A perpetual worry for constant air travelers is the possibility that, by the time that you make it to your final destination, your luggage may be somewhere else completely, with no-one able to tell you exactly where. No amount of getting upset at the TSA will bring the whereabouts of your luggage to light – unless it’s equipped with the Trakdot Luggage tracker. We stopped by for a chat with its manufacturer GlobaTrac at CES to learn more about just how you can find your lost luggage.
The card-sized Trakdot Luggage device will offer travelers the security of knowing exactly where their luggage is – even and especially when it’s nowhere near its intended destination – at any location where a cellphone signal is available. The system works when the Trakdot Luggage Tracker device is stored inside a checked bag, with the device sending out a signal reporting a city-specific location to any mobile, Apple, Android or SMS capable device around the world. Users can opt to receive real-time data via text message, email, or through a special TrakDot Luggage app.
The Tracker’s location is determined using a quad-band GSM chip and triangulation instead of GPS in order to preserve battery power. The device runs on a pair of AA batteries, supplied by the manufacturers on purchase. The Tracker can also recognize the speed in which in which it’s traveling, so once the plane takes off at more than 100 knots, the device will shut itself down to comply with TSA safety protocol while conserving battery. When the speed comes back down below 100 knots, the device turns back on to continue reporting location.
Once registered at the Trakdot website, the Luggage Tracker device also link to multiple mobile devices at a time, allowing more than one person the ability to check the bag’s location. Additionally, one mobile device will also be able to track multiple Luggage Trackers for those with more than one bags. Not only will the Luggage Tracker tell users what city their luggage is in, if it’s managed to make it to the right airport, a special alert will also tell travelers when their luggage is approaching on the carousel at the end of a particularly long journey (Just remember to watch the carousel after the alert goes off, and not keep checking your phone). If there are multiple bag that look exactly the same, the device can also point out your exact bag from a stranger’s. Lastly, users will be able to set up customized alerts of their choosing, as well as choose to be informed of locations via Google Maps pins.
The Trakdot Luggage Tracker package – which includes the tracking device, luggage tag, and batteries – will be released in March this year at $50 apiece, with an additional $9 activation fee and $13 annual subscription.
