Hands-Free Suitcase Makes Travel Easier

A new hands-free suitcase utilizes technology to make our lives easier when we travel...or does it?

'Hop,' a robotic suitcase, uses Bluetooth technology to connect to your smartphone and follow you around. It has all sorts of sensors and gizmos to figure out where it needs to go, and even has a locator function in case it gets lost.

Looking at the promotional video though, it seems a little wobbly...like it might fall over.

It also seems like it goes so slow it would get annoying. (Who walks that slow through an airport??)

Then there's the realism aspect...while you're busy holding all the OTHER crap in your hands, assuming your bag is in tow, someone picks it up and runs off with your stuff.

By the time your phone buzzes to alert you the Bluetooth connection with Hop was lost, you put your stuff down to look at said phone, then turn around to check on your bag, *poof*. It's long gone. (Sure,  you can still 'locate' the bag using the app...and it supposedly locks if it loses the signal, but hello, I'm sure there's a way to crack it open.)

The concept seems cool, but in reality, it seems like more trouble than its worth.

It's just a prototype for now, and the creator admits it needs 'fine tuning.'