Plan a ‘Smart’ Trip by Packing Your Smart Belt Inside Your Smart Luggage
Our belongings are getting smarter every day.
For example, you can soon pack your smart belt inside your smart luggage and tackle that mountain on smart snowboard bindings that will help improve your riding in real time.
These are just three of the products being showcased at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week.
Startup Digi-Pas, based in Connecticut, has created eGeeTouch, which it is billing as “the world’s first smart luggage lock.’’ This product is a CES Innovation Awards honoree under the Tech for Better World category. The CES Innovation Awards honor outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products.
Here’s how eGeeTouch works: Travelers swipe the lock with their smartphone. The company calls it hassle-free because you don’t need to use keys or memorize codes. Your phone (or tablet or smartwatch) just needs to have Near Field Communication (NFC), which means you can exchange information with a simple tap or wave. According to the company, NFC offers more security, a quicker connection, and a faster connection speed than other Bluetooth-driven devices.
The product is approved by the TSA and includes an assigned TSA master key for airport personnel to unlock/lock it. Don’t have NFC? No problem. eGeeTouch also comes with a smart tag or sticker you can store in your wallet, take out, and wave in front of the lock to open it. The lock is waterproof, can handle extreme weather, and is battery operated. It can also be charged with any external USB portable power source if the batteries run out. There is a backup mechanical key as well.
Keep the smart theme going by packing a Belty inside your smart luggage. This “smart belt,’’ is already a “showstealer’’ at the Consumer Electronics Show according to cnet.com, and is due out later this year.
The belt, invented by the French startup Emiota, automatically adjusts itself to your waistline throughout the day using small built-in sensors and motors. Ate too much over the holidays? No problem? Lost a bit of weight recently? Again, no problem. The wearable technology also keeps track of your health and lets you know when you’ve been sitting for too long. The belt connects with an app that collects data throughout the day and charts it. The downside seems to be its design, a “hulking, heavy-looking snake of metal,’’ according to cnet.com.
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Ride smarter with XON Snow-1 snowboard bindings, a sensor-enabled snowboarding experience that tracks your movements and weight distribution as you ride. The bindings were invented by the Japan-based company Cerevo. Connect your XON Snow-1 device with a smartphone via Bluetooth for real-time tracking data. The product will give you tips for improving your riding in real time. A video overlay function records your snowboarding data so you can check out your style while riding the lift.
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XON Snow-1 will be available this fall in small, medium, and large sizes and will cost $400 to $600. The other products have not released prices yet.
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