores by late summer and come in four models.

新秀麗公司說，它的新智能手提箱系列由防彈尼龍製成，將於夏末上市，共推出四個款式。

Catherine De Bleeker, global marketing director for Paris-based Delsey, said her company planned to offer its Pluggage line of three smart bags in the first half of 2016, with a possible price of $600 for a 24-inch model; she said Delsey is still collecting feedback from the public about what features these should have.

巴黎法國大使箱包公司的全球營銷主管凱瑟琳·德·布勒克爾(Catherine De Bleeker)說，該公司計劃於2016年上半年推出Pluggage系列，它包括三款智能手提箱，24英寸款的售價可能是600美元。她說，該公司仍在徵集公衆反饋，以決定讓手提箱具備哪些功能。

She also said that Delsey was exploring possible collaboration on the suitcases’ tracking capability with Air France, with which it already has a licensing agreement for co-branded luggage, and with airports.

她還說，公司正在考慮與法國航空公司(Air France)及各大機場合作，開發手提箱的追蹤功能。該公司已獲得生產法航聯名行李箱的特許權。

Travelers who want to track their bags but not replace luggage they already own, or who are concerned about a suitcase’s embedded tracking system possibly malfunctioning, have another option: free-standing devices.

有些旅行者想進行定位追蹤，但是不想更換現有行李箱；也有人擔心手提箱的內置追蹤系統可能失靈，他們還有另一個選擇：獨立設備。

Beside LugLoc — which uses Bluetooth and GSM technology and costs $70, plus additional search fees — there is Trakdot, whose GSM device texts and emails users the location of their checked suitcase when their plane lands and costs $50, plus an annual service fee of $20.

比如LugLoc和Trakdot。前者用藍牙和GSM技術定位行李箱，設備費70美元，搜索費另付。後者的GSM設備會在飛機落地後給用戶發短信或郵件告知托運行李箱的位置，費用是50美元，外加20美元的年費。

Franck Dubarry, founder of Lev Technology, said his company would introduce a Smart Unit device this summer that will tell users where their bags are after flights. It will cost $99, plus activation and other fees.

列夫科技公司(Lev Technology)的創始人弗蘭克·迪巴里(Franck Dubarry)說，今年夏天他的公司將推出一款智能部件，它能在飛行結束後告訴用戶行李箱的位置。設備費爲99美元，外加激活和其他費用。

To comply with regulations governing personal electronic devices, the tracking systems are generally designed to automatically shut down once they are stored and to automatically turn back on once a plane lands.

爲了遵守個人電子設備的管理規定，箱包追蹤系統通常會在行李存放妥當之後自動關閉，飛機落地後自動開啓。

Experts say this new smart baggage represents just the first wave of this equipment.

專家們說，這種新智能行李箱只是這類設備的第一波浪潮。

“Products that make travel easier and better for customers quickly spread throughout the market,” said Michele Marini Pittenger, president of the Travel Goods Association. “To use recent examples, we’ve seen lightweight bags, expandable cases and four-wheeled luggage rapidly become the new normal,” she said.

“讓旅行更輕鬆、更舒適的產品通常會快速席捲市場，”旅行用品協會主席米歇爾·馬里尼·皮滕傑(Michele Marini Pittenger)說，“以近些年的一些產品爲例，我們已看到，輕型箱包、可擴容箱包和四輪行李箱很快成了新的常規產品。”

And what about that American Tourister commercial with the gorilla (actually, a man in a gorilla suit)? Those commercials lasted 15 years, ending in 1985 — quite durable, as ad campaigns go.

那麼，美旅箱包的那支有大猩猩（實際上是一個穿着大猩猩服裝的人）的廣告呢？它播出了15年，1985年停播，和它的廣告賣點一樣，是夠持久的。