Thanks to this new hands free suitcase, carrying around heavy luggage may soon become a thing of the past. Designed by Israeli company NUA Robotics, this smart suitcase is the technological equivalent of Mary's little lamb – it'll follow you everywhere you go.

    The carry-on suitcase, currently a prototype, connects to a smartphone app via bluetooth. It has a built-in camera sensor that can "see" you and follow you around on flat surfaces like airport floors. It comes with an anti-theft alarm to prevent someone snatching it away when you're not looking and it has a backup battery that you can use to charge all your devices.

    "It can follow and carry things for people around while communicating with their smartphone, and avoiding obstacles," explained Alex Libman, founder of NUA Robotics. "We're combining sensor network, computer vision, and robotics. So if you download our app, press the 'follow me' button, the luggage recognizes the specific user and knows to follow and communicate."

    NUA is still testing the device and trying to improve features like speed and customization, but they hope to make the suitcase available to customers in a year's time. If it proves successful, they want to use the bluetooth pairing technology to automate lots of other devices, like shopping carts at the supermarket. These devices are especially meant to be useful to the physically disabled and elderly.

    The Israeli tech company made it clear that the smart suitcase they unveiled is just a prototype, and that the finished product will look just like a regular suitcase. They're planning to partner with a carry-on luggage maker, since the device that makes it smart weighs just 2.5 pounds and can be fitted on old-fashioned luggage.

    Having to carry around heavy luggage is literally a burden, so NUA could be on to something with their smart suitcase, but it will be interesting how their invention will handle tough obstacles like stairs.

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    原型

    yuánxíng

    prototype

    an original, full-scale, and usually working model of a new product or new version of an existing product

    障碍

    zhàng'ài

    obstacle

    something that stands in the way of or holds up progress

    走哪跟哪的智能行李箱

    这种新型智能行李箱解放了人们的双手，拖着沉重的行李箱将很快成为历史。以色列灵性机器人公司研发出一种智能行李箱，它就像玛丽的小羊羔一样，主人走到哪它就跟到哪。

    这种随身行李箱通过蓝牙与主人智能手机上的应用程序相连，现在尚处于雏形。箱子内置摄像头感应器，只要是在像机场地面一样平坦的路面上，行李箱就可以“看”到主人并跟随其后。箱子还配备了防盗报警器，以防主人不注意时被人偷走。此外，箱子还有备用电池，可以给你的智能设备充电。

    灵性机器人公司的创办人亚历克斯·利布曼解释说：“这种行李箱可以在和智能手机连接的情况下跟随主人到处行走，并避开路障。我们将传感器联网、计算机视觉和机器人结合在了一起。如果你下载了我们的应用，只需按一下‘跟我走’按钮，行李箱就会识别特定的用户，跟随该用户并与之交流。”

    灵性机器人公司目前仍在测试这一设备并致力于提高速度和改善客户定制等功能，不过他们希望这种行李箱在一年后就能与消费者见面。如果这种行李箱获得成功，他们想用蓝牙配对技术来推进许多其他设备的自动化，如超市里的购物车。这些设备对残疾人和老年人尤其有用。

    这家以色列技术公司声称，他们最近公开的智能行李箱仅仅是一个雏形，成品的外形将是一个常规的行李箱。他们将和手提行李箱制造商合作，因为这种让行李箱变得“智能”的设备重量只有2.5磅，可以安装在旧式行李箱中。

    携带沉重的行李确实是一个负担，所以灵性机器人公司发明智能手提箱还算挺有眼光，不过他们的发明如何搞定像楼梯这种高低不平的障碍呢？让我们拭目以待。