When a bag is ‘smart’

Introduction

Ubiquitous computing talks about bringing in computing anywhere in anything. We keep talking about PCs, iPhones, smartwatches etc. However, what if we added a new item to this list? And that is not your usual ubicomp system. It is a bag! Our very own laptop bag. Now one may argue that bags cannot be classified as a ubicomp system in any way. However, we will do a bit of modification in the bag and make it smart.

Smart bags of today

[a]

[b]

Features of my smart bag

There are several features that we can add to our bag in order to make it smart. Here they are:-

1. GPS Tracker: I think we all saw this coming. There are several GPS trackers in the market, but the biggest limitation is that sometimes carrying it along is a hassle. A good argument for GPS tracking is safety. In case you’re going on a field trip, sharing your location with your loved ones is a plus, and in fact, recommended in today’s world. Imagine a scenario where the in-built GPS tracker of your bag is synchronized with your phone and all it takes is a one-time setup. Whenever you wish, you can instantly grant access to your location.
2. In built adaptor: With a smart bag, the hassle of carrying your adaptors is going to eventually fade away. We are going to use wireless charging technology. Towards the rear end of the bag, we are going to embed this. Just like the Apple Watch adaptors, our phones are going to be able to stick to the charger.
3. Smart Lock: Imagine if your bag is stolen, there must be a mechanism that allows you to ensure your valuables are safe until the bag is tracked because of course, you have GPS. This lock would work through fingerprint sensor. Unless you use your fingerprint, the lock will not open.
4. Remote control enabled: Tired of carrying the bag on your shoulders? It should not be a problem! We are going to have a little console that remotely interacts with the sensors installed on our bag. For sake of simplicity, the console would not be complex at all, with just 5 buttons, namely, power, forward, backward, left and right.

Challenges ahead

With that being said, the bag is likely to encounter some challenges such as:-

1. Feasibility: The first question that arises to mind is if it is feasible to design such a bag. It is hard to estimate the cost at this point, but affordability is going to be a challenge, at least in the initial phase of such a release.
2. Creating the ecosystem: This is the most challenging part in the whole scenario. Today, we have EVs, robots with advanced AI. However, how many people are switching to EVs? How many people are buying robots for their homes? We have the tech, but we still have not been able to develop the ecosystem. Altering the attitude which turns out to be favorable for our product is going to be a huge challenge.
3. Accessibility: Just in case some of the features do not work properly, it could be hard to rectify the issues because not many people might be skilled enough to deal with such a versatile bag.
4. The design struggle: Some preliminary designs that we see today reflect the restrictions smart bags present. All smart bags are made of Hard side Luggage Materials such as Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polypropylene (PP), ABS/PC Composite, Polycarbonate (PC), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) etc. (Clever Journey). As of now, no company has been able to come up with a design in soft side luggage materials.
5. Legality: Recently, some airlines banned specific types of smart luggage. The lithium battery that comes with the bag could explode, hence, outlining security concerns as the reason for deeming them illegal.
6. Managing data: Since many features of our smart bag will be controlled through our mobile app, it is obvious that there will be a lot of data that we will be dealing with. If we do not take appropriate measures to manage data, it is possible that user data will be at risk.

Finding solutions

While we are presented with such issues at this point, I believe we will have better ways to fix them in the future. Here are some of the ways which may be helpful in tackling these issues:

1. Identifying the right raw materials: For our product, it is important to ensure that quality is priority because the stakes involved are high. The buyers will not spend unless they are assured the product works. As soon as we are able to attract more buyers, the cost will eventually come down to being fairly affordable.
2. Fixing the legality aspect: Currently, only smart bags with non-removable batteries are prohibited by airlines. Hence, even if your bag uses lithium batteries, it is not a problem. However, we look at our bag from a futuristic sense, and in addition to being a tech marvel, it must be environmentally sustainable, and lithium batteries are not! Also, lithium is a rare metal and the more we use the lithium batteries, the more we make our bags less affordable. A salt ion battery is being touted as a sustainable alternative because salt doesn’t have a devastating impact on the environment in any form and also, we have it in way more abundance than lithium.
3. Figuring out ways to have better designs: While the features we talk about are going to be better put together on hard side luggage materials, it is important to have some great designs to ensure buyers have options to choose from, not everyone likes black!
4. Addressing data privacy issues: As we progress into the world of ubicomp systems, ensuring data security and privacy is of paramount importance because the threat of sensitive information being leaked is higher than ever. Our smart bag needs an interface through which the users need to specify preferences. This interface is going to be an app which would ensure any third-party interference is minimal. This app is going to use a localized Blockchain technology. The idea behind Blockchain is having a bunch of nodes holding sensitive information. The benefit of these nodes is that there is no central agency/entity who owns them. As a result, Blockchain ensures decentralization. This means that no third-party can view/sell user data.

Visualizing the smart bag

There is no smart bag today that can be used for everyday chores, almost all of them are suitcases. However, my bag will be a great choice for college students or those who work in offices. As a result, the idea is to make a bag that’s convenient to carry, easy on your shoulders. The best material to make it would be Nylon because it is extremely strong while also moderately flexible. The nylon bag would be layered with NuLuxe, a synthetic material considered to provide leather-like finish (Design HMI). This will ensure that our bag is sturdy enough to resist any damage through the hardware we install into it and impart some style into it. Also, the hardware on our bag would actually be installed on a little panel that forms the third layer on the front. Identifying the top features my smart bag would have, here’s how it may look:-

Having developed a preliminary idea on smart bags before in another class (CI101, Drexel University), I thought it’s a great idea to share those designs too!

[1]

[2]

References

1. Clever Journey, https://www.cleverjourney.com/luggage-material-guide/
2. Design HMI, http://www.designhmi.com/2019/10/15/alternatives-to-leather/
3. Wadhera, Puranjay — CI101 — Computing and Informatics Design — I — College of Computing and Informatics — Drexel University (For drawings [1] and [2])
4. [a] — Roggolo — https://www.rollogo.com/products/escape-s-smart-luggage
5. [b] — Paley, Rachel — Bloomberg — https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-18/how-smart-luggage-makers-are-reacting-to-the-impending-ban — December 2017