Easily Verify Your Baggage is Onboard Your Plane
posted by DanDawson on 17 September 2007 6:30 Go to the market place Go to forum
Problem context :
Every time you drop a piece of checked baggage with the ticket agent, you always wonder if you're bag is going to be waiting for you at the baggage carousel on the other end of your flight. Did it get stuck at the airport, put on the wrong flight, or didn't make the transfer with you between flights?
Proposed Solution :
A baggage tag or device stowed inside your bag that monitors for a Bluetooth query from another device, possibly even your own cell phone. You send a Bluetooth message to it, it sends a response back to your phone or a receiving device. Once you receive confirmation that your bag is within Bluetooth range of your transmitter/phone, you can sit back and relax for the rest of your flight.
Airlines don't allow the use of wireless communications devices while in flight, so this unit would only respond when queried, so, if you're following the rules, you'll only query your bag before the main cabin door is closed. Obviously you'd want to query it as early as possible because once the door closes, you're not going to be able to get any assistance getting your bag on board anyways.
More detailed options, that would include additional difficulties and expense, would include options such as including a GPS with the unit. The GPS would not have many opportunities to grab a signal (in the baggage cart bringing the bag to the aircraft, so I don't see much benefit by including this additional feature. In addition, GPS's running on board the aircraft would be specifically prohibited by the airline.
Submissions (4)
Not quite sure what you would sell here
answered by siliconglen on 19 September 2007 22:47
You could currently do this by getting a standard bluetooth headset, putting it in your hold baggage and then trying to pair with it when you sit down in your seat. If you can't pair, the device is not in range. This sounds like a simple solution to the problem so I don't know what the product would be you could sell. In any case if you were positive your bag wasnt on the plane, it's probably too late by that point to do anything about it.
Not quite sure what you would sell here
answered by siliconglen on 19 September 2007 22:47
You could currently do this by getting a standard bluetooth headset, putting it in your hold baggage and then trying to pair with it when you sit down in your seat. If you can't pair, the device is not in range. This sounds like a simple solution to the problem so I don't know what the product would be you could sell. In any case if you were positive your bag wasnt on the plane, it's probably too late by that point to do anything about it.
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Car key FOB: RF instead of Bluetooth
answered by wmcleod on 19 September 2007 1:53
THIS IS A GREAT IDEA assuming there is a market for it, which i think there is.
The device only needs to be able to tell a receiver that it is within 100 feet or so of it upon request. I don't think Bluetooth is entirely necessary. Since the device is only really for travel, it could warrant its own special keyring attachment instead of using a cellphone.
Think RF transmitter like the kind used in car door locks, or the kind used in iTrip the iPod to car radio broadcaster. This puts the cost at about $15 - $20 as opposed to Bluetooth which starts at $40 and goes to about $70 for the device total.
Another approach is active RFID which is tiny and dirt cheap, and would allow for each bag to have a unique ID (so 2 users didn't get confused info) However the receiver would be a bit more complicated.