A GPS system for luggage s...
- Originated: September 18, 2011
- Updated: December 12, 2011
- Status: Open to Everyone (Join)
Project Score
Originator
GPS system for luggage
Ever lost your luggage? I have, and so has almost everyone I've asked. The best way that airline track bags now are with barcodes on pieces of paper that easily rip of. Even with these barcodes, its takes days, sometimes weeks to locate lost luggage. My project is to implement a GPS system in checked luggage that the owner can follow its location on his phone. If the owner lands in NYC, and he sees his luggage is Ohio, he not only knows that his luggage was put on the wrong plane, but he can immediately notify airline staff of where his luggage is. My project would eliminate the need for airline to "track down" lost bags, because the owner would know its location. The GPS system would also hold contact information, such as name, address, and currently location of the owner, so the luggage can be shipped to the closest airport to the owner's current location.
Target Market: The target market for this system is middle-upper class travelers who require checked baggage.
Competition: There is currently a Trace Me system to compete with my project which uses a similar bar code system that airlines do which will email the owner if his lost bag has been found. However, this product does not allow the bag owner to both immediately know that his bags are in the wrong place and identify where his bags are like my project does.
Financials: People I have asked are willing to pay up to $100 for this system. Start up costs would be high, but American Airline estimated there are 100,000,000 checked luggage users just in America. At a goal of 3% market share of these users, that is 3 million users times the retail price of @$100.
Resources Needed
-finance people
There are no current resources at the moment.
Originators
Marie Pesacreta
chapel hill, north carolina 27516
Chuck Pell: Need to be clearer about your technological or sociological solution. Must avoid interference with every other device. Must be able to contact me anywhere. Must be able to detect at least which city that I am in. Might benefit from limiting your lookup table to airports, if that's your only market. I wouldn't pay $100 to use this service, but I'd easily buy into a subscription for, say, $50/year forever to get texts on my smartphone.
12-12-2011 @ 6:03 PM EST · Comment
Jeff Snell: I like the idea, especially if implemented with mobile devices. However, it is dependent upon GPS which can tell you approximately where it is, but not exactly. I think the projections are way too high. "100,000,000 checked luggage users just in America" is an inaccurate statement. There are 100,000,000 bags checked annually. Those are not unique customers. Many are regular travelers (in fact those that could most easily justify such a product purchase).
09-29-2011 @ 1:19 PM EDT · Comment
Douglas Baker: how do you sell to the buyers? what are they having to buy in terms of technology? so, now they know where there luggage is when lost, then what? if the problem isn't fixed or able to be fixed, is it sticky enough of a concept to hold from a consumption side? if the technology fails, are you now responsible in some way?
09-28-2011 @ 10:32 PM EDT · Comment
Braden Hanson likes GPS system for luggage.
09-26-2011 @ 11:43 PM EDT
Douglas Morton: I know they make you turn off all cell phones and other wireless devices on airplanes. Would this GPS interfere with airplane mechanisms?
09-20-2011 @ 5:02 PM EDT · Comment
Marie Pesacreta created a project called GPS system for luggage.
09-18-2011 @ 3:16 PM EDT